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BILFPOD Episode Notes: From Law to Entrepreneurship to Venture Capital
Episode Summary In this episode of BILFPOD, host Mara Dorne converses with entrepreneur Lisa Sutton Gunderson, who transitioned from a successful law career to own multiple businesses and invest in venture capital. The dialogue explores themes of motherhood, identity, and the realities of balancing ambition with personal fulfillment, all while emphasizing a less traditional approach to business success.
Key Themes and Topics Discussed
- The Right Way to Live and Build
- The episode challenges conventional wisdom about achieving balance in life, particularly for mothers and ambitious women.
- It highlights the importance of personal stability before pursuing business ambitions.
- Guest Background
- Lisa Sutton Gunderson: A law degree holder turned entrepreneur, Lisa runs four successful businesses including:
- Sin City Cupcakes: Liquor-infused cupcakes.
- Liquid and Lace: Swimwear e-commerce brand.
- Elite Homes: Real estate brokerage.
- Veteran Fund: A venture capital fund focusing on veteran-led companies.
- Risk and Starting from Zero
- Lisa recounts her journey into entrepreneurship and how she managed risks by keeping her day job while starting businesses.
- Emphasizes learning through experience and the importance of believing in oneself.
- Mindset Shift and Personal Growth
- Discusses the importance of shifting from a mindset of individual execution to collaborative efforts.
- Highlights that understanding one's strengths and weaknesses can lead to successful partnerships.
- Strategic Business Building
- Lisa outlines how she built businesses by leveraging her legal background and business acumen.
- She stresses the significance of clear roles and responsibilities within partnerships.
- Leadership and Decision Making
- Discusses leadership styles and the need for operational partners in successful business ventures.
- Highlights the importance of adaptability and resilience in decision-making.
- Overcoming Obstacles
- Lisa shares her experiences with setbacks and how to navigate challenges in business.
- Emphasizes the need for strong personal habits and structure to maintain balance.
- Advice for Entrepreneurs
- Encouragement for women in business to pursue their passions without fear.
- Stresses the importance of tracking KPIs and managing cash flow effectively.
- The 21-Day Challenge
- Lisa introduces a personal challenge to live with intention and purpose for 21 days.
- Encourages listeners to think outside the box and make a commitment to personal growth.
Key Takeaways
- Find Your Alignment: Rather than trying to "do it all," focus on aligning your passions and responsibilities.
- Collaborate and Learn: Engage with partners who complement your skills and learn from each other.
- Prioritize Personal Growth: Cultivate a mindset of continuous improvement while balancing personal and professional life.
- Cash Flow Management: Effective cash management is crucial for business sustainability, and understanding finances is key for entrepreneurs.
- Empowerment through Individuality: Women can thrive in business while maintaining their identity and purpose.
Conclusion Lisa Sutton Gunderson's journey reflects the idea that success in business doesn't have to come at the cost of personal identity or fulfillment. By prioritizing personal growth, collaboration, and strategic thinking, women can build fulfilling careers without losing themselves in the process.
Connect with the Hosts
- Mara Dorne: Follow her on social media [@maradorne](https://twitter.com/maradorne).
- Lisa Sutton Gunderson: Follow her on social media [@lisasongsutton](https://twitter.com/lisasongsutton).
- Podcast: Follow BILFPOD [@bilfpod](https://twitter.com/bilfpod).
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This structured overview encapsulates the significant points and insights from the episode, providing a comprehensive guide for listeners and readers interested in entrepreneurship, venture capital, and the balance of personal and professional life.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOMeet Lisa Sutton Gunderson
0:46 to 1:52
Introduction of guest Lisa Sutton Gunderson and her background.
“If you haven't already or you don't know, my name is Mara Dorn and I am the host of the BILF pod.”
Transitioning from Law to Business
1:53 to 4:36
Discussion on how Lisa made the leap from law to entrepreneurship.
“law career going on, I know you're practicing here during the 2010, which was great.”
Starting Sin City Cupcakes
4:37 to 6:24
Lisa shares how she started her liquor-infused cupcake business.
“And ironically, weirdly, it actually kept me engaged on both things, even though I had two very like kind of, you know, time constrained things, it just made it so fun because they were so different.”
The Journey of Building a Brand
6:25 to 7:51
Exploration of the growth and success of Sin City Cupcakes.
“I mean, I think for a lot of not just women, but people in general, it's they have an idea.”
Navigating Business with Confidence
7:52 to 9:46
Discussion on confidence in business, risks, and entrepreneurial spirit.
“But I would say that The number one thing is understand every aspect of your business.”
Launching Liquid and Lace
9:47 to 11:19
Lisa discusses her venture into online swimwear and its market entry.
“What is it that I'm bringing to the table?”
Juggling Multiple Businesses
11:20 to 12:59
How Lisa manages multiple businesses simultaneously and efficiently.
“And so it was just a, yeah, it was a, it turned into an international brand that we sold mostly through IG.”
Real Estate Ventures
13:00 to 14:00
Lisa explains her entry into real estate and the strategies used.
“So basically you're taking your brand and you're taking, you're putting your business entrepreneurial hat on, and then you're taking all of your resources that you have.”
Teaming Up for Real Estate Success
14:00 to 15:00
Learn how collaboration in real estate can lead to innovative listings and marketing.
“sell agent, but clearly there's a pipeline of business here.”
Understanding Business Bankruptcy
15:00 to 16:40
Discover key reasons businesses fail and how to avoid common pitfalls.
“you can collab and combine everything that you're doing in some way.”
Show all 28 chapters
Miscommunication Among Founders
16:40 to 18:00
Explore how miscommunication can lead to business failures and the importance of clear roles.
“And you're not clearly tracking what's working on what's going on.”
Income as an Outcome
18:00 to 19:00
Learn the importance of passion over income in entrepreneurial success.
“And I think all your advice and everything that you're saying just puts everything into clear perspective for anyone that owns a business.”
Transitioning to Venture Capital
19:00 to 21:20
Understand the journey from angel investing to becoming a venture capital partner.
“Cause that seems like totally left field from everything else.”
The Role of General Partners in Venture Capital
21:20 to 23:10
Learn about the responsibilities and benefits of being a general partner in a fund.
“We do a Zoom meeting and they pitch me on the veteran fund to join as an LP, as an investor.”
Experience and Passion in Investments
23:10 to 24:50
Discover how past experiences and passion contribute to successful investment decisions.
“I'm willing to be on a multi-decade journey with you guys.”
Learning from Business Failures
24:50 to 26:00
Explore key lessons learned from entrepreneurial failures and the importance of resilience.
“the decisions we make today are far better than the ones.”
Innovative Ventures and Challenges
26:00 to 28:00
Understand the challenges of innovative business ventures and the impact of R&D costs.
“It was just the operator that we were going to put in place, she ended up having life stuff happen like four months in after we launched.”
The Challenges of Expensive R&D
28:00 to 29:14
Learn about the hurdles faced in funding plant iteration and the importance of venture capital.
Strategies for Raising Capital
29:15 to 31:39
Discover effective methods for securing funding from family, friends, and investors.
“You can't put your own capital on that, especially for two plants, you're over 1.2 million.”
Insights from Successful Exits
31:40 to 33:02
Explore the experiences and lessons learned from business exits and their implications.
“going to make sense for them because they have to justify the investment to their investment committee.”
Investing in Real Estate
33:03 to 34:26
Understand the benefits of real estate investments and the advantages of condotels.
“Cause you know, people that have competed before, you know, that they have the grind.”
The BRRRR Method vs. Cash Investments
34:27 to 36:58
Compare the BRRRR method to cash investments in real estate and their pros and cons.
“These are units that are inside a building that operates like a hotel.”
Balancing Personal and Professional Life
36:59 to 39:36
Learn about the importance of individuality and maintaining balance as a woman in business.
“And so you don't have to sweat it when it's like, oh, real estate's seasonal.”
Embracing Identity as a Mom and Businesswoman
42:02 to 43:25
Learn how balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship shapes personal identity.
“And I don't feel guilty that I run a business and I have three kids and I travel.”
Investing in Elite Veteran-led Startups
43:26 to 44:58
Discover the focus on investing in veteran entrepreneurs and their impact.
“Being a wife is important, but also being Lisa is just as important.”
The Unique Resilience of Veterans in Business
44:59 to 46:31
Understand how military training contributes to success in entrepreneurship.
“I love that it's veteran-run because you hear so many terrible stories about how, you know, veterans will come out and they're not supported.”
Expansion Plans and Family Dynamics
46:32 to 48:27
Explore the intersection of growing a business and managing family life.
“Because they're just, I mean, they're structured people and they, and they are results driven.”
Empowering Others Through Business Education
48:28 to 51:54
Learn about creating platforms to help others open their own businesses.
“just have this small little human who is like developing right before your eyes.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00I was having these opportunities come my way and I was initially saying no because the question I would ask myself was, how am I going to do it? I didn't even know how to bake. So I was like, you should move here. You just start the company. I was just like, like, teach me how to help you. I really am grateful that I did it in this risk-mitigated way because I kept my day job to fund it, right? You know, like starting a business in the beginning, especially like so hard. It needs cash.
0:41Welcome back to the BILF pod where authenticity trumps authority. If you haven't already or you don't know, my name is Mara Dorn and I am the host of the BILF pod. So please take a moment to like, subscribe, tell a friend. You know what to do. But today's guest, she is absolutely no stranger to hard work. She really is a BILF, like a true BILF. She has a degree in law, went to the University of Miami, runs four successful businesses. I mean, today I am so excited because, first of all, I have another baddie sitting next to me. So I'm always excited when I have like a really extremely successful woman.
1:18So welcome to the show, Miss Lisa Sutton Gunderson. Happy to have you here. I'm on location here in Las Vegas. So welcome to VILT. Thank you so much. And welcome to Vegas. Yes. Oh my God. It's so cold here. I don't know what's going on. It's not like sunny Florida. I know it is chilly, but it'll warm up soon. Probably like February. Oh, February. Okay. So I'm not going to come back till February. Well, you know, I was talking to you before, like we were talking previous and our background are very parallel. So except you actually pursued a law degree. So you have a law degree, you practice law.
1:50But what I'm really interested in is how does one who has a very successful law career going on, I know you're practicing here during the 2010, which was great. And then you go and you own. Now, I just want to talk about your businesses. You had Sin City Cupcakes, so liquor infused cupcakes, which sounds amazing. Like who doesn't want a liquor infused. Who does not want one of those? Ship Las Vegas, as well as Liquid and Lace, which sounds like really cool. I love that. And then Elite Homes. And then we'll talk about your general partner of the Veteran Fund, which I'm really excited to talk about and know more about.
2:25So let's start first from the beginning. So lawyer, okay, you come here to Vegas, you're practicing. And then how does one say, all right, I'm not doing this. I'm going to just become an entrepreneur? It was complete happenstance. So I was working my big girl job at the firm and was catching up with a girlfriend of mine, Danielle, who's actually from Miami. And we were just chatting like, hey, girl, what are you been up to? And she told me she had been making these alcohol cupcakes. And I'm like, that's genius. And also, by the way, like that would crush in Vegas. You should move to Vegas. So I just I was just so excited about it.
3:01And I was like, you should move to Vegas. I just bought my house in Summerlin. Like move in with me. Like you should just come here and I'll help you start the company. And these are the things you do in your twenties. Right. And so she moves across the country from Miami to Vegas. And that was in, um, end of 2011. So we started the company in 2012. But did you have business like entrepreneurial experience prior or this was like, Hey, because here's one thing that I find, especially with women is that a lot of women get ready to get ready, but they don't execute. So it takes a lot to finally just say, all right, because you kind of transitioned out of your traditional like nine to five.
3:38So how did with no, no business experience, no entrepreneurial skills, how did you just even have that confidence to even do that? Well, I didn't do it cold turkey, right? So there wasn't this like, oh, I hate my job and I want to stick it to the man and I need to start my own endeavor. What is it going to be? I liked my job. It was fine. I felt good about the work I did. And I liked the people I worked with. What I loved about the alcohol cupcakes was that I just knew in my bones, it was just such a great idea. I loved it. I didn't even know how to bake. So I was like, you should move here. Let's start the company.
4:13I was just like, teach me how to help you. Here's what we'll do. I keep my day job. I'm going to fund this thing. You work it during the day when I'm at the law firm working my day job. And then nights and weekends, I was baking with her. I was running deliveries. I was setting up events. It was crazy. I ended up working seven days a week, right? But it was so much fun. And ironically, weirdly, it actually kept me engaged on both things, even though I had two very like kind of, you know, time constrained things, it just made it so fun because they were so different. And I mean, everyone was so supportive of it.
4:53That's so crazy. So no baking skills, no entrepreneurial skills. It's just something you had to believe and you believed in yourself. Obviously you believed in the whole, the notion of it. You believed in everything behind it. And here you had this successful, I mean, how successful did it become? So we had that company for 11 years, which is like crazy to think about. Yeah. Because I don't feel like I've aged at all. No, no, definitely. No, no, definitely have not. You look so young. We had that company for 11 years and then we were able to exit it to a national bakery brand. And, you know, especially when I think when you start your first endeavor, unless you're some, you know, tech stars or whatever, like we didn't start it with this goal in mind of like, we're going to build it and sell it.
5:35It was just fun. We were pumped. We were having so much fun doing it. We got to be part of every event in Vegas, Derek Jeter's golf tournament, whatever it was, right? CES, just all the fun, cool things that come through Vegas. And of course they wanted alcohol cupcakes because it's on brand and so Vegas. And that company taught me, wow, I can have my own company as long as I team up with an operations partner. Right. And I really am grateful that I did it in this risk mitigated way because I kept my day job to fund it. Right. You know, like starting a business in the beginning, especially like so hard.
6:11It needs cash. Right. And that's going to come from your sales, but it takes time to ramp that up. Yeah. So where is that cash going to come from? It needs to come from somewhere. Yeah. And so that was our arrangement. Like I love that. Let me let me keep it fueled. You know, we'll keep growing. It makes total sense. I mean, I think for a lot of not just women, but people in general, it's they have an idea. They're afraid to execute. But it may I mean, I'm hearing you say a few things. You had you had a vision. Right. You weren't completely sold on jumping full, you know, fully in, but you were fully bought in, which I think is a difference.
6:43You have to be fully bought in. Can't be you weren't one foot in one foot out. Right. You know, you had the capital and you do need. I mean, was it a lot of capital? I think people get scared because they think there's so much money involved when starting your own business. No, we literally started baking in my home kitchen. There you go. Yeah. Right. And then this is pre like the ability to get a cottage license from the health department and things like that. Of course, all that came years later when we didn't need it. But we, again, just looked for risk mitigated ways. So instead of going out and getting a commercial lease space on a standalone bakery, we went and did like a shared space kitchen, you know, just just to find like low cost ways that.
7:26weren't going to require a personal guarantee or some of these larger commitments, but would still get us in compliance with the health department, get us in the space we need, but we could grow really organically. Yeah. And then I hear the other thing you're saying is you had no fear of rolling up your sleeves and getting in there. And I think that's a big thing that people don't want to do. They would rather delegate and not understand. But I would say you, I mean, you're definitely more business savvy than I ever am going to be. But I would say that The number one thing is understand every aspect of your business.
7:57But number two, you can't delegate everything out. You have to, maybe you're not, you know, proficient in every aspect, but at least know almost every aspect of it. Have some common knowledge of the, of your business. You can't, I mean, you just can't hire for everything. You have to have some knowledge. Completely agree. And again, I didn't know how to bake when we started this bakery business, right? I learned through the process, of course, but it was one of those things where it set a really easy goal of, okay, we need to get to a point where we can hire pastry chefs and people who have degrees in this that are going to be far better at doing this than I am.
8:28But worst case scenario, if every single person down the line calls in sick, you can do it. I can do it. Right. I'm going to do turn away business because I can't execute. Like, that's crazy. I love that. You're like a girl of my own heart. It's so true. I say this too. If my team was taken tomorrow, you know, my whole sales team, could I survive? Right. 100%. I sold previous. That's how I even got into, you know, into the space that I'm in now. And leadership is because I sold. So lesson learned is that you have to know every aspect of your business because it could fall tomorrow. So you never know.
9:01I mean, I love that. So now, okay, so then you sell that. Now, did you start another business while in there? Is that when you went into... So you did. Yeah. So while this is growing in tandem, again, it was like the scales fell from my eyes, right? And I was like, wait, I can have my own company as long as I team up with an operations partner. So I realized I was having these opportunities come my way. And I was initially saying no, because the question I would ask myself was, well, how am I going to do it? And I needed to be asking, how are we going to do it? And I realized, okay, I can start saying yes to some of this stuff if I'm very clear about roles, responsibilities.
9:39What am I bringing to the table? Is it the money? Is it the legal background? Is it all the documentation and paperwork and startup stuff and save us 10 grand right off the bat? What is it that I'm bringing to the table? What are they bringing to the table? And surprise, surprise, if we put that together, that turns into operations of the business. Oh, I mean, you're such a smart cookie. I can't, I'm like, I'm taking notes mentally. So now you have this thriving business and then you start something else. So we started Liquid and Lace. And so that's an online e-commerce brand, swimmer brand. Where did that come from?
10:12So we were talking about New York before we started filming. When I was still in school, in college and in law school, I did a little bit of modeling, you know, like print modeling, like swimwear. Stop it. You're still pretty soft. I, you know, I wish I was like 5 '10". Not the case. I thought I'd be, you know, Victoria's Secret Angel. Not the case. And so I did a little bit of modeling during the time I was in school. And it was awesome because I got to travel and meet so many people. One of the colleagues that I met just during those years ended up having an e-commerce brand that he had out of the UK and he was looking for US distribution.
10:50And so he just hit me up out of the blue on Facebook, actually. He was like, hey, how are you doing? Haven't talked to you in a while. Let's catch up. And he basically told me about what they'd been doing over there and they were crushing it. And he was like, we want to break into the US market. We're trying to figure out who and how and implementation. And I was like, maybe that's something I can help with. Right. And so, yeah, we started that in 2014 and we sold that. We sold that in 2021. And this was an online business. Yes. Online e-commerce. And so it was just a, yeah, it was a, it turned into an international brand that we sold mostly through IG.
11:29We sold, of course we had like a Shopify website, right. But we sold direct to consumer. And then we did, we were doing the swimmer fashion weeks all around. And we had an annual event that we would host here in Vegas too every summer. And you're still doing the cupcakes at this point. So how are you managing or how are you juggling your time between all of it? Because I'm assuming, well, I'm assuming by this time the cupcakes are going. It's kind of moving. Cupcakes are going. Yep. The swimwear, I just looked at like, okay, can I fold this in to what I'm already doing? And strangely, I could.
12:00You could. Yeah. Especially in Vegas, right? Yeah. Yeah, it's easy. Yeah. Who doesn't like swimwear? And cupcakes. And we were doing cupcakes for like Encore Beach Club. Yeah. Right? And you're like, oh, by the way, do you guys want to feature a swimwear line? Do you guys want to do some sort of special event? Like, how can we collaborate and work together? And I'm a former Miss Nevada. And so that was the segue of. Oh, by the way. I love that. By the way. By the way, just saying. It was a long time ago, but it was amazing. That opened up this entire pool of, oh, here's all these women, young women and teens as well, like the teen category, who already are a brand ambassador, right?
12:39They are already representing their public service platforms, the charities that they work with in their own communities, and they're representing the pageant. Why are we not utilizing them for the swimmer brand? And so what we did was we were the sponsor for the national pageant for like four years in a row. Like it was a nice collaboration where pretty much everywhere I went, it was like cupcakes, swimwear, like what? I mean, it's so smart. It's absolutely genius. So basically you're taking your brand and you're taking, you're putting your business entrepreneurial hat on, and then you're taking all of your resources that you have.
13:15So like, I want people to really understand this, that I think a lot of times we also feel very, like we don't have the resources when in fact, you know, if you write a list down, you will see how many resources and how resourceful you really are. And that's kind of what you did. You took all of your resources, You collab them. You put them together. And now you have two thriving businesses, which is genius. Yes. I'm about to steal your idea. Well, and then we overlaid the real estate, right? So roll back to 2013. Cupcakes are going. I was still working at the firm. And we had clients that were coming in with real estate needs because they were filing BK or whatever it was.
13:51And they had to offload the real estate. And we were just referring it out to these kind of Yahoo agents. And I was just like, come on. I was like, how hard can this be, right? Yeah. So I was like, well, I don't have the time and bandwidth to like be running around as a buy sell agent, but clearly there's a pipeline of business here. So I teamed up with a full-time broker, right? And we started a team at Sotheby's that we had for five and a half years before I started my own brokerage. And that was the proposition, right? Again, you look at like what you have with you. So I had no real estate experience.
14:24I'd never, I bought my own house, but like I'd never like bought and sold on behalf of others. But I said, look, I've got a pipeline of business. We should team up. Plus you're the lawyer on it. So you can look at all the contracts. Yeah, exactly. So smart. So I was like, we should team up, right? And so that's what we did. And so, you know, we had crazy stuff. We had like Phil Maloof's penthouse. We had like crazy listings that like, guess what? I had Kettle One Vodka cupcakes at the open house. It all makes sense. Now you have the sexy swimwear there. Yes, exactly. Yeah, we're doing a swimwear fashion show.
14:57Yeah, like in the open house. I mean, just crazy, right? But you can, the point is like, you can collab and combine everything that you're doing in some way. And like, that's really the benchmark of like, how can you get involved in these different endeavors? And it's if they can like kind of patchwork together. Yeah, you're making my wheelhouse spin right now. And I don't think we realize that a lot of the time, you know, how we, I think a lot of people fall short of trying to understand how to utilize their resources and put it all together. and you just did it in such a creative way by bringing everything that you had to the table.
15:27I mean, look, you do have a one-up though. The law degree is like, come on. No. And working in business litigation and business bankruptcy, right? I think knowing bankruptcy is a powerful background and just realizing, especially for businesses when they're filing business BKs, it's a tool, right? So it's like, really, you kind of reverse engineer. You're like, How did you get here? You're a smart person, and yet you are in this position now. What happened? And you reverse engineer. And sometimes it's because six months into their business, they didn't do a good operating agreement with their partner.
16:05They didn't lay out roles and responsibilities. And then fast forward 10 years later, after they've made millions of dollars together, they can't get along. They can't communicate. And now they're suing each other. Yeah, I was going to ask you, what's the number one reason that you think that businesses fall to bankruptcy? One, just mismanagement of cash. It's almost like an overspend problem. And so I equated it to like, if you're an overspender in your personal life, you will be an overspender in your business. Right. Because every opportunity is going to sound good. You're going to be like, oh, we should try that marketing person.
16:40We should try this. We should try that. And you're not clearly tracking what's working on what's going on. So you're saying KPIs, track your KPIs, your ROIs. I mean, really understand what's going in, what's going out, and what that looks like as far as revenue and returns. But start it with yourself on a personal level. Yeah. Right? If you are not capable or don't have the discipline to just do it for yourself on a personal level, you're not going to do it with the business. You're too busy. Yeah. Or you can't duplicate it. Yeah. You're not going to do it with the business. And all of a sudden, you're going to be, like, sweating, like, when payroll time comes or something like that or when the rents do.
17:14So like that's the baseline is just cash flow issues, right? But then I would say right under that, it's founder or business partner miscommunication. Yeah, disagreement. Exactly. And oftentimes it's like so simple. This is not because someone was stealing or, you know, like these things that sometimes happen. And yeah, it's just straight up like, I assumed you were going to do X. You assumed I was going to do Y. We never talked about it. And now we're like mad at each other that you didn't do what I assumed you were going to do. And I'm like, you know what I mean? Like it's. And then the business falls.
17:48It implodes. And then the business suffers because you guys can't even, you guys meaning the partners, right? Can't even communicate about what you thought the other person was going to be doing. How are you going to communicate about anything else in the business? Makes total. I mean, that makes total sense. And I think all your advice and everything that you're saying just puts everything into clear perspective for anyone that owns a business. And one other thing that you said that you went into this. So a big thing that I always say, and I heard this from one of the gentlemen that I worked for, income is the outcome, not the objective.
18:19So when you go in there, it's not you can't go in there thinking right away. Maybe. I mean, maybe you knew, but, you know, maybe you do know, but you have to go in there for another objective other than the income. You got to love what you do. And there's infinite ways to make money. Yeah. Right. There's infinite ways to make money. So if you're not committed to something else other than just the revenue, you're never going to stick to anything because you'll get this shiny object syndrome. But like, oh, I should I should try to flip houses. I should try to do that. Like whatever's popping up on your Instagram is like the next way to make money.
18:49That's what you're going to gravitate to. Yeah. And then finally, so OK, so now you have all of this going on. Then when did it finally when did you get into the whole veteran funding? Where did that come from? Like, how did you even like put that into it? Cause that seems like totally left field from everything else. Like I understand the real estate, the cupcakes and the swimwear. That all does make sense. It does. But then how, why did you go into that as like a service piece? Is that something that was like really near and dear to your heart? I know your dad was a vet. So your husband, how did that all come into play?
19:18So I had been angel investing for about seven years. And now this is 2021. I'd been angel investing for this period of time. And I knew I wanted to get into venture capital in a meaningful way. I just wasn't sure what that was going to look like. I had no desire to actually just start my own fund because I was like, I don't know what to do. And as a founder of my businesses, I had never raised outside capital or VC funding. I had just self-funded and bootstrapped and, you know, grinded it out. And so I was like, I know I want to get into venture, but I just I'm not sure what that looks like. So I started looking at different firms that I could LP into that I could invest in.
20:03And there was a firm I got into pretty deep due diligence with. I flew out to Park City and met with their general partners. And it was just one of those things where, you know, it was like eight GPs. is they all were, you know, former Goldman guys. They all had the pedigree, right? Of like, check, check, check. And I remember asking them, I said, what else are we doing for these founders besides like writing checks? And no one had a good answer. And I was just like, hmm. And I remember flying back from Park City to Vegas. And I was just like, maybe that's venture. Like, because I don't know, right?
20:34I was like, maybe that's venture. Because their whole thing was like, yeah, like, it's kind of like a 99.1 model where we're going to expect 99 % of the portfolio to fail and the one company is going to hit it big and return the fund. And you're just like, so you just let them fail. I was kind of processing it. Yeah. What happened to the 99 %? They go to zero in the portfolio. So you're like, okay, maybe that's venture. Not even two weeks later, I get a call from a friend of mine, Justin Nahama, and he's a GP in the fund. And he's like, hey, I've got something that I want to run by you. I teamed up with two buddies of mine, Ryan and Mike, I want you to meet them.
21:11We put together a fund. I want to like, talk to you about it. Like, let's, let's grab some time on the calendar. And so we do a Zoom meeting because the guys are in California. We do a Zoom meeting and they pitch me on the veteran fund to join as an LP, as an investor. And I'm like, I love this. So their thesis is investing in veteran led companies that are building technologies on the national security side. Like basically, you've got the bucket revenues of direct to consumer, and then you've got selling to the government, right? So if you can like kind of like corral all of that together, you've got multiple streams of revenue coming in to the company.
21:50And this totally made sense to me. They were like, we're going to back veteran founders because these guys and gals already have the mental grit that it takes. Yeah. Right. Makes sense. Makes total sense. It was like light bulb, right? And I'm like, I'm in. Take my money. I'm in, right? So I joined as an LP. Two days later, I called Justin back and I'm like, what is it going to take for me to be a GP, a general partner? And he was like, it's not really how it works. He was like, wait, we can't just turn every LP into a GP. I'm like, wait, what? Yeah. And I'm like, hear me out. I was like, you know, I really think I can ask.
22:25And what's the difference between the LP and GP? So the LP is a limited partner, and this is an investor into the fund. They invest their money, and they have the option to kind of either be totally passive where it's like, here's my commitment and keep me updated. So you want to be fully involved. Yeah. So the nice thing with being a general partner is that you do have to be on the actual management side. So you're actively participating in investment committee. You're actively participating in portfolio construction. You're actively participating in helping the founders that you're investing in.
23:00So it's not passive by any means. You are rewarded for that extra management work by being on the general partner carry. and um so i said look i was like i think i can add a lot of value to this fund i'm a founder myself right i've built seven and eight figure companies so i know how hard it is i know what it takes so i'm willing to stand alongside the founders that we invest in and like give them advice and mentor them whatever i need to do um i know i can bring in other lps i have an incredible network um i have people who trust my judgment so if i tell them i invested into this there's a chance they're going to be open to investing.
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23:38Right. And I'm in it for the long haul. I'm willing to be on a multi-decade journey with you guys. So I will take less in fund one, but then we'll talk about fund two, fund three, fund four as, as we continue to grow. And he was like, you're not going to let this go, are you? And I was like, yeah, I was like, just let me fly out and meet the guys, you know, like, let's, let's all get together. And so I flew out to San Diego and met Mike and Ryan in person. We had obviously met over Zoom, but that was my first time meeting in person. And we worked out a deal. I love it. And it's something that you obviously are passionate about too.
24:15I looked at it as like, this is something that, again, I could see myself being on a multi-decade journey, not only in this endeavor, but also alongside these people. So do you think all of your other endeavors really kind of led you to where you're at today? Gave you all the experience, gave you all the knowledge. It allowed you to really put everything that you had brought to the table, like this just kind of meant to be. Yeah, absolutely. So you feel like you kind of found home. It's a compound effect, right? I mean, look at everything built in the last 12, 15 years, right? And all the lessons you've learned and like all the things, right?
24:49So it's like knowing that it's a constant work in progress, like there's no doubt that the decisions we make today are far better than the ones. They're more informed at the very least, right? So did you have any failures in any of this? Like what, you know, because we talk about all the success a lot of the time, but I would say that the most successful people have failed many, many, many times. So what about like, where did you, where do you feel like you failed in any of the ventures? Yeah. So there's, there's a venture. So we'll talk about the ventures that are no longer around. Right. And a lot of people don't talk about it.
25:23You only talk about what's in your trophy room, but in reality, there's so much on the back burner or so many things that have happened that I think are building blocks to success. I never think that they're like mistakes or, you know, they're failures, but really the building blocks. So tell me about some of them. Tell me there was, there was a company, um, it was like embellished flats. Um, you know, I'm not, I'm not a flat sheet kind of girl, but I loved the designer. I loved the designs as well. And they were beautiful. They were like ballet flats. Um, and it was all embellished, right. With the stones and pearls and they're super girly.
25:54Yeah. And so I was like, if I were to wear flats, I'd wear these, right? The shoes were beautiful. It was just the operator that we were going to put in place, she ended up having life stuff happen like four months in after we launched. Then you already know. It made it hard. Yeah, it made it too hard. And we cobbled it together for like a year. And then it was just three partners. And so we all kind of looked at each other and we were like, are you going to run this? Because if you're not going to run that, like, you know, how are we going to do that? Unfortunately, that's no longer around, but it was lovely.
26:25I thought it. So would you learn, what was your takeaway from that? Um, one, of course there has to be an operator, right? And oftentimes, look, I, I don't mind rolling up my sleeves and getting in there and doing it. I agree. I just can't be the operator. I can't be the CEO because I, I just can't, that's just not me. Yeah. I'm not, I'm more of like the visionary, the one that, you know, I'll bring the hype, I'll build the culture, but I'm not the one with the, I'm not good on processes or systems. That's just not me or like the accountability. It's not me. I can bring other things to the table, but that's not, yeah, I'm not the operator.
26:55Definitely not. Yeah. So I, you know, I was like, hey, like, this is not going to work out long term. So, you know, we need to cut our losses on that. There was a company, it was like light emitting plants. It was like, it was cool. And they had the IP on it, right? It was like, they started, the first iteration was with a tobacco plant, actually. And it's because tobacco plants apparently are the easiest to genetically modify. right and so they were taking um like you know glow-in-the-dark like marine um bacteria basically right and genetically modifying these plants and then it was they glowed so it's like so let's say it was here they turned off all the lights and so it was glowing like emitting that sounds good okay it's beautiful and so it's just you have to water them yeah it's like a normal yeah i was like i'll kill them i'm not good with it's a normal plant but like yeah so i was just like this is so cool and it was like a niche thing there was like there's like a reddit planters there's a there's a whole group of there's a whole yes girl there's a whole like gardeners gardeners i know there's a whole there's a horticulture oh yeah they oh i know there's a whole they have conventions and everything yes they have a whole culture themselves yes i know that's why i was like this is this is this has legs on it because there was like hype around it already you know like and then the next iteration was petunias and so it was like this could have legs like what if you could put this into trees i mean like we had this like long vision on it again it was like an operations issue and we teamed up with um with the um educational institution in new orleans um because the r &d was so expensive it was like six hundred thousand dollars for every iteration of a new plant and i was just like you guys like yeah we're not you know like this is a like how are we doing it yeah like how are we gonna do this so yeah like i think that could have been really cool but it just it didn't work long term so what was the takeaway i mean again just um you know one expensive r &d right so unless you are venture backed like i've learned this now right like unless you need to if you need to grow fast um and you have like expensive r &d like that right that's where venture funding is is good because it's going to eat up your equity as a founder yeah but you need that cash where else you're gonna get six hundred thousand dollars every time you need to iterate a new plant this is crazy you know yeah yeah yeah so that's not going to work.
29:14No way. You can't put your own capital on that, especially for two plants, you're over 1.2 million. It's not going to work. Yeah, exactly. This is, this is not real life, you know, like you're just like, so you also raise, so you obviously you raise money too. So what if, okay, so how would you, what advice would you give to somebody that has like a great idea? They have capital, but they need a little bit more and they need to raise money. Where, where would one even begin to do that? Um, I would say one, so first off, open up your phone because your first anchor round are going to be the people who know you and believe in you.
29:44Yeah. Hands down, right? That's literally why they call it the family and friends around the anchor round, right? It's literally going to be people that you are calling and texting, telling them about what you're building, showing them your traction and asking them for an investment. The next layer after that, you got to get things dialed in, right? Whether it's your pitch deck, your data room. Like firms want to see that you are organized. And you know, yeah, you have your shit together. We're not expecting profit. We get it. Like you are early stage, right? But show us some traction, right? If you've got an app that you're asking people to download for free and you're just giving away the free version right now, then tell me how many users you have, right?
30:25How many people do you have on the subscription list? How many, you know, all these things. I don't care that you're not charging for it. I want to hear that you have, you know, 200 ,000 downloads. Yeah, and interest, people that are interested. Exactly. So that's important to know. I mean, you don't think that you can even, I would say as a small business owner, I've never gone and raised money. But I mean, it makes sense now. If you have a project or you have a venture that's doing, that has potential, you've already onboarded people. It's always, would you say a good idea if you know that it's going, if you believe, not know, I don't think we ever know, but if you believe it's going to go somewhere and it's going to be a multimillion dollar venture, would you tell people to go and raise money?
31:03I would say - If they don't have the capital. If you need money to iterate fast, right? And that's why tech is so big on raising because they need the money to iterate quickly, right? If you're starting a bakery, if you're starting a real estate business, like I don't know necessarily that you certainly don't need to go get like venture-backed funds. No, you roll your sleeves up. Yeah, totally. And maybe you can do enough with just your family and friends around, right? So that way you're not giving away all your equity because that's what you have to remember. All these firms are taking equity for their investment.
31:35It's not a grant. This is not charity. It's not for free. Right. Right. They're going to take equity in and they're going to fight for the evaluation that is going to make sense for them because they have to justify the investment to their investment committee. Now, how long did it take you to walk, to exit on each company? How many were required? I've had two exits. That's crazy. That's, I mean, that's something to be proud of. That says so much. And I just love it because you're just such a businesswoman, entrepreneur. I love it. So two exits and you already said you built seven, eight figure.
32:07And so I'm not even going to ask you what you exited at, but I mean, it's, I just want people to know that it is possible. And the idea, like, you know, your idea is never a stupid idea. There's always a niche for something, but how long did it take you for each of those companies to exit? One took seven years and that was a two X exit. And then one took 11 years and that was a three exit. Wow. Incredible. That takes time sometimes, you know, that isn't right. So tell me what you have going on now. You still have the real estate. Yes. So we acquired the angle invokers brand in 2022. And that's been awesome.
32:41Yeah, it's it. We actually have like really strong women who work for us. And I love. Yeah, I love that. It's like a really supportive environment. They're all hustlers they're all like just right yes like they're smart they're capable um i actually love um recruiting ladies who have a sort of like service background right whether it's like high end bottle service whatever it is because you know we do too that's what we like in our industry because you know they'll hustle you know that they're gonna hustle they will hustle right if if they were working on core beach club this summer you know they're gonna be in wedges from 9 a.m to 6 p.m they got the grind you already know they're gonna do it they're gonna get running around dealing with every drunk asshole with a credit card.
33:22You know what I mean? Yeah. That's why I like gym people too. Cause you know, people that have competed before, you know, that they have the grind. I love people from the, I recruited a ton of agents right out of LA fitness. I love that. Yeah. Got banned. But yes, I mean, it makes, it makes sense though. You like, you hire for, for what's going to work in your business and anyone that's competitive in a grinder, you're bringing them. I love that. Yeah, exactly. So, so yeah, love that. Um, so the real estate's been going really well. And, um, you know, it's one of those things where, especially with our agents too we always tell them look like you will get rich helping other people buy and sell real estate you will build wealth if you own real estate so we're really we push them hard on like if they don't already own their home already some do you know if they don't already own like own your home right buy an investment property buy an investment condo like it doesn't need to be something real estate that you would live in yeah like you can so we of condotels here in Las Vegas.
34:16And actually, I think in Orlando as well as like an asset class. And I like them because so we own seven of them. I like these condotel units as an investment class because so this is like Palm's Place, MGM Signature, Trump, the Dara. These are units that are inside a building that operates like a hotel. But the whole building is already zoned as short term. So you don't deal with like the Airbnb logistics headache of, oh, well, you have to be a thousand feet from someone or you have like they keep changing their restrictions. The whole building is already zoned short term. So it makes it a lot easier too.
34:53And you net the most doing third party like Airbnb, or you can just enroll the unit into the building's hotel program and they rent it out like a normal hotel room. Right. And then they just cut you a check or they ACHU. I love that. Okay. Real question on, okay. So I'm, I'm actually struggling this with myself. Okay. So there's the BRRRR method, right? I know there's the, and then there's, see, I'm like, I'm getting good. Yeah. So I got it over here. So I know there's really two methods, right? There's the BRRRR method. So for people that want to buy real estate, cause I know you're really involved with the real estate and then you can buy in cash.
35:27So what would you say for somebody that, I mean, they have money or whatever, they have money to invest. Would you, what's your preference? The BRRRR method or the total cash? So there's a few different factors. One, like if you were a high W-2 earner, right? Like had I stayed in my job at the law firm, right? Then I'd be, you know, writing checks to the government for 37 % of my income, right? Real estate is a great way to reduce your taxable income while obviously still building up this asset that will keep paying you and continue to pay you. It's also a personal risk tolerance. There are some people out there who just like it gives them anxiety if they have payments on something or if they owe debt on something so also something to consider um but ultimately you know for example like i said even with like the condo tells right um these are units that if the strip is busy the last week strip is busy your units filled and it's like whether we have f1 or super bowl and it's always busy so it's like a low risk it's low risk well in the the weekdays you have conventions here So there's always, the point is like, there's always opportunity for it to be filled, right?
36:33This is not like some rental in the Midwest that relies on - Yeah, so you're constantly getting your money back or your money back, your ROI on it. Yeah, absolutely. And so, you know, I think those are kind of general factors to look for. But ultimately, if you can diversify out your assets, right? If you can have investments in real estate, if you can have investments in businesses, if you can have investments in your own businesses, there's a really nice, I think, very relieving sense about it of knowing that you have different money coming in from different places. And so you don't have to sweat it when it's like, oh, real estate's seasonal.
37:06You know, it's December. It's going to be quiet, whatever it is, right? Like, you don't have to sweat it because my mailbox stores are in the middle of holiday. Oh, we forgot to even talk about that. So you also have mailboxes. Is there anything you don't miss Nevada? Beautiful. I mean, cupcakes swimwear like is there anything you don't do so i forgot we didn't even talk about that so mailboxes as well yeah yeah i i love the business model so it's it's mailbox rental pack and ship stores think like a ups store but independent okay and so you service ups fedex and the postal service um i started those in 2018 and it's low maintenance low overhead i knew after like starting a bakery i was like i don't want to have a perishable product again i don't want to Something that's like high staff, like high equipment costs, right?
37:49Like you're talking convection ovens and walk-in fridges and walk-in freezers. Right? Yeah. No, no. It makes sense. And you're a huge fan, obviously, of passive income and multiple streams of income, which is really important for women because a lot of times we get caught up, you know, we get married or whatever. And these are all you, right? I'm sure you have something with your, I don't know if you do with your husband, but this is all you prior to your husband because you just got married in 2024. for. So this just goes to show that not that anybody, obviously you have the brains and you have built an amazing portfolio for yourself, but it does show that you can be an individual woman and have individual assets on your own, which I do think is really important.
38:27I think it's super important. I do too. Because like, actually, if you look at the data, women in our 20s, like when we get out of school, right? And if you compare us peer to peer to men in their 20s, same education level, maybe even same job, same sector, we actually outperform them when it comes to income level. Where it starts to like drop off is because in our 30s, we get married. We want to get married. Yes. We get married. That's the problem with our business, why women don't last, because then they have this biological clock that takes. Well, so we take our foot off the gas, right? And so that we either plateau or we start doing this.
39:01Meanwhile, dudes have been working this whole time, right? So they're working, working, working. And that's why their income going like this. Ours either, we were literally like this and then it started, you know what I mean? Yeah. And so that's why like, it's okay for you to build and grind and then have it. Right. I agree a hundred percent. And one thing that we didn't talk about, you also are a mom. So I don't want any of the viewers to think that, you know, she's just out here by herself, living up in Vegas. She's not, she's married. She's a wife. Yeah. But you were grinding. It doesn't matter.
39:31You're grinding dirt. It doesn't, you know, and now you're a wife and you're a mom and you're a business owner. So you can have all three things. I was reading, I was actually on threads today. I'm like trying to get into threads, this whole thing. So I was like reading this, this thread from this, I guess, a mom that says how to moms, you know, go to the gym, get up at 5 30 AM, cook breakfast, do this. I'm thinking to myself, this is my life. What do you mean? How do you do it? You just do it. Yeah. There's no excuses. You just do it. Which is why we're such great, like executors, right? That's why we're such great operators.
40:00Because we're already doing it. we're already we just do it you know yeah i i 100 agree and you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow and it's the way that i was brought up my father died when i was very young and my mom i'm also an only child my mom raised me alone and the one thing that she instilled in me is you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow so you have to prepare and make sure that you can financially be stable on your own no matter what happens because you never know you don't know you You have no, and it's not about divorce. It's not, it's just life. Life can happen. And, you know, building your own thing.
40:34I mean, yeah, I think it's important to be married, but I also think it's very important to have individuality. So like be Mara outside of my husband, Seth. And yes, we have things together, but I also like to have my own individuality and do my own thing and venture on my own thing. And I think it's really important as a woman that something that's not spoken about, that should be spoken about is, yes, it is important. I do believe that to have a family and, you know, get married. I do believe in gender roles at times, but I also believe that having your, keeping your own individuality and your own, you know, your own identity is very, very important for anybody.
41:09Absolutely. It's your sense of purpose. It's your personal interest. It's these things that like, you know, there's, I feel like with women, especially, like we're used to self-sacrifice. Yeah. Like we're used to falling on the sword and like, whether it's for family, whether it's for our teams, whatever it is, you have our girlfriends, like we're used to doing it. Using our own bodies, you know. Literally, right? Like we're used to doing it and maybe we're biologically predisposed to do it. Yeah. I get it. But to your point, like if for some reason, like, you know, it doesn't feel aligned with you or you feel unfulfilled or all these things, maybe it's because you aren't pouring enough into yourself.
41:45Yeah. And I don't think that makes you selfish. I don't. And I think a lot of women would disagree with us. But I do believe that I have to have my tank full before I can fill anybody else's. and my purpose has to be far greater than who I am. And I don't, you know, no shade to the at-home moms. That's their purpose. That's just not my purpose. And I don't feel guilty that I run a business and I have three kids and I travel. I don't feel guilty at all, zero. I am unapologetically a mom, a businesswoman, but I'm also unapologetically Mara. So, and I don't feel guilty about it. And at least for me, like it makes me feel like I show up better.
42:21I agree. I show up better for my husband. And your kids are watching. I show up better for my son. Yeah. Your kids are watching. Like my daughter's about to go to school, right? She's, I just told you she's going to Pace, right? And my daughter, and if you ask any of my kids, like, have you ever been upset that mom wasn't home? And all three of my, maybe the little one, cause he guilts me. He's learned this guilt thing now, but my big ones will always tell you, no, they watch the grind. So my daughter is on her grind. She wants to go to school, you know, for business. She knows business marketing with a focus on content creation, like, and, and she's watched it from the way beginning.
42:53And that is what, that's the persona I want her to see is that I've never slowed down. I've had divorce, you know, we've had downfalls, but in all of that, I've never forgotten who I am. And I didn't plummet. I kept going up and that's important. I think that's super important because they're looking to you as the example. Who else are they going to get the example from? They're not, they're not going to. And with the society right now is hard and it's hard. It is tough out there for kids, but they have to have a very stable example and somebody that is leading from the front and that is you. So having this conversation with you is just, it's, it is so refreshing to find somebody that really understands that, yes, being a mom is important.
43:31Yes. Being a wife is important, but also being Lisa is just as important. If not more. Totally. Yeah. It helps me show up better. I agree. Everyone else in my life. Yes. Can you, I cannot imagine just being home. I couldn't do it. I don't think I, first of all, I'd be a terrible at home mom. So I do give a credit to all the at home moms, but I do have to have something outside of that, that identifies me as me. So I think that's really important as well. So today, okay. So today you are running, let's talk. So now today you have the real estate funding. Yeah. The VC fund. Um, yeah. So we did a $20 million fund one.
44:06And then, um, this past summer we announced a$50 million,$50 million fund two, um, and fund one, we have 25 investments and, and they're kind of all across the critical technology spaces. So in our portfolios, we have 3D printed drones, 3D printed satellites, cybersecurity, you know, a lot of like very technical, fast moving, you know, national security led types of businesses, which clearly that's not my personal background, right? Like I didn't build businesses in 3D printed satellites or anything like that. But I know what it takes to build an eight-figure business, right? And I know what it takes to hire right.
44:46I know what it takes to put in systems. And so it's just so much fun to get to be part of that journey with these founders because these are elite founders. Like, you know, so we invest in veteran-led companies and it's not like you're run-of-the-mill guys and gals. I love that it's veteran-run because you hear so many terrible stories about how, you know, veterans will come out and they're not supported. But I mean, you are a specific company that really, that you invest in veterans. I just love that you do that. Well, they're elite. I mean, we say we invest in elite founders, right? And we looked at 3 ,000 deals to invest in 25.
45:22And these founders, I mean, they're former Navy SEALs. They're former Green Berets, former Army Rangers. These are people who are so elite at operating. Again, people that are grinders. Like, you know if they're in the Green Beret, you know they are taking this to the next level. You already know. Yeah, exactly. They will work eight days. You know what I mean? They're getting it done. Yes, they will work eight days with no sleep. and and there's no oh i'm too tired or like oh no they're getting up they're showing up you know they are yes because the amazing thing too is like look after everything they've been through on like the tactical side right whatever they're building it is not life and death it is not life and death so it actually is so smart for them on like a mental capacity side because it helps minimize all the drama we have in business right everyone has drama in your business things happen.
46:10They're probably like whatever. Yeah. They're like, this is not even a big deal. They're like, this is a problem. They're like next, you know, like they move on quick structure. They compartmentalize, they move on quick, they iterate quickly. And that's half the battle, right? That is everybody's getting ready to get ready, but I'm sure they're executing like that. They're structured and you know, they're timely, you know, everything is organized. It's already there. All the cliches, everything that you're looking, consistency, hard work, sacrifice, this is what the ideal person is yeah and it's always they do well in our business they do well in our business too because they come from they come from a structured background they already know that they're going to grind even for us it's leads so when the leads are you know hard or shitty they're never complaining about it and typically they do very very a lot of the cleaners i love that we have complainers all the time i love the complainers they complain constantly about everything it's not the leads that suck it's you no no but yeah they do very well in our business as well.
47:05Same thing. Because they're just, I mean, they're structured people and they, and they are results driven. Yes. Yeah, exactly. It's great. Every, anyone that I know that's a vet has done very, very well. You know, it's someone, they've just done really, really well in sales because they're just not giving up. Even if they're like the shittiest salesperson, they're still getting it done. Yeah. They're still trying. It doesn't matter. They're still going and eventually they get it done. So it works out in every way. So what is next for you? What's your next venture? Well, you know, I'm really excited, like I said, with the Fund 2 that we have launched.
47:35So it's the same investment thesis, but it's awesome because it'll allow us to really just support in a larger way. We'll be able to write bigger checks, basically. So in Fund 1, we were investing either$250 ,000 or$500 ,000 and saving some for follow-on as well. But with Fund 2, we'll be able to write a million dollars into a company, right? And get that allocation and really like get them give them the shove right of like okay let's go then right so we're really excited about that um so that's really kind of been the main thing that we've been focused on just like so we just announced it this summer and so we were like in the middle of the raise and we start to look at companies now um and just this kind of new journey being a mom right yeah i'm sorry is there more on are you having more on or like we're just staying at the only child thing i'm good with I'm an only child, right?
48:25So I'm good with one. But it's just been such an incredible journey to just have this small little human who is like developing right before your eyes. I love my kids more than, I would never change it. It's incredible. It's so amazing. So it just, yeah, I feel like it just, I guess, you know, adds more color to everything that I'm doing. I would say it's a transition though, because I'm an only child. So it's very funny that I have three children and two of them are boys because I'm a girl, like I'm a girly girl. Oh, I just assumed I was going to have a girl. Yeah, I thought I'd have all girls.
48:57So I have one girl that's exactly like me, which is probably not the best thing. And then I have two boys. So I'm also, yeah, I'm a boy mom. Yeah. And three kids. Which is a difference. Yeah. It's crazy. So not only do I have three kids, but two of them are boys. But I would not, I'm obsessed with my children. I mean, they are first and foremost in my world. I love them so much. So no matter what's going on, they're a blessing. I love sitting down at the dinner table, especially during holidays, and just looking in and be like i made that i made that that's me yeah i love that so it's it is fun i would definitely tell you to have more i like i i wish i had more i love my kids that much they're so much fun yeah no so did i convince you more kids i mean my husband is he's totally down he's down for more kids i'm like you're i don't know your son's still little though he's only nine months so just enjoy that and then i know i feel like he's already he's like big you know what i mean like wait till they're 18 i know but it's fun it is fun being a mom it is and then you just add more to your brigade and then it's just like a whole fleet of them i just love everything about so people want to find you where would they find you um on social um at lisa song sentence it's still under my maiden name i haven't changed my handles um i changed like my name right on the profile but like i haven't changed my handles over and i don't know i think i'm just like i don't want to like maybe I'm like mourning the loss right like I'd spent all that I've spent my entire adult life like building this personal brand.
50:27Listen I agree I did not want to take I even today I'm like I don't identify as a Dorn that's my last name like I just want to be Mara like not Mara Dorn I just want to be Mara you know I spent a long time building me so I but no I did I actually did go with the Dorn thing. Yeah yeah. My legal name you know my driver's license right I've got Gunderson on it but it's enough it's enough you know I don't know I'm with it I get it I get do you do any I saw you do some classes too do you yeah so um the mailboxes actually I have a program um that just came out of nowhere like happenstance um literally I was getting people who were like cold emailing me or DMing me or calling my stores asking how they could open up their own store in like San Diego or wherever they lived um because they saw me talking about the stores like on social media.
51:18And I was answering these like one-off emails, which was not sustainable. Right. It was like inundating. And I was like, well, I don't want to like ignore these people. How am I going to do this? And so I ended up putting everything into like one platform. Like all, we took all our SOPs from the stores, like how we run day to day, threw them onto a platform. And then now it's like turned into a thing. So over a hundred of my students have opened their own store all around the country. I love that. I know. I love that for you in Puerto Rico too. We have a store in Puerto Rico. Like it's just crazy.
51:50Like I love that. And you're helping, I mean, you're helping people every day on top of that. So that's what I think that's really the true, you know, the true mission here is helping other people. And you've done that. You've, I mean, it is, it has been incredible. I can't like you, you like my wheelhouse is just turning, just talking to you. I love talking to other women, especially ones that are entrepreneurial and they get it. So it has been such a pleasure. you're us you are a breath of fresh air you're beautiful smart a true bilf you really are it the conversation is just i can go on like i could sit here all day with you yeah i'm like cocktails oh yeah we can go after and have a drink oh my god it really you are such a breath of fresh air you have when i come here i'm definitely gonna hang out please yeah i'm going to yeah there's so much here like yes and then you'll have to show me like all the cool stuff maybe not no i'll come more okay we're just coming out yeah Yes.
52:42You know, today's episode was so special. And for the women and men, but especially the women that are out there, I really hope that you see that, Lisa, is a true testimony that you can do and become anything that you want. So I have a challenge for you. I actually have a 21-day challenge, right? Because it says like 21 days to change any habit, right? And a big part of my purpose is living with intention and purpose. You have to. You have to be structured in some kind of way. So I'm not completely organized, but I would say I'm pretty regimented. So for those of you that really want to challenge yourself, challenge yourself by seeing my 21 day challenge.
53:15I will put everything in the in the notes below. So you'll be able to see that. I'll post it on my website, but go ahead and think outside of the box. And for those of you that have not done so already, please like subscribe, Lisa, tell all of your friends. And if you like my conversation with Lisa, check out my conversation with Julia Hart and many other women that have been on the Bill thought until next time thank you very much it's been such a pleasure thank you thank you so much for having me thank you
From the publisher
We’re told there’s a “right way” to live.
To build.
To balance motherhood, marriage, and ambition.
But what if the real work is becoming stable on your own first?
In this episode of BILF Pod, Lisa Sutton joins Mara for a grounded conversation on motherhood, identity, partnership, and building businesses without losing yourself.
No hustle culture. No perfection myth.
Just clarity, structure, and lived perspective.
This episode isn’t about doing it all —
It’s about doing it aligned.
00:00 – 00:40 Intro
00:40 – 02:00 Welcome & Show Introduction
02:00 – 06:00 Guest Background & Career Overview
06:00 – 11:00 Taking Risks & Starting from Zero
11:00 – 17:00 Mindset Shift & Personal Growth
17:00 – 23:00 Building Businesses Strategically
23:00 – 28:00 Leadership & Decision Making
28:00 – 34:00 Purpose, Motivation & Drive
34:00 – 40:00 Overcoming Obstacles & Setbacks
40:00 – 46:00 Personal Habits & Structure
46:00 – 51:00 Advice for Entrepreneurs & Women in Business
51:00 – 53:00 21-Day Challenge & Call to Action
53:00 – 53:40 Outro
Get Connected:
Follow Mara Dorne → @maradorne
Follow Lisa Sutton Gunderson → @lisasongsutton
Follow the Podcast → @bilfpod

