772 Melinda Maria Spigel: Founder & Chief Creative Officer of Melinda Maria

0:00I am unwilling to give up, but I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be.

0:09Kara Goldin:You just want to make sure you will get knocked down, but just make sure you don't get knocked out. So your only choice should be, go focus on what you can control. Hi everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin Show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world's greatest leaders. We'll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can't wait to get started. Let's go. Let's go. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to The Kara Golden Show. Today, I'm joined by Melinda Maria Spiegel, who is the founder and chief creative officer of Melinda Maria Jewelry, the celeb-loved LA-based jewelry brand that's made luxury feel both elevated and accessible.

1:01Kara Goldin:And her story is the definition of grit and creativity. She started her brand from scratch, literally selling her first pieces at Starbucks and even entering game shows to fund her early production runs. I cannot wait to hear more about that. Fast forward to today. Her namesake brand is a multi, multi-million dollar powerhouse adored by everyone from Michelle Obama to Julia Roberts to Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez. Melinda's journey is how she built everything herself, no shortcuts, no overnight success, love, love, love, everything about it. I can't wait to dive into much, much more and see how a side hustle can turn into a luxury household name that is a must for anyone looking for incredible, reasonably priced jewelry.

2:00Kara Goldin:So, so nice to meet you, Melinda. Such a huge fan. Melinda Maria, I should say. Thank you. Oh, I'm such a huge fan of the show. So I was giddy when my publicist called and said you wanted me on. So I'm very honored. So, so excited. So tell us about the, well, first of all, how would you define Melinda Maria Jewelry for someone who's like, oh, I'm not familiar with it. What is it? Oh, my gosh. Well, we're really experts in the luxury space, but it's accessible and it feels luxurious, but it doesn't hurt the bank. um you know we love the look of I loved the look of fine jewelry you know really at a really young age and I didn't grow up with money so I didn't really see it in my house and um you know like when I started the company I was like okay I want to wear a diamond tennis necklace and I thought it was really unfair that I couldn't so we really wanted I really wanted to set out to be this company that, you know, people can get these looks that were traditionally from these luxury houses that felt snobby, that were snobby, that were, you know, just unattainable.

3:14And it just felt unfair to me. So I said, I want to, I want to, you know, level this playing field and I want to wear something that looks expensive too, but have it be accessible to everybody.

3:25Kara Goldin:So I read that you started inside of Starbucks. Can you tell the backstory? I always love hearing the founder backstory. Yeah, yeah, I love this backstory is great. So I moved to LA, just drove down here with no money, no conductions, no college degree. I had made jewelry since I was eight. And I was just always obsessed with designing and jewelry. And when I had a bunch of different side jobs, and all the while making jewelry and just sort of selling it to people that I, you know, ran into at work or were friends. And then I really thought to myself, like, I really want to make this a business, but like, again, no money, no connections, no office, no store.

4:07And at the time I, you know, I'm a pretty resourceful person, very scrappy. And so at the time Starbucks was popping up everywhere. And it was sort of a thing to even like carry a Starbucks cup felt like luxurious, you know, cause it was like a higher, nobody was, you know, people weren't buying expensive coffee until Starbucks came around. So, and people were hanging at Starbucks. So I went to all the Starbucks around Los Angeles and I sat and got my drink or sat and got made jewelry where people got their drinks. Cause I was like, okay, this is like a flow of people. There's lines like, like out the door.

4:39And I started slowly, I would just set my jewelry off the side, you know, they, people would side it and be like, what are you making? I'm like, Oh, I make jewelry. And then do you sell it? Yeah. How much is that? Oh,$48. can I buy it now? Sure. So like, I was just, I mean, like, I think one, one, one day, I think I sold like$2 ,800 or$3 ,000, something like that, uh, worth of, worth of jewelry. But I had many offices around town. I was at main street. I was in Beverly Hills. I was in Venice. I was at multi, multi-channel, you know, stores at Starbucks. I had the first shop and shops were We're really at Starbucks.

5:19But, you know, then, you know, I was hand making everything then. And that's when I realized, like, with this diamond look, I was like, OK, I really want to expand my palette of jewelry and the way it's made. And so I found a manufacturer. I set out to find manufacturers that were making fine jewelry. And I said, I want to do this exactly how you're making this. But I want to make it in brass and gold over it and the highest quality simulated diamond you can possibly find. and so I was really one of the first people that put like you know CZs and fashion jewelry on the red carpet in Hollywood like at that time you know this was 20 years ago when I started people were only wearing diamonds and like the Neal lanes and the big diamond looks and so slowly but surely you know after a lot of no's and a lot of you know shut doors on me I sort of became a name in Hollywood with these stylists as a go-to person to have these really gorgeous like diamond looks and felt and looked exactly like the real thing and photographed like it.

6:22And so that celebrity part was really fun. And then, you know, and then I decided to do direct to consumer. You know, this was 2006. You know, I had gotten quite a few stores at the time. I got Nordstrom and all the box brands and things like that. And a few years in, I realized after becoming really a wholesale brand that I've sort of lost my way to speak to the customer about the brand. And it was very frustrating because I would place an ad in, you know, in these magazines or in these like catalogs with these department stores. And I get the final print and I'm like, this is not how my brand should be spoken about.

7:05This is not how we wear it. This is not because we're really about like wearing it. I mean, look, I'm wearing 17 necklaces and a hat and a t-shirt and jeans. Like we're really about like wearing it in everyday feeling like an everyday luxury brand. And so I got frustrated. I decided to stop most of wholesale, which meant I had to, you know, pair my team down to very few people. This was in 2016. And I was like, I want to turn the camera myself. I want to really focus on direct to consumer because the brand stickiness of like, of like telling our story was getting lost. So, um, you know, that was a really big pivot in my brand and really like following my instincts because I was like, this is not what I set out to do.

7:49I lost that like feeling of those, that customer and those following back at Starbucks. And, you know, cause I slowly had built like this big roster of women that were coming to me to buy and I miss talking to them. So cut to like 2018, we started to pour a little money on paid advertising and it really took off. 2019, I really started talking to the camera and really became like the brand face, the brand. And then 2020 hit and we were like primed and ready for people being like stuck on their phones and consuming content and everyone wanted to feel good. So we were, you know, we were like that lipstick luxury that people say, like that little piece that, you know, 48, 58, 78,$198 that made you feel good.

8:38And so we grew 500 % in COVID. And it was a wild ride because, you know, logistically and operationally, it was crazy, but sales, it was amazing. But, you know, to look back at like that journey of following my instincts of, okay, going to Starbucks or starting this company or, you know, being the face of the brand or stopping wholesale and focusing on D2C, that was really risky. I mean, I was turning down, you know, quarter of a million dollar POs to Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's. People thought it was crazy. But that was sort of and then here we are today. You know, we're we're kicking. We're doing great.

9:19We've grown since COVID. I think we've had like a 30 to 35 to 40 percent year year over year growth.

9:26Kara Goldin:That's incredible. So the game show story, how did that happen? and how did you decide to use the winnings to fund your brand? Yes. Oh, my God. I completely skipped that step. So between making the jewelry at Starbucks and realizing, OK, I want to make this a brand, I had to quit my other jobs and I still couldn't afford it. So being resourceful and scrappy and living in Los Angeles, I'm like, oh, my God, all these game shows are here. And I looked up in the yellow pages and found the Hollywood squares and the price is right. And this other like dodgeball game show. And I think I probably won over like a hundred thousand dollars worth of cash and prizes.

10:13And then I want a convertible Miata and a diamond watch and a Stairmaster and all these things. So I sold all of it. And that was like the seed money in order for me to start to stop all the other side hustles. So wait, what was the game show? Hollywood Squares, Price is Right, and then there was like a dodgeball game show on the Game Show Network.

10:33Kara Goldin:Wait, you were on multiple game shows? Yeah. Yeah, of course. You need a lot of money, girl. You can't fund a company just on Hollywood Squares alone. Oh, my gosh. I wonder how many entrepreneurs have been on multiple game shows. This is wild. I love it. I've only found many. I feel like I've done quite a few, you know, interviews and podcasts and things like that. And nobody hears about that. But maybe I'm going to spark a whole entrepreneurial revolution of seed money funding through game shows. Come to L.A. I love it. So you start in 2016. You decide to make this big shift into direct-to-consumer.

11:20Kara Goldin:How did you figure out where to invest? Oh, my gosh. That came throughout the years. I mean, I think, you know, I always feel like confidence is something you find, like it's something like you find along the way. And, you know, I feel like in entrepreneurship, you're not quite confident usually about big decisions and where to invest. And I think that came along with the journey of following my instincts. But I think at the time it was like, I really wanted to find a manufacturer that understood my vision of making super, super high quality jewelry, um, for an affordable price. So, um, at first, first things first was I wanted to get that down.

12:08So I really invested in like finding a manufacturer sampling process. Um, because if you don't have a good product, then you're, you're dead. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who's backing it, who's wearing it, what you're saying about it. Like that's, that is the super sticking point. So I would say I first invested in that manufacturing and finding the right partner and then people. Yeah. And then it's really important to invest in good people. I would rather overpay somebody that's an incredible employee than, you know, having a million people and having them work really hard.

12:44Kara Goldin:Yeah, definitely. So when was the moment you realized, okay, this is working? I saw it in your face when you got to that point with direct to consumer and you know you're making really really courageous somewhat crazy decisions that I'm sure you stayed up late at night thinking you know I just turned away it's half million dollar po and that's hard right it's it's tough but you did it and was there a moment when you said okay this was the right decision Oh, like when we changed when we really made the shift from direct consumer will fail. Um, you know, it wasn't a revenue. Um, it wasn't like a thing of it wasn't a thing about sales.

13:30It was a it was I, I felt like I made the right decision when the feeling when it felt right of how we're talking to our customer. I knew that the sales would follow. You know, sometimes you just got to start messy, but you just got to start. And so that felt like a messy pivot for me and something that I was already very in bed with, with wholesale. So that was a, that was definitely like an ugly, messy turnaround, but I just started. You know, I feel like perfection kills momentum. And so if you want to, if you want to get it perfect, it just kills the whole momentum of the decision. So, yeah, I think like once it felt good of how we were talking to the customer and felt authentic, then I knew that people would come.

14:23Kara Goldin:So many major names from Michelle Obama to Taylor Swift wearing your jewelry over time. How did that all come about? And I know people would just die to have to have that. Right. And I always, you know, tell people it's like it's not even like you can pay these people to go and and write or try your product or wear it. And so that's a really, really big deal. Yeah. You know, I just really believed in what we were doing. And at the time, everyone was wearing super expensive diamonds on the red carpet. And so So it was so part of our brand ethos to, you know, you don't have to wear something that's half a million dollars or$500 ,000 to feel good.

15:14And so I made it my mission not only to make this affordable look, but to make sure that it had some sort of cultural relevance of stamp of approval on it. And again, being in Los Angeles, have it being resourceful. I was like, I'm in the celebrity capital of the world. and people around the country listen to celebrities and they like follow what they wear a lot of times. And they're like these trendsetters. And so I just knocked on every door of every stylist in LA. And again, like I got so many no's and those stylists today are all using Melinda Maria. But it happened, you know, there was one stylist that took a chance on me.

15:54It's always going to be that one person, you know, you don't have to have all the stylists in LA, you know where or agree to what you're doing it just takes one and then the rest will follow so it just takes one yes and then people will come um so yeah i i had uh petra um this style big stylist here named petra and she was styling emma stone at the time and emma stone is was like oh my god she was massive i mean she still is so massive but um she started putting my jewelry on Petra and then on a bunch of other celebrities. And it just sort of, you know, all the other stylists sort of realized, okay, this, let me, let me try this out.

16:35I don't have to have a security team. I don't have to worry about losing it because they do. And, um, you know, and again, like they can pull whatever. So they obviously now they come to me for all sorts of other jewelry, not just like the look of real, but, um, but it's, it's, it's fun. It's fun when they wear it. because I know they can pull anything else.

16:55Kara Goldin:Yeah, I love that. So how did you decide to name the brand after yourself? So I'm sure that was a big decision, Melinda Maria. But how did you decide to do that? You know, it's funny. Like, it's probably when you started Hintwater. You have no, at the time, I had no idea. Like, you said you just wanted to have a drink that was healthy, a healthier option. Like I just wanted to make jewelry that I liked that it wasn't out there for myself and like my friends and a few people at Starbucks. And so when I named it, it didn't feel like a big decision. It felt like, I don't know, my name is, you know, it's Melinda Maria, two Ms.

17:37They kind of go together as a logo. It's me like, let's do it. You don't think it's kind of going to come this big thing that you see everywhere. My, my entire building on La Brea is all lavender and it says Melinda Maria crossed it. So I, you know, I, you're a type of founder and so am I that, that you didn't start it to sell it or didn't start it to make millions and millions of dollars. You started it for the love of the product.

18:02Kara Goldin:Yeah, definitely. So yeah, it didn't feel like a big decision at the time. So you've built an incredible, incredibly loyal online community, what's been key to keeping that authentic connection, right? It's, I mean, whether it's through certain platforms, I'm sure there, you speak a little bit differently, maybe, and different platforms that you're, that you're on. But, but, I mean, you're talking about jewelry, and you're talking about how people feel, and, and obviously, you know, how they, how they look with it, but, and, and their ability to kind of put different pieces together, because you're all about layering.

18:46Kara Goldin:And I mean, it's just, but you can also wear a single diamond necklace too. I mean, but I'm curious on the community angle, because I think that community today is needed more than ever. And I think it's fun, right? What you guys have done. Yeah, thank you. I mean, I do think, and this is just a brand, you know, some advice of somebody building a brand. I think you build something that feels like you and the right people will come. And that type of like thought of authenticity, people gravitate towards that. Like people gravitate if you're the way you storytell, the way you talk about your brand and how you treat your customers because they talk.

19:33It creates a community. We do various things like various giving things like we do. I do live at five and I've done it since 2020. I think we've done like, I don't know, 400 of them or something like that. But where we style, we style the, you know, we go on live and I style the person and we chit chat and, you know, we give them the jewelry that I style them with. And when it started, I just thought, how can I give back to the community in like a meaningful way that feels authentic, that that's easy for us because we were like slammed working. and it turned into this like oh my gosh the way you speak to your community you know people come on and they tell their stories and people are crying and on the on the side people are typing like oh I got you girl I'm dming you do you need a hug or you know if you need a doctor I know somebody in your area like it's really fascinating how when you open up the the place for people to connect, whether it be online or lives or in-store activations.

20:41And the energy that you lead with is the energy that they bring as well. And so if you're inclusive and it's all like, you know, we're all in this together, I don't know, people start to open up and make connections. And it's really interesting on so many different platforms, how we constantly say, I hear people like, MM brought me together, or I call my friend when the drop happens and we talk about what we're getting, or we met on the live that you were on and then we became friends because we found that we were in the same area. I mean, we have Discord channels where people are talking about MM and how it makes them feel.

21:23And I don't know, it's really interesting how community plays out in different platforms. I love that.

21:30Kara Goldin:So when you look back over your entire journey, what has been the most difficult part of growing this business? You're a first time founder that is still very involved in the business. Um, and, but what has been the most like kind of hairy points along the way that you feel like, I don't know, maybe you wish someone would have told you, or maybe you don't feel like anyone could have told you. Yeah. You know, our brand grew, um, I grew really slowly. I mean, we're in our 20th year and I think our growth really just started happening in like 2020. So it was like five years ago, because I didn't have any real money or funding or anybody really guiding me.

22:24I sort of learned everything on the job. And those those came with like really big mistakes, really expensive mistakes. You know, so many times where I just it was all on me. And so I learned I got I would say I got my MBA like through my company. But there's so many. God, I can't point to one thing that was so everything. It's still hard. Yeah. Don't you think it's just I you know, I get people saying like, oh, my gosh, you know, you're you've been in Forbes so many times and you're all the all the points that lead to, you know, somebody thinking like you're such a huge success. first of all, I don't think like that.

23:06And so maybe that's what keeps me growing. And secondly, you know, I just think I'm still grinding, like even to this day. So, and it's still, there's so many hard things, but what I always tell people that you have to start with something that you love because it's just too, business is just, and being a founder is just too hard to not be passionate about your product. I'm sure you felt the same way with Hint Water, that those times where you're just like on your knees being like, oh my God, are we going to make it? Or was that the right decision? Or, I mean, I had a period of time where I was going to possibly bankrupt the company and I'm like, I can't, I can't do this anymore.

23:48And it was my love and my belief for what we were doing that really kept me going. But yeah, man, it's, It's like eating glass.

23:58Kara Goldin:Yeah, no, it is. It's funny that you say that because I feel like there's definitely points along the way and you have a whole team, right, that's now relying on you. And I remember blurting this out at one point. We were at an offsite and our whole team is there. And what I realized is that you're like, I mean, you had this idea, like I had this idea and you're scaling it. And all of a sudden, all these people have signed on to your idea. And it's and so you can't give up. Right. You're leading. Right. And you're leading. And you're so fortunate that they even came on. Right.

24:52The people that work for me, I look at like, you are risking your career being with me. And so I don't want to let you down. And I want to fill your pockets. And I want your family to enjoy more success and growth and bonuses and all those things. So that's really important. Oh, that's an important part of it for sure.

25:12Kara Goldin:Yeah. And I feel like that is, you know, it's something that no one ever sort of told me in signing on to, you know, you're just trying to get people to help you so that you can scale and build your brand. But then all of a sudden it becomes this, you can't stop. You can't give up. You can't, you know, you have to just keep going. And it's sort of this, it's a driver in many ways, but it doesn't start out that way. And so, so interesting. So what are the top pieces that everyone right now of the brand of Melinda Maria, everyone has to have? Yes. Well, everyone needs a great diamond tennis necklace in their jewelry wardrobe.

25:59I wear it with my workout clothes, T-shirts, like everything. So diamond tennis necklace for one. I say diamond, we mean our simulated diamonds. The Julian loves diamonds. It's a mix between a Cuban chain and a tennis necklace. And then it has our signature padlock clasp on it, which is like, that's the one Taylor Swift wore. And like everyone freaked out when Taylor wore it. And it's a great necklace because if you can't decide between wearing a chain and a diamond tennis necklace, you can have both. And then I love our, I'm wearing our Zodiac right now. I just love a big lariat pendant. And so I love layering the two together.