Ep #2: Heidi Zak
Third Love
Heidi Zak and her husband started ThirdLove, a company changing the way women think of what’s possible mixing form, function, and fashion when it comes to undergarments. In six years, they’ve grown their team to over 250 employees and 10 million women have used their custom fit finder on their site. More importantly than the growth of the business and some of the key ways she was able to do so, I took away from this the impact that a leader like Heidi truly can have from a team and culture perspective. “Don’t dwell on the past” is one of her core company values and is part of how she’s able to stay not only sane but truly joyous in juggling being a CEO and mom to two little ones while trying to make sure to enjoy all life has to offer! Recording this conversation reinforced why I think this podcast is worth doing - it was educational and sheds light on the unique journey founders take.
Show Notes:
- 6:00 - Difficulties with manufacturers
- 9:00 - Culture - hiring on company values
- 12:30 - The MOST important thing for team members at the office
- 14:00 - Founder’s salaries and paying other rockstar
- 16:00 - Importance of one’s environment so spark entrepreneurialism
- 18:00 - Can’t stay sane if you’re always stressed!
- 19:30 - Love of Peloton
- 22:00 - Thoughts on saying no and gaining flexibility as you scale
- 25:00 - Try before you buy
- 28:00 - Size of the market and the focus necessary to take on the giants
- 30:00 - It’s ok to not know everything to make a decision
- 32:30 - The most amazing circle of customer feedback to a company change
- 35:00 - A painful - and expensive - embarrassing moment
- 41:00 - A legacy of impacting women’s lives
- 46:00 - Thoughts on spaghetti
- 50:45 - How to stay in touch