Intro
In this episode of the “Financial Feminist” podcast, Michelle Razavi, co-founder of Ilawi, shares her journey as a woman business owner and provides valuable insights on entrepreneurship, fundraising, and building a successful food brand. Michelle’s passion for transparency, integrity, and better representation in the packaged food industry has led to the thriving success of Ilawi, a gut-friendly snack company. Tune in to learn from Michelle’s experiences and gain valuable advice for your own entrepreneurial journey.
Main Takeaways
Understanding the Consumer
- Women business owners who understand their consumers have a circular symbiotic relationship with them.
- 70% of purchasing decisions are made by women, and they want to buy from women because it’s empowering to them and their daughters and sisters.
Entrepreneurship Journey
- Michelle shares her experience of wanting to work for the CIA and how her interest in nutrition and health led her to entrepreneurship.
- Michelle’s gut health issues led her to close the chapter on working for the CIA and pursue her passion for health and wellness through entrepreneurship.
- Living and working in San Francisco inspired Michelle to pursue entrepreneurship.
- Michelle did a lot of internal work and self-teaching to prepare herself for entrepreneurship.
Mindset and Preparation
- The transition from traditional employment to entrepreneurship requires mindset preparation and self-education.
- The freedom and flexibility of entrepreneurship is appealing, but the amount of work and sacrifice is often not communicated.
- Starting a business without commitments to others is a privileged position.
- Pivoting quickly and utilizing new platforms, like Clubhouse, can lead to success in entrepreneurship.
Funding and Fundraising
- Bootstrapping from personal capital can build resilience and help make a stronger case for fundraising.
- Self-funding every dollar in helps to develop a mindset of capital efficiency.
- Looking at every dollar in and out is key to running and scaling a business profitably.
- Having honest conversations with yourself and co-founders is crucial in starting and scaling a business.
- Be clear about where the capital is going and why you need it.
- Explain why you and your team are the best equipped for the job.
- Discuss the market and why your product/service needs to exist.
- Hone storytelling skills to distill information in a compelling way.
- Educate yourself on financing instruments and prepare documents, such as a deck, for fundraising.
Overcoming Challenges
- Starting a business requires financial stability, so consider keeping a full-time job while building your startup on the side.
- Building self-confidence is crucial when facing investors who may not understand your product or consumer base.
- Finding common ground and humanizing yourself can make conversations with investors easier.
- Practice concise communication and body language when presenting to investors.
- Answering concisely on investor calls shows confidence.
- Starting somewhere is important for success in investor meetings.
- Following up and being persistent is important in securing partnerships and investments.
- Advocating for oneself is crucial in achieving success.
- Tenacity and persistence are appreciated by investors and can carry over to other aspects of business.
- Polite follow-ups can help in securing opportunities, but it’s important to find a reasonable cadence.
Support and Community
- Starting a business can feel isolating and lonely, especially for women entrepreneurs.
- Listening to entrepreneurship podcasts and reading memoirs from entrepreneurs can help validate experiences and make one feel less alone.
- Surrounding oneself with people who care about mental and physical health can help force breaks and find hobbies outside of work.
- Finding community outside of entrepreneurship can be helpful for mental breaks and creativity.
- Building a network of founders at different stages can provide support, advice, and opportunities to mentor others.
- Having a co-founder can be a unique experience for entrepreneurs.
- Finding a co-founder that complements your skills is important.
- Values alignment is crucial for a successful co-founder relationship.
- Communication and trust are key factors in a co-founder relationship.
- Prioritizing mental and physical health, relationship, and the company is a recipe for success.
Building a Successful Food Brand
- Running a direct-to-consumer product-based business is a blessing and a curse.
- Tangibly interacting with customers and curating an experience around the product is rewarding.
- There are many logistics involved, including ensuring human health and following regulations.
- The food industry prioritizes profits over people, which is eye-opening.
- Innovation in the food industry is exciting and finding a niche is critical.
- The speaker invested in a nut butter product because it tastes great and is healthier than Nutella.
- The product is gut-healthy and intentionally avoids playing into diet culture and weight loss marketing.
- The founders of the product had personal experiences with unhealthy relationships with food and wanted to create a product that wouldn’t make anyone feel bad about food.
- The company’s mission is to help people feel good about food and redefine their relationship with it.
- Validation of the company’s approach to marketing and messaging shows that women are tired of being marketed in a way that makes them feel bad about themselves.
- Good Health chose trust and integrity as the brand’s foundation due to the founder’s personal experience with an eating disorder and health issues.
Summary
Understanding the Consumer and Entrepreneurship Journey
Michelle Razavi, co-founder of Ilawi, emphasizes the importance of understanding consumers for women business owners. With women making 70% of purchasing decisions, it’s empowering to support women-owned businesses. Michelle’s journey from wanting to work for the CIA to pursuing entrepreneurship in the health and wellness industry showcases the power of following one’s passion and the need for mindset preparation.
Funding and Overcoming Challenges
Michelle provides valuable insights on funding and overcoming challenges in entrepreneurship. From bootstrapping and capital efficiency to concise communication and persistence in securing partnerships and investments, Michelle highlights the importance of advocating for oneself and showcasing confidence. Building a support network, finding a co-founder, and prioritizing mental and physical health are crucial for success.
Building a Successful Food Brand
Michelle’s experience in the food industry sheds light on the challenges and opportunities of running a direct-to-consumer product-based business. The focus on tangible customer interactions, curating experiences, and avoiding harmful diet culture and weight loss marketing sets Ilawi apart. The company’s mission to help people feel good about food and redefine their relationship with it resonates with women tired of being marketed in a way that makes them feel bad about themselves.
Conclusion
Michelle Razavi’s journey as a woman entrepreneur and co-founder of Ilawi provides valuable lessons and insights for aspiring business owners. From understanding consumers and preparing for entrepreneurship to securing funding and building a successful food brand, Michelle’s experiences highlight the importance of mindset, persistence, and community support. By prioritizing integrity and redefining the relationship with food, women entrepreneurs can empower themselves and others.
