One Memory Lane

Last week I went to watch one of the co-founders of One Kings Lane, Susan Fallon, speak (or be interviewed, rather) by the founder of DocStoc.  I've posted about One Kings Lane on here more times than I can count, so much so that I've even taken to referring to it as OKL - its commonly referenced acronym within the design world.   This particular event however, was part of a series that is aimed at entrepreneurs and individuals interested in tech companies and their start-up journey.  It was my first time attending one of these DocStoc entrepreneurial series events and frankly, I was shocked by the number of attendees (mostly of the gentlemen variety), who had no idea what One Kings Lane even was!  They took a poll of the room and the numbers were, in my opinion, STAGGERING!  (An outrage if you ask me!).  The audience was comprised of about 70% men and 30% impeccably dressed women LOL.  So for anyone that is reading this, and still has no idea what "OKL" is, it is a flash sale website/email subscription service that sells curated pieces of furniture at "discount" prices (the "discount price" part is debatable :).  And now that we've created an even playing field among my readers on this topic, let's dig in!

One Kings Lane is a huge company and it continues to be on the upward slope in terms of growth.  The company was founded in the Fall of 2008 and they launched in the Spring (April) of 2009 by Susan Feldman and Alison Pincus.  For those of you not familiar with the tech start up timeline, that is fast!  They were given advice by Ali Pincus' husband, Mark Pincus, the founder of Zynga (the online gaming site most known for FarmVille), that they should be the first to market in this niche as it was all about speed in this industry.  So, they took the advice and ran.   Around this time, flash sale sites were just starting to gain popularity and traction, with the godfather, Vente Privee taking the European market by storm and Gilt following shortly behind in the U.S. but the market still lacked a suitable home decor player in this space.  Susan had recently moved from New York to Los Angeles and was struggling yet obsessed (I'm sure any design enthusiast can relate) with finding the perfect pieces to furnish her significantly larger home in LA.  With few options online and frustrated with running all over the city from store to store to shop,  this struggle combined with a newfound passion was what prompted her to create a solution for a larger scale and decide to start a business.  Susan had a longstanding background in retail and merchandising and was intrigued with the flash sale model as it allowed for wholesale discounts which she was accustomed to seeing in retail but she recognized her need for a more technical co-founder.  Shortly after this idea was planted, her husband met Lisa Stone, the co-founder of BlogHer, who put her in contact with Alison Pincus, who lived in San Francisco and had a background in business development, marketing and digital media.  

The two were introduced "electronically" and after going back and forth for a few weeks over email and phone, decided to meet in person.  Ali flew to LA where Susan met her at the airport and the two hit it off immediately.  Susan remarked during the interview that she had had two successful blind dates in her life, one was her husband and the other was Ali.  From that trip on, the two became a powerhouse team, talking on the phone for up eight hours a each day to each other via headset up until launch and even still to this day! They met periodically in San Luis Obispo, which was almost exactly halfway between San Fran and LA and even hired a team of programmers (who managed an outsourced team) to develop their site out of there as well.

The decided on the name One Kings Lane to signify a fictitious home address that felt both worldly and wealthy and was easy to spell.  Plus, the domain name was available.  They tested the name out on a "very famous and successful entrepreneur" (whose name she would not reveal), who said the name was terrible.  He said it needed to be one word, short and not a word that currently existed.  After much deliberation, they shunned this infamous mystery businessman's advice and went forth with their gut based on the feeling that they knew there customers and they wanted to feel like a warm boutique shop.  Ali had just gotten married before they started and had loved the firm that designed her wedding invitations so they reached out to the same designer to see if she would design their logo.  They liked the elephant with the trunk up because it signified good fortune and felt worldly and the plant gave the sense of a home.  I approve, ladies!

At the time of launch they had 10 employees and marketed themselves as being in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York (the three locations where the original people worked from home LOL).  They had a goal to launch their site and first flash sale via email to 5,000 people subscribers.  They sought to reach this goal by contacting 100 of their most influential and well connected friends and asking them to go out to 100 influential people that they knew to spread the word.  They were offering referral credits at the time, so each person who got another person to sign up would get a $25 credit to apply to their first purchase.  At the moment of launch, when the first email was sent out, they had exactly 5,000 subscribers signed up.  Additionally, they set up a giveaway contest for all of the people that had subscribed prior to launch, offering up an Hermes blanket as a prize to one VERY LUCKY winner.  If you don't know (as many of the male attendees at the event did not), an Hermes blanket retails for about $1200 and ahem, is also at the tip-top of my wishlist.  Hint hint :).  Anyway, a winner was chosen from that first sale round and, though I don't know her, I kind of hate her. JK, kinda.  The same day as the first sale, the late email newsletter publication, Daily Candy (R.I.P.) came out with an article on One Kings Lane and within one day, they were up to 25,000 subscribers!  Talk about the power of PR, people!  

Today, they have over 10 million subscribers, generated more than $200 million in revenue in 2012 and they aren't done yet!  Their user statistics reveal that 90% of subscribers are women, down from 95% female users, last year.  Men, what are you doing?  Get with it!  They started the company with their own funds (less than $100K) and ran a very lean operation until launch.  They were profitable within their first year but still needed additional funding to grow and scale to where they are today.  They currently have over 500 employees and still operate out of three separate offices, in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York - with each office handling different, defined aspects of the business.  However, they pride themselves on the fact that no one in the company has an assistant and are keen on maintaining control over their calendars, meetings and workload.   

They are currently in the throes of launching and promoting their new site, Hunters Alley, a peer-to-peer online marketplace where anyone can buy or sell vintage, pre-owned home and lifestyle goods (WHICH..... Keeley Kraft has been featured on in the past ;).  And, are constantly trying to expand their company offerings to grow their business and brand in new and exciting ways.

And now, for all of you budding entrepreneurs, here is some of the parting advice Susan gave at the end of her interview:

• Focus on your mission.  It's easy to be tempted to try and provide everything to everyone but you will have better success if you keep your eye on your mission and unique proposition.
• Keep your site simple.  If it's too complicated your customers will not invest the time.
• Fail fast.
• Hiring good people is KEY.
• Always be at the forefront of innovation.  Copycats will pop up and you don't want them eating your lunch!
• Great photos can make a great difference
• Seek funding before you need it.

My hardly discernible proof that I was there.

Lots of information I just threw at you, I know, but I always find it interesting to hear how companies that we engage with everyday, went from being nothing to something huge and how, so I wanted to share with you all as well!  Hopefully you are as inspired as I was! 

XOXO

Wine Down

A few weeks ago, when I was up in Napa for the business retreat, we decided to spend one more night in the area un"wine"ding and carrying out a post-retreat-retreat.  We ended up staying at one of the most serene and comfortable places I've had the luxury of staying at and it proved to be the perfect antidote for the exhaustion that followed the weekend.  

We stayed at The Inn at Carneros in Napa, CA and left the next day feeling refreshed, restored and ready to embark on the 7 hour drive home.  Woot woot!  After our departure, I considered the stay to be more of a recon mission of sorts because I now have serious plans to go back and take full advantage of the array of activities that the resort facilitates, both on property and off.  I would also like to state for the record that Napa is perfection.  

This was my first trip to the Napa area and I maintained a wistful feeling of needing to live there, throughout the entire weekend.  The town of Yountville, located within Napa County, is any consumption connoisseur's Disneyland and everything within the greater Napa County seems to be bursting with life and beauty in a homegrown yet curated kind of way (does that make any sense??).  Some of the world's best restaurants are quaintly tucked into this perfectly picturesque setting and many of these Michelin rated restaurants have their own farm in the back where they grow fresh ingredients and truly embody farm to table in a way like no other!  The whole area felt a bit surreal to me and I was able to indulge my Parent Trap circa LiLo mind wanderings as we cruised down the main drag of town like we had no where to be.  

The resort itself was an extension of this clean, simple, fresh beauty with the infusion of a modern farm feel.  They have constructed the entire property to feel a little town/neighborhood with each guest staying in their own little cottage (with a private backyard!).

The end result causing a semi-utopian feel.   There is a general store/market on the premises that will pack any variety of picnic for you.  One of the restaurants, The Boon Fly Cafe is in this bright red farm house and serves up the most delicious donuts for breakfast (speaking from personal experience).  

There is another restaurant, the Hilltop Dining Room that is aptly named, as it sits upon a hill overlooking acres of vines.  I did not have the pleasure of dining here but... I will.  Someday.  

However, I can attest, The Farm Restaurant at Carneros is amazing... Spectacularly appointed and scrumptious fare.  We were sat near the fireplace and for some inexplicable reason, were still a bit chilly so the manager brought us these faux fur blankets.  

From that moment on, I was sold.  Actually scratch that, from the minute we checked in and they offered us complimentary wine and chocolates, I was sold.  And then before we went to dinner and they came for turndown service and brought us more chocolate (this time chocolates filled with a salted caramel creme), I was goner.  The blankets were just the "creme de la creme," if you will :).  We also had a fireplace in our room and a shower that was both indoor and outdoor (see below).  The property is teeming with activities which include bocce ball courts, firepits, complimentary bikes, affiliate relationships with several nearby wineries that you can take the bikes to along with a picnic you can get from the market on site.  The pools are spectacular, of course there is a spa and the dining options leave no room for wanting more.  

All in all, I'm classifying it as a "Highly Recommend" and am recommending first and foremost, that I go back ASAP.  Yes, that is my official expert prescription. 

Some People Call Me Maurice

Because it's Friday night and I feel alright...  Oh, hey y'all hey.  I don't know about you but I'm getting pretty sick of staring at the photo of me with the bow on here so I figured I should do something about that.  My solution was to post something new - imagine that?! I know my postings on here as of late have been as spotty as AT&T's cell reception (oh dis!) and trust me, I got a bag o'excuses but quite frankly, it's Friday and who the F cares?!  My only point in bringing it up at all was to set the stage for sharing with you a place I went almost a week and a half ago and am just now getting around to talking about.  But in this case of desperation, "better late than never" is the ever apropo motto.  And so, here goes:

It was on el Cinco de Mayo that I had the opportunity to fulfill as close to a time machine fantasy as I'm probably going to come in my lifetime (although thou shalt not speak too soon and jeopardize jinxing the progress of human advancement - because our technological advancement is totally at risk of being JINXED!).  Anyone who knows me even a smidgen, knows that I would give ANYTHING to be able to have been in my 20's during the 1970's.  The jealousy I have for my parent's is RIFE, y'all.  I've already blogged on here about my obsession with the movie Almost Famous (see here) and that era in general, so when I found out that some gift from God had created a time warp of a bar right in LA, I was beside myself.  My standards were low because any nod to this time period is a treat for me, but after entering this establishment - MIND BLOWN.  They nailed it.  

Enter: Good Times at Davey Wayne's.  Your time travel experience begins immediately after your ID is checked, as you walk through a "garage sale" right off the sidewalk in Hollywood.  You are informed by the bouncer that you have the ability to buy (and haggle for, in true garage sale form) any of the items in the faux garage foyer.  I had heard of this "feature" prior to visiting the bar and was a bit skeptical that this part would be hokey at best.  But in the flesh, it was not.  I almost walked out of there with some records and vintage red plaid thermos to add to my already growing collection of unnecessary red plaid picnic items (read about my hoarding problem here) but I controlled my burning wallet (for once!) and proceeded without purchasing.  No one wants to chat up the bag lady in the bar, and I didn't want to risk anything tarnishing this experience.

Once you walk through the secret REFRIGERATOR door at the end of the "faux garage" you walk into a 1970's house party.  Shag carpet, wood paneling, jams churning on the record player... The whole 9 yards.  But what really sends you back in time and sets the mood is the other AMAZING part of the charade: everyone there seems to have gotten the memo that they better arrive dressed the part.  It's trippy, man!  At first you think the most eccentric guests are staff but then you realize, everyone else is just excited to be there as you are and that makes it even more fun!  Costume party haters, beware!  

Once you enter the party (calling it a bar just doesn't seem right), you can head outside to the astroturf backyard, replete with hanging chairs, stringed lights and a mini airstream trailer where a long haired, bearded cat (gentleman) is mixing up cocktails and has the classic 70's magazine pinups (a la: Farrah Fawcett style) plastered on the wall behind him. Or you can venture to the back of the "house" to a bar with dim dome lighting and laid back vibes, and you can have your pick from the list of crazy concoctions with throwback song names including - "Some People Call Me Maurice," "Tiny Dancer," and "Smoke on The Water."  I wasn't ballsy enough to try the pistachio libation entitled "The Regal Beagle" but others in our gang did and were delighted with their choice.  

The "living room" area offers striped couches, a faux brick fireplace and an area for a band to perform at the back of the room - nothing special - just exactly what you would expect if you were to have a local high school band perform in your 1970's abode back then.  I also heard a  rumor after I went that there are also roller skaters performing on a glass rooftop although, I somehow missed that while I was there.  Alas! I will just have to go back!

I spent the night reveling in the glory of this righteous place and thereafter decided I needed to let all of the good people of LA know about such a gem.  Good Times at Davey Wayne's.  If you're in the LA area: GO. And have yourself a good time!

It's just GROOVY, baby!

Peace and love and happy Friday!

Slow Motion For Ya

HELLOOOOOOHA!  How y'all been?  Were you afraid I got eaten by one of the "Big Five" while I was away on SAFARI and I wasn't coming back??  If you haven't been reading my blog voraciously and keeping a calendar of every whereabout I post on here, allow me to bring you up to speed.  Last weekend I attended my mom's women in business safari retreat aptly titled,  Women, Wine and the Wildebeest (that I know I told you about on several occasions - geez!) and let me say, it was FAHHHHHBULOUS!  In fact, I think I've been in a post-retreat daze ever since and today is the first day that I am starting to embrace the real world and my blog again..?  (Let's just go with that).  Anyway, I was debating whether I should discuss my amazing "take-aways" from the weekend on here or keep them a secret to maintain the suspense in the event that there is a "next time" - and ultimately, I have decided on the latter... You will get no peeps from me!  Except for... this one little morsel: On the final day, we got a lesson in archery from two women archers and I realized that perhaps I missed my calling in life - Gasp!  It turns out, that I am not half bad at aiming arrows and thus, if the Hunger Games ever becomes a reality, you better hope I am in your district!  But gloating (and scare tactics) aside, I learned that archery is actually very fun and is a true lifelong sport!  Who knew?!

However, that wasn't the only thing I learned during this activity... (segue complete)... I also learned about the SLO-MO video feature on my iPhone camera.  (Yep, that's right! I bet that wasn't where you saw this post going :).  I had seen it as an option before but never really gave it much thought or had an application for it... UNTIL THEN/NOW!   I discovered that filming the shooting of a bow in arrow in slow motion is really quite a badass application for this fancy feature.  (If this whole concept is news to you and you are the no-doubt-proud owner of an iPhone 5s, then you can find this feature in your camera app by scrolling along the bottom of the screen but above the button you would push to take a photo, and selecting the "SLO-MO" option. Then you can film just like you would any video from your phone.  EASY PEASY!)  I must warn you though, it's strangely addicting and will take up a lot of space on your phone if you save the videos :/.  But it's also soooo coool! 

So, without further ado, allow me to present my slow motion to you!

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.... did you notice that I hit the BULLSEYE?!?!  Mmmm hmmm, I told you I was good! (dusts her shoulders off)

So there you have it!  I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Friday Eve day and maybe just try to take the day in, in slow motion. Stop and smell the roses, yo!  xoxo

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Pretty Little Projects

First let me start by wishing you all a Happy May Day!  I wasn't quite sure what this May Day business was all about so I looked it up (Googling is my best skill, no contest) and here is what I found out: May Day the mid-point between two seasons – spring and summer.  I'm not necessarily sure that makes it any more exciting or significant to me but I am not one to turn down an excuse to celebrate!  However, today I am not looking for excuses as there is another BIG reason to celebrate! 

DRUMROLLLLLLLL: Today is the day the very first episode of the webisode series that my sister, Caitlin and her business partner, Caitlin (co-founders of Caitlin & Caitlin Interior Design) have been filming, officially airs.  The series is called "Pretty Little Projects" and it runs the gamut of design related projects, style tips and even some beauty tip videos, hence the name Pretty Little Projects!  I have been waiting with bated breath for this day to come and could not be more excited to watch the video over and over and share it with all of my lovely readers!!! Yayay! 

A new episode will air every week on the Mixed Makeup YouTube Channel and will feature a new pretty little project in each show so, proceed with caution as you're likely to get hooked watching these two pretty... pretty... pretty adorable ladies ham it up while gettin' down to biznaz beautifying!

Check out the first episode in which they tackle a DIY project making over a side table with a ombre paint job.  Saweeet! :

Pretty A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. ladies!  For a sneak peek at what's in store for the season, check out the teaser reel below:

I can't wait!