October 2, 2024 • 51 mins
When Rebecca recorded with Emily earlier this year, she was keeping a big secret. Now, as the newest member of the Real Housewives cast, Rebecca shares with us why she made this huge pivot and what we can expect from RHONY. We’re also re-releasing the entirety of her episode from earlier in the season, so you can hear exactly what led Rebecca to RHONY superstar status. From talking about the hard work that was required to get her business off the ground to the tough (but impactful) words an employee told her after she returned from maternity leave, Rebecca gets personal about her many pivots.
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She Pivots was created by host Emily Tisch Sussman to highlight women, their stories, and how their pivot became their success. To learn more about Rebecca, follow us on Instagram @ShePivotsThePodcast or visit shepivotsthepodcast.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to She Pivots. I'm Rebecca Mincoff.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to She Pivots, the podcast where we talk with
women who dared to pivot out of one career and
into something new and explore how their personal lives impacted
these decisions. I'm your host Emily Tish Sussman, and this
(00:33):
week we have on a guest again, Rebecca Minkoff. Were
re releasing her episode because when we recorded it last year,
we had no idea that she was about to become
a real housewife of New York. So we caught up
with Rebecca this week, found out all about what that
filming was like, what she's looking forward to, maybe not
(00:53):
looking forward to, and then we have the original conversation
with her. Afterwards we hear all about her pivot into fashion,
pivot out to the Female Founder's Collective, and hosting her
own podcast, and now into reality star Enjoy. My name
(01:14):
is Rebecca Mincoff.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I'm a designer, podcaster, author, mother four, co founder of
the Female Founder Collective, and real housewife of New York City. Okay,
so how is this new title feeling for you? You know,
Heavyweights the Crown, Emily, Well, it's funny because I feel
like we have so much explaining to do. We're none
(01:37):
of us are housewives, so it's very weird to call
myself one because I do not identify as a rich
woman who has nothing to do all day. I'm definitely
working my ass off, and so are all the other ladies.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
So yeah, I would definitely know that would be like
about the last thing I would ever call you is
a housewife.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Actually, you know, I am dreams of being a housewife,
but not yet. So then what made you want to
do it?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
And this is how I felt.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
I thought that there was an opportunity to be part
of their revival or the reboot, I should say, of
showcasing eight very successful female entrepreneurs that are all diverse backgrounds, places, ethnicities,
And could that be a narrative that, yes, there's drama,
there's got to be drama or no one's watching. We
(02:23):
all know that, But could that also be something that's
just seen and celebrated because there's not enough of us, right.
It's also I said it in an earlier interview, like
it's great for like there's a whole host of women
that are either fans of the brand and grew up
with the brand or new ones that I could reach,
and if they get to know me better and they
like what they see, like, it's a great business opportunity
(02:46):
as well. So those were some of the reasons why
I decided to do it. We're also celebrating our twentieth anniversary,
and I thought, let's just get out there, and what
a better platform to be doing that with? So why
is this?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Why?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Why is this? What a better platform?
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Like, you know, we're going to attach this to the
interview that you and I did earlier this year together,
and so I'm interested into where I like, when we
did this interview, I didn't know that you were engaged
with the housewives. I don't know if you were already
filming them, had ended filming the beginning, or if you
were in even discussions with them. So I definitely didn't
ask any questions about it. But you know, we talked
through your evolution, like your own pivots, your own moments,
(03:24):
and how you built your fashion brand. And then when
you were a little bit removed, it gave you the
space to think about, Okay, what else can I do
for female founders? And then you started the podcast, you
started the Female Founders and you started supporting other businesses
through that.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Like, how does this This isn't the most.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Obvious move to follow your trajectory, so like, why this
platform to follow that same thinking that.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
You had had. Well, yes, it is definitely veering left.
But what I will say is I've always taken risks.
We've always done the things that did not seem like
following the straight path. And at the time it doesn't
seem like it makes any sense, and then later on
people are like, oh, wow, you were the first to
do talk to influencers, store the future, wearables, you know,
(04:14):
talk to your customer, all these things that seemed crazy.
So in my book, while it does seem cuckoo, there
is a rhyme and reason for why I decided to
do it. And I think when you start unpacking who
watches this show? For the most part, it's women in
my exact demographic is also very smart, accomplished, talented women
(04:36):
as well. Who for them this show is like a
respite from like their crazy lives.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
It was funny.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
A good friend of my husband's is an accomplished, award
winning director and when she found out this was more
exciting for her than like being at the Sundance Film Festival,
and so, you know, the opportunity to show another dimension
of myself was something I've thought long and hard about
because you only get a certain slice on my podcast.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
And I'm mostly interviewing. You only get a certain slice on.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Social which were we are showcasing a brand and product,
and so how do you then just add more dimensionality
to who I am? And hopefully that means you know,
you want to connect more in whatever way. I mean,
I feel like the side they probably want to focus
on in the show is mostly personal like you personally,
(05:23):
your kids or family like stuff that you've kind of
kept to yourself. Yes, but I'm a friend of and
what that means, and most people don't know that is
most of my private life still stays pretty private. And
we did that for a number of reasons. I have
very young children and I was not ready to expose
them to that, and my husband at the moment has.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
No interest on being on the show.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
So between him having no interests in my young children, like,
you know, you'll see slices of it, but it's not,
you know, heavily featured, which is what a friend of
kind of means. Yeah, Ok, that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
It's funny you were saying that you know, people would
necessarily expect it of you. Do you remember how you
told me that you were because we are friends, how
you told me that you were doing this? Remind me,
remind everyone. Yeah, it's that I I invited you to
attend a Gotham game because I invited all of nice friends.
I said, guys, everybody come see got the FC. We
(06:21):
just bought the women soccer team, Like I want all
of my friends to come. And you wrote back and
you were like, do you want the Real Housewives there?
And I was like, yeah, totally, Like who doesn't, but.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Like, do you know that? Oh my surprise that one?
And I truly could not have been more surprised. Yes,
a lot of people were surprised, and I've gotten a
lot of like, so, so why did you do this?
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Why did you open yourself up to this hatred that
you're about to get? Yeah, I mean it's sort of
inevitable that Like that's the point, right, I mean, not
like the point, but like that's how the drama stays,
is that like people bring things and they have feelings
about it, and like the hatred, like how what are
you preparing for? And how have you prepared yourself for it?
So so the girls on the cast have all prepared me.
(07:02):
They said, do no longer will you read comments or
engage with them. Someone else should do that for you,
because that's where the fans can get brutal. They also said,
take off and remove all Google alerts on yourself. I
have not done that yet because I feel the need
to know what is being said about me in the press,
and I think you know.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I interviewed a guest, Kristen from Nomadical Wines on my
podcast and I love my last question for passing along advice,
and she was like, only take advice from women whose
lives you want, And I just am reinforcing that, like,
if this is not a woman whose life I want,
do not listen, do not engage, And that helps, I think,
(07:44):
weed out a lot of the nasty stuff that's about
to be unleashed. And with the nasty is also great, right,
there's incredible opportunities ahead and I'm excited for that to happen.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
It has put you in this sort of like sisterhood
and camaraderie of a very small group of people whose
lives have been opened up and exposed in this way
to your point that you know, like the New York
reboot is women that have businesses that are definitely not housewives.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
It's actually kind of not.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
True like the majority of the housewives of the women
who have been on Housewives, do you feel a camaraderie
with women who have been on other franchises? Like, do
you feel connected to them? I mean, you guys do
have this kind of like crazy unique thing. It's called
a trauma bond.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
That's the word for it. That's the word for it.
It's it's almost like you know what they've been through
and someone can try and explain to you what it's like.
And Jenna Lyons tried to explain to me what it
was like before we started filming. It's like telling a
woman who's never been pregnant what it's like to like
give birth, and it can be intense. You know. By nature,
I am a girl's girl and I want women to succeed,
(08:51):
and so when women are fighting and coming for each other,
it's in my nature to want to de escalate, diffuse
and I know that inherent in this show what makes
it interesting and drama. So it's this tension for me
of I want to solve this situation, but I can't.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
What could I do?
Speaker 1 (09:09):
And I found that I was like the Jewish mother
being like, let me feed you, let me cook for you.
Who knows if they'll cut it out, but I swear
to God you could put together a montage of any
time they're fighting, I immediately get up and I'm like,
trying to serve people food.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Okay, that's actually going to be an incredible cut, like
all the TCD Stone cut, like Becky cooking trying.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
To serve people food.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Well, I mean on that point, I feel like the
format of the show like doesn't really align with the
way I would like emotionally live my life. In that
I don't know, I either like wouldn't be that confrontational.
I would like be confrontational and try to just sort
of like do it in the least is explosive way possible.
And then I might also hold a really long grutch,
which doesn't really work well if you're trying to move
(09:57):
a storyline across. Like, how did you find your personality
vibing with the format?
Speaker 1 (10:03):
I think with the format, I was very much like
the only way that I winted this is by being
myself an authentic. So when you know, one of the
women had something that she said about me went viral,
I think people expect you to hold the grudge, bring
it up, have a big fight about it. And I
was like, I brought it up. She apologized, I accepted
(10:25):
her apology. We're still friends, and that is wild to
watch people be like but she said it, and I'm like, yes,
and we are mature women, and so I have to
go against that belief and grain of like we're going
to have beef forever. We even joke about it right
now and we joke about you know, you'll see some
things we joke about later. So it's just like just
(10:48):
taking the air out of it a little bit because
I wanted to also just be me and that's who
I am. I'm not someone that like holds a grudge forever.
And you know, unless it's irreparable and you're a crazy person,
we can have a conversation and normalize just being mature.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Well, one of the things that's always struck me as
probably I don't know, I guess maybe like difficult to
maintain over a number of seasons is that you might
be sort of forced into people that you find to
be crazy or I find you know that anybody would
find to be crazy because you actually can't choose everybody involved.
So do you see that as being like was that
a limiting factor for you when filming it?
Speaker 1 (11:28):
And do you see it as being a limiting factor
moving forward?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
So I think it depends if someone is higher.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Is if someone is there to just be crazy and
be entertaining, that's just an energy that you learn to
sort of deal with. Is someone is there to be
mean spirited, evil, spiteful, really causing true drama and pain.
That's another level of things that get hard to deal with.
And I think I come at it from two places.
(11:54):
I'm not engaging with it. I will not give that life,
But also where did that person come from and what
trauma did they experience that made them that way? And
so I have to have a little empathy when they
are that way, not sympathy, but empathy of like, wow,
(12:15):
you just had to endure a lot, and good job
on surviving. But I'm not engaging with it and I'm
not going to validate it. I definitely feel that.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Okay, on a totally different topic, I'm very excited for
the purse you have coming out, which one, The Wicked One, Oh,
the Wicked One. Yes, it's almost here.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Are we allowed to talk about it?
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Yes? We can?
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Okay, I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
How I'm the biggest musical theater fan love Wicked obviously
forever and ever. To be associated with this film is unbelievable.
So how did.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
This come about that you got to have a piece
in it? This came about ten days after giving birth
to my son. I was asked to fly to London.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
All expenses paid, first class.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Wine and dined all weekend with like Mattel and Lego
and whatever.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
And I was in my hormone high and I was like,
how could I do that? Can I smuggle my non
passport baby across? You know?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
And after a while I was like, you know what,
I'm choosing my baby, Like I'm going to give this
opportunity up. And I just wrote a letter like I
just gave birth, I cannot possibly travel ten days after
having him. Thank you so much for this opportunity. If
there's a way to engage with you at a later date,
let us know. And they're like, send your second best person.
So I sent Mary. And Mary was my head of
(13:29):
pr and.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Partnerships, and she went, and it was this long process.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Of not only understanding what they wanted, who they were
looking for, but how do we as a brand bring
what people love and is iconic about Rebecca Makeoff and
the film. And we got to see footage and props
and the makings of which was so incredibly special. When
I tell you that no detail was spared, Like nine
million two of us were planted for one of the scenes.
(13:57):
You know, they rebuilt from scratch. I'm now blanking on
the name of the university. You're gonna fill in the blank,
shiz shiz, dear old shiz.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yes, thank you. I'm like, gosh, what was the name
of it?
Speaker 1 (14:09):
So, and they made it handicap accessible as they built it,
you know, like just the thought of, Okay, we don't
want to use CGI, we want this to be really
real for people. So and then you go into like
the grimmery and like, just it's fucking epic what they did.
So I was really inspired. We came out with two bags.
(14:32):
I wanted to do more, but you know, I am
surrounded by business people and they're like two is enough.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
One for Galinda, one for alphah Bah.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
One is a hot pink patent like box bag with
this swarros eat crystal strap not real Swasky, I guess
I can't say the name, but crystal strap. And then
one is based on one of our best selling bags
called the Easy and it's stud pattern is from excerpted
from the Grimmery and there's a great tag in both
bags said don't hide your magic. And it comes out
(15:01):
in November.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
It'll be in the windows at Bloomingdale's.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
I'm part of their big activation and it'll be available
on our site and it's limited.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Addition, so it's going to sell out. Okay, that is
so cool. Are we going to see any of that
in the Housewives? Was that happening at the same time.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Yeah, So we got to film a really cool scene
where London sized daughter who's a huge musical theater fan,
gets to come into the office. She gets to touch
and hold the props like we got the props delivered
as a surprise for her. She leaves with a bag
and I take her through the makings of you know
and why we chose that bag, so you'll get a
little sneak peek.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Oh, that's so cool. That's going to be so special. Okay,
this was just at our quick update. Do you have
anything else that we should talk about?
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Well, I'm a prankster and you're going to see that
in the episodes. You know, you might see some things
that I'm trying to make some points about rumors that
are spreading and how we can expose the rumor spreader.
Ooh okay, that is spicy. I love it. Rebecca, thanks
so much for coming on, and now for all our listeners,
(16:05):
onto the original episode.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Into your Face as always.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
My name is Rebecca min Coff. I'm a fashion designer
and the co founder of Female Founder Collective. I have
a podcast, Superwomen with Rebecca Mincoff, and I'm a best
selling author Fearless. And you have four kids, and I
have a mother with four children, which blows my.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Mind, like three sent me into chaos. Four I cannot imagine.
I'm going home after this to take a nap. I'm
well deserved. Now where did you grow up? So the
first nine years of my life was San Diego. The
second nine years of my life was Tampa, Florida. That
was not my parents' intention, but they saw that there
(16:49):
was nothing happening in Tampa and that was great for
raising children and not having them get into trouble. So
my dad was a doctor and he had got an
opening in Florida and he was like, well, I want
to change of scenery. And that was it. You know,
you really launched your career, made a name for yourself
first as a fashion designer. And you said that the
(17:10):
first thing you designed was your butt mitzvah outfit.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
It was. It was the first thing that I designed
in war successfully. I'll say that I had the opportunity
to work with this New York City designer who had
moved to Podunkville where I lived, and she taught me
how to sew and make patterns, and I was so excited.
And as a young girl at twelve turning thirteen, when
you're entering womanhood but you don't look like a woman,
(17:36):
I was like, I got a design address that like
maybe can show off my burgeoning bosom. That was It's
weird that that was like for my bot mitzvah. That's
what I wanted, was like show off my chest. But
I had like double a boobs aka nothing, and so
I was like a square neck like medieval times. And
then I'll get like a little push up raw to
help me. Soon after her show stopping butt Mitzvah outfit.
(18:00):
Becca continued her creative endeavors and enrolls at a performing
arts school as a dancer, and then in high school,
I hit a really tough time where my teachers I
don't want to pivot us too hard. But I was
a dancer and a performing arts high school, but kept
getting told like, you're too tall, you ruin the symmetry,
your boobs are too big, like just everything terrible you
could tell a young woman. And I was a painfully thin,
(18:23):
very awkward young girl, and I couldn't fit into regular
clothes and I was bullied for it. And being able
to sew and make things fit me gave me a
lot of confidence and it made me feel incredibly empowered.
And so I just became addicted to the idea like,
oh it doesn't fit, no big deal, I can you know,
take it in or add this to it. And so
that was just something I just I wanted to sew
(18:44):
all the time. And then I would make things for
my friends and it just became a great way to
like hang out and you end up making something.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
So you grew up jewish. Was that a big part
of your identity you had about mizphone. It was a
huge part of my identity. It was every Friday with
Shabbat I had about Mitzvah. My dad was very serious
about observing the holidays up until the point, I would
say about fifteen, and then all of a sudden it
was like, uh, we did that, which was weird because
he was so strict about it, and so I was
(19:14):
already by that time. I went to jew camp starting
at thirteen, and by sixteen I was going to Israel
for six weeks for a workshop program with all the
other kids who were part of the camps. And at eighteen,
I had the opportunity to go live on a kibootz
for a year, and all my friends were going. But
I was so desperate to get here and to start
working and designing, and I felt like if I took
(19:36):
a year off getting drunk and living on a kibotz,
that I might be, you know, behind, And so it was.
It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had
to make. With Sanatka on that trip and here being
New York. Yeah, so after high school, you are like,
get me to New York.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Yes, So I thought I wanted to be a geneticist,
and so I went to Johns Hopkins like to like
see the school, and I thought, I will die in
a laboratory. I will just not make it. And if
I have to do this for seven years before I
can practice, and I really found out like what it
takes to be in that world. I thought, Wow, I
don't want this, and then I was like, maybe I
(20:13):
don't even want to go to college. And in my house,
my parents are kind of hippies. Everything was untraditional, so
you know, they said to any all of us like,
it's cool if you want to go to college, but
you don't have to, and if you do, you're paying
for it. And it was kind of like no pressure,
so none of us actually ended up going. What else
was non traditional in your household? I would say that
(20:34):
the things you think a mother should do for you
weren't done or a parent, you know, whether it's it's
the little things like signing you up for summer camp,
and it was like, no, here are the forms you
fill them out down to My brothers wanted to go
visit their friends and they were thirteen, and she put
them on a greyhound from Tampa to San Diego. So
I think everything we wanted, we had to work for.
(20:54):
There was a ledger in the kitchen and it was
about how you know what you earned. And I had
to cook dinner twice a week, and I had to
doshes twice a week, and so some of those things
are normal. But I think a lot of this hands
off approach to like if you want to figure it out,
was really there. I did negotiate at age nine with
my art teacher about her prices because my mom was like,
if you wanted these classes, they're too expensive, but you
can talk to her about lowering the price.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
At the time, did you realize that your parents were
a little more hands off than others around you.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
I started realizing it. I was angry about it, and
I was pissed because I would see like my friend
would just she celebrated Christmas, and I would go there
and be like, you get all these presents. I get one,
and your parents take you on trips and I have
to earn it. Like I was just like, whoa, this
is a different world. Yeah, but I'm trying to raise
my children in the same way. You want it, you
(21:42):
earn it, and I'm hoping it rubs off on the
entrepreneurial side on them the way it did with me.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, at what point did your perspective flip on the parenting.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Having not my son? My son, my twelve year old
has always been grateful and gracious, but my daughter like
I want, I want, I want, I want, and living
in New York City, you know, and I'm like, oh no,
we are not taking that route with you.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
You will earn this. Yeah. Yeah, it's hard. I think
it's particularly hard in the city.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
But I also think, like, you get invited to a
party in New York City and I don't even know
the words for it, just the goodie bags and the
bouncy cat, like everything. The abundance is so much that
even if you're not providing it to them, they're seeing
it and they know it's possible, and it's hard to
be like, all right, come back down to earth. Okay,
So back to your journey. Was it always fashion that
(22:34):
attracts you?
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Like? What about fashion? Okay?
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Going back for Hanukah, every year we would get like
one thing and I would always get a magazine subscription
to w or Vogue, and then my brother would steal
it and I would kill him when it finally come
to me, I would devour it. And I feel like
I have to be in New York. That's where everything's happening,
and for everyone listening, it's pre any social I mean,
there's nothing magazines are it. So my brother had gone
(22:59):
to a party and he came home one night and
he said, I just met a designer. He was in
from New York doing a trunk show at the local
Podunk Nordstrum in Tampa, and he gave me his number.
He said he takes interns. Maybe you should call him.
And so I literally called this guy and he picked up.
He's like, yeah, come up. When do you want to
come up? We paid minimum wage and I was like, oh,
it's that easy, Okay, I'll be there. And I told
(23:21):
my parents. I was like, so I'm moving to New
York and I'm going to start working, and you know,
we got to go on to Craigslist and find me
an apartment. And my mom and dad were like, we're
not paying for you to go to an apartment. Like
you wanted to do this, you figured out. So what
we finally hobbled together was I lived with my friend
in Fordham University. We shared a bed. He was gay,
(23:43):
so it was like it was fine that we shared
a bed. He would steak me in every night and
then over like Russiashana, my parents came up and made
a deal with my cousin. They're like, all right, she's
going to sleep on the floor and babysit your kid. Well,
you let her live with you. And that was, you
know how it all started.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
So what did you do as an intern?
Speaker 1 (24:00):
So my first day, the CEO, who ended up becoming
a mentor, was like, ugh, you're just another pretty girl
he's let in here. Day one was you're going to
work in the shipping department, and I was so angry
and I was like, I am better than this. But
I really learned a lot about packaging and shipping. And
then it was like organize a supply closet, answer the phones,
(24:22):
cuts watches, call these stores, make appointments, and every day
was different. And as I began to get used to
sort of not knowing what I was going to do
that day, it just got exciting to be able to
learn every sort of part of the business. And then
about six months in, I said, I think you should
hire me full time. I've proven my worth and I
want to work in the design area and she was like, great.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Yes you have. So she began to design for Craig Tailor,
but all the time she continued to keep one foot
in as a dancer, thinking that might be the path
she would pursue.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
I was so happy to be there, and I was
still kind of like, do I still be a dancer?
I was taking classes at Alvin Alien. I had gotten
into their two year certificate program and I was like, oh,
you know, I forget where I was. But someone's like,
you should be a model, and I was like, maybe
I'll be a model until I went into a castaing
and the guy was like, you know, you're really hairy,
(25:17):
and then he reached over and he's like and you
got to get rid of this and he grabbed my
stomach fat and I was like, I'm going to just
put that idea to bed, because okay, maybe I'll be
a dancer or designer. And then I said this to
this woman, Komy, the CEO, and she's like, you need
to decide what you want to do, Like you can't
be all over the place. It's time to get focused
(25:37):
and you know what is it? And I was like, okay,
she might be right. So I said I'll pursue design,
and so I ended up working there for a total
of around three years.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Wow. Do you feel like that was the right advice
for you in that moment?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
It was because I was just like, maybe I'll be
this and maybe I'll be that, And I feel like
those types of maybees are great if you're sixteen, but
they're not great if you're nineteen and you decided not
to go to college and you moved to New York
to work for a designer like Pickoling.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Spoiler alert.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
She did. She started small custom making a small collection
of pieces herself. I had a five piece collection. I
live New York was one of them, literally bought off
the street but cut up and me dazzled because that
was pre Etsy and people wanted DIY and an actress,
Jenna Elfman asked for it via my brother again he
seems to be a connection and senator on September ninth,
(26:28):
she wore on Jay Leno Two months later and said
my name on national televisions One actress hand a lot
of fun. She could be seen on the sitcom Accidentally
on Purpose, which airs Wednesday night. It's another Networks.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Please welcome to Jenna.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Elfman, and that was kind of like the big moment
of being in the magazine and making all these shirts
and nine months straight of that that.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Shirt, riding the high of her new success. It was
her mentor that once again played a key role in
nudging her towards her true potential.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
And then Koomi the same sea called me and was like,
you're fired, Go do what you love.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Wow. Yeah you were so young. I was twenty one.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Yeah. It was scary, but I think that when you
have nothing right and you were fueled by your work
and buy potential and opportunity, I was like, what's the
worst that could happen? I end up on my parents' couch, right,
And to me that was like, Okay, that'll suck and
I'll have to regroup, but like, let me just try it.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, okay, so you did the T shirts for a
little while. Yeah, about nine months, it's all. I did,
just these five T shirts.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Yes, And then I started calling stores and I was like,
by the way, I have more than a shirt, you know,
let me show you. And then one store in these
village was like, I'll take this blouse on consignment, and
then I would literally given the plows and then go
into Union Square and pass out postcards like new Designer
Alert now, like I was one of those people standing
there like handing this out. And then I'd run back
(27:57):
to the store and be like did it sell and
he'd be like yeah, Like all right, I passed out
five hundred postcards for one sale, so if I want
to sell more, I.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Gotta do one thousand.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
And I would go back to Union Square, and you know,
I was scrappy. I would find out who magazine editors were.
Email was new, but I would like figure it out
and then email them all images. And then I found
one burgeoning website called raven Style, and she would buy
stuff and I'd be like, I need the deposit before
I make the goods.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yeah, I was about to ask how you had the
capital and how you had the connections to be producing
at that kind of scale. It was not.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
It was not a big scale. It was a very
tiny scale. The amazing woman from Raven Style would give
me a deposit because she knew I had didn't have it,
so she'd give me enough. I'd go uptown, buy the fabric,
buy the crystals, make it, and then deliver it to
her for the balance of the payment. So I worked
like that for a long time and then I said
to my dad, I would like to open up a
(28:49):
credit card. Could you co sign it with me? And
because he had great credit, I got a lot of money.
But he was like, just want to let you know,
like I'm not paying for this card, like you are responsible.
And that's when I got into trouble. When I didn't
have enough orders or I had to buy fabric or whatever,
I'd put it on the card and be like, hey, yea,
(29:09):
I'll pay it back, and then you know, I slowly
racked up a lot of debt. That inevitably is when
I had to call my brother and that's you know,
that's when we begin working together and the bags started
to take off. So that was kind of the all right,
I'm out of my leak on the business side of stuff,
and I actually need someone to help me.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Can you actually talk through with some of those steps
are souse. I think that a lot of people when
they're thinking about their pivot, go immediately to product and think, oh, well,
I'll just make a product and I'll sell it, and
I think not having an understanding of the ebbs and flows.
I think, particularly of apparel business I think ends up
surprising a lot of people sounds like, including you, Oh,
(29:47):
it's surprising.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
So I think with apparel it's really you know, if
your dream is to be a designer, And again I
would give different advice if you're a T shirt versus
a cature gown. But I think that having your own
website is in credit important whether you're selling anything or not.
And I think today there's a lot more creativity in
how you can take orders. You know, one of the
things when NFTs were all the rage was the idea
(30:12):
that you could treat the NFT as a token and
you know, by this NFT you will get the dress too,
but you also get to see me in my studio
working or at a photo shoot, or access to things
that money can't buy. And so I think that's a
smart and powerful way to raise money. And I think
that the idea of the Tupperware party is not dead.
(30:33):
It's like who do you have and know with circles
of influence that could host and support you. When I
look back, there was a woman in Los Angeles that
would like put out wine and cheese and she's like,
bring seventy five bags. They'll be gone by the end
of the night, and she would invite all her friends
and they were excited, and the bags were gone and
I had cash. And so I think that as you
(30:54):
begin to look at your business, there's a lot of
non traditional ideas you can use to do it. But
so many women are like, oh, I'm starting an apparel company.
I need to raise money, you know. And I think
that that's the wrong approach because most investors know they
will not see her return on an investment of just
an apparel company. That's just not how it works. And
so I say start small, start focused, be the best
(31:17):
in whatever it is, even if it's a white T
shirt and why, and from there, really make your network
help support you and work for you. She continued to
build and grow, but slower than she wanted. She craved
another big break, and that's when she came up with
her iconic morning after bag.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
You know that one. They're perfectly disheveled, can fit everything,
but looks like an it girl would carry it.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Bag and people took notice of what's now known as
the iconic morning after bag.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Now, the original morning after bag was very popular in
the mid two thousands, most.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Notably carried by celebrities Hayden Panitier and Lindsay Lohan.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
This is honest one of my favorite bags, just because
the functionality of this bag is great. Ship.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
I had just launched the bag. It had a heat
in a momentum that I never had with the apparel.
It hit a nerve with women in a way that
you can only hope happens to everyone.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
And switching to bags that's a much more expensive product,
like for you to make? Yeah, was that a decision
based on design? Based on presented return?
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Like?
Speaker 2 (32:26):
What was that decision for you?
Speaker 1 (32:27):
The decision for the bag was really about Jenna came
back to me. She said, I'm going to be in
a feature film. The character wears the bag the entire time.
You will not have seen this film because I went
straight to DVD. Sadly, okay, I was about to ask
you which films colle touched. Bag did not make it
to set. It was delivered two hours late. They started filming.
It was devastating. When I say, I was like, like
(32:48):
the assistant College's like, where is the bag?
Speaker 2 (32:50):
And I was like, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
And then it arrived and she's like we started shooting
with another bag, and I was like, can you redo it?
She was like no, so my just cru it was terrible.
I was like on the corner of like Fifth Avenue
near Henry Bendell or wherever that Stora just was like
pacing back and forth while I was on the phone
with her, and I was like, well, I just I
just bought a really expensive bag. My first, you know,
(33:15):
I made her a sample. I made me a sample.
And then I noticed as I was wearing the sample,
so many women were stopping me on the street asking
me about, you know, the bag, and I thought, there's
something here. Let's see what happens. So a dear friend
of mine, who was a stylist that I knew through
the industry, was like, I'm gonna have Daily Candy write
about it, and we're going to put it in this
(33:36):
store that I know in La called Seteen, which is
like the go to store for celebrities, and they ordered
twelve Daily Candy wrote about it sold out in like
ten minutes.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Pretty soon it girls everywhere werek herrying the bag. Lindsay
Lohan was photographed with it, and it began to fly
off the shelves faster than she could keep up with.
So she turned back to her dad looking for financing
to keep up with the orders.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
And so I went back to my dad. I was like,
all right, I'm not a loser anymore. I actually have
something that's working. Do you want to loan me just
a little bit more money to make the next production run.
He's like absolutely not, Like how are you paying the
credit card? Because I'm seeing the bills and the balance
isn't really going down that much. It's like one hundred
dollars a month, but this is this is sixty grand
that you've spent. I was like, all right, I'll talk
(34:21):
to you later.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
Bye.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
So I called my brother, and my brother had basic
business questions. Is there an LLC? Do you have a
TAXID number? All that whatever? And the original intent wasn't
like all right, now we're partners. He was just kind
of helping me through. He was advancing me capital. He
was in the software world. He has a software company,
and when he could see the numbers start to really
like the orders coming in, like really growing, he was like, oh,
(34:45):
there's something here, and he felt comfortable enough with the
trajectory of the business that he put his credit card
as you know, the funding of things. And then it
was his house. He mortgaged his house because we could
not get a loan, and the whole v see private
equity game hadn't even really started in our industry yet,
so we waited seven years before we took outside capital.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
She continued to bootstrap, barely paying herself a salary and
supplementing her growing business with other work. I supplemented my
T shirt years with styling.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
I was a stylist. I did Heidi Klumb for the
first season of Project Runway. They were like, all right,
we have one thousand dollars for ten episodes and no
budget for wardrobe. Do you want this great job? I
was like yes. I was begging people, like I would
call Chanelle and like all these things, and everyone would
shut the door in my face to lend her.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
Yes, and they didn't you want to lend her do.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Like reality TV Project Runway, Like that sounds terrible. It
was in reality TV was like new and dirty and
you know, like beneath people. Yeah, so I had to
like rub pennies together to like get her to look good.
I even put her in a lot of my stuff
at the time. Anyways, so that made me some money.
I mean that felt was actually moortant to me, kind
(36:02):
of an opportunity to put you in her clothes. Oh no,
it was great.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
Did that help with that publicity? That actually helps the line?
That was that exposure that helped.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
I mean it was nice because I could use it
when I go to a store like oh, Heidi Klum
wearing my shirt Patrick, you know, like I could when
the series became a success, I could use it working
with families complicated. Yeah, how's it been. So we sold
the business February of last year, so he is now
just an advisor. But I think we had the building
(36:29):
years were incredible. He was in his lane, I was
in mind. And then when we each figured out our
own areas and like started giving each other feedback and
advice in each other's lanes, the sparks would fly. And
so we had a lot of tough times where we
weren't speaking and not getting along and fighting pretty badly.
We got a business therapist basically to help us, you know,
(36:51):
get back on the same page, and we would do
that once a year as like vomit it all out
and hopefully come to some sort of alignment. But it
was it took a toll on our relationship for sure,
Still they.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Were clearly a good team. Eventually, the brand had grown
to over one hundred million in sales and they decided
to bring on a new president.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
We brought in this president that we brought her in
very early on. Oh, we brought her in before we
could afford to pay me. My brother was like, add
up your rent and your Ramen budget and let me
know what that totals. And I was like, it's twenty
three thousand dollars a year. He's like, great, that's your salary.
And so then we paid her. And then he didn't
(37:31):
take a salary because he was making money from his software.
So we brought her in in what year was it
two thousand and seven? I believe there's like a two
year span, but at its height, we were doing one
hundred and ten million in sales and we probably had
one hundred employees. It was unbearable. Unbearable, how the pressure,
the stress, all of it. Managing a team of eighteen
(37:53):
people and being all in it as a designer and
then expected to travel to thirty cities, do the waving
in the trunk shows, be the face of social you.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Know, be a mother. It was untenable. So you started
having kids, and at what point did you feel like,
I can't give this whole portfolio. This eighteen person reporting
system is not going to cut it.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
So I was about to go on maternityly with baby
number three. It was twenty eighteen, and I had been
chasing this idea of I just need another hit. I
just need a big hit. So we had this big
growth surge with this crossbody that was one ninety five.
So I was like, me and the team all day long,
what's the next one, what's the next one? Okay, we
(38:39):
got it, Let's replicate it exactly how we did the
last one and get on this person this person, and
it wasn't working. And I was like banging my head
against the wall. And then I was like, maybe I
don't have it anymore. Maybe I'm just not cut out
for this, or maybe there's someone more talented than me.
And I was just like circling. And there was a
woman at the company who had been designing the under
(39:00):
my brother and he's like, why don't you like her
run things for a little bit while you go out
and she'll off for a fresh perspective. And I was like,
take it.
Speaker 2 (39:11):
I'm fucking tired. It's been a long journey.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
It was thirteen years at that point, and so I
really left and I handed her off, like, here my
mood boards for the next six seasons. Here's everything. I'd
tied it with a bow. She was like, great, put
it in the trash as soon as I left the
room and I went out on leave. And we'd also
hired someone we thought was going to be the most
incredible person in marketing, and she had a doctorate, and
(39:36):
I was like, well, what do I know? Like this
woman is clearly learned. Yes, So when I got back,
I felt like a stranger in my own company. And
the marketing person literally said to me, my job would
be easier if you didn't exist.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
The word's done. But it forced her to take a
step back and see a larger issue where she could
have an impact empowering em founders.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
So by that time, I only had to have one
design meeting a week at the time, and I had
a lot more time on my hands, and so I
was like, great, you know, I'll do more speaking. And
you know, that's when I really was like, wow, women
are not paid equally, Like I'm in an industry where
it's women bashing women, But I had no idea that
when you peel outside of the fashion industry, like, there's
(40:24):
another struggle going on that I really didn't know about.
And so to hear about wage inequality and you know,
more men named John than women and CEOs, like, I
was just like, holy shit, I thought we were just
I thought it was just women being terrible to women.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
I didn't know anything else. How did you find out
about it? Like, you were still in the same industry,
you were still in your company.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah, But I was desperate to make connections and this
started earlier in like twenty sixteen with women outside of
my industry. So I would host these dinners at my
store and like have women like the president of the WM,
the private wealth investor for Chase, and you know, a
magazine editor or just people outside of my world, and
(41:07):
I would hear them talk and I was like, oh shit,
you know, there needs to be a way to support
women more.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
What do you think you were chasing by starting this
dinner series.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
I was chasing a community and a camaraderie that I
wasn't able to get within my industry, and I was
hungry for outside perspectives.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
The timing is striking me as interesting as looking for
a community of women, because when I started this podcast,
I had an anticipation that a lot of women's kind
of dark moment that led to their pivot, like might
be COVID or might be like whatever, there's like personal
thing that happened to them. In my case, it was
having a lot of kids all at the same time.
What I did not anticipate is that I hear often
(41:47):
more often than I thought, is twenty sixteen the election
of Donald Trump as something that really changed a lot
of women's perspectives. Yeah, I just hear it much more
often than I anticipated. So that is the same year
that you started these dinners. Do you think, even if
it wasn't, the election in general just sort of like
the context that led you to start them.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
It's a good question. I don't know if it was
a conscious thing. It just felt like I was suffocating
in my own industry and it was so not supportive.
I remember being on air with another designer and the
interviewer said, Rebecca, you make my favorite dress, and then
I was cut out of the segment, and I thought,
now I really must have like done a shitty job
(42:28):
as a guest. And I saw the producer a couple
of weeks later said I'm so sorry we had to
cut you, like she's best friends with my boss, and
that designer was so offended that she wasn't the favorite
designer that she had you cut out. And I was like,
this is gross. You know, in twenty sixteen, I was
two years postpartum. I was like, you know, getting myself
back together and out there, and so two years of
(42:49):
meeting and talking and being around women. Then when I
had the time, I was like, we I need to
do something to.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
Support So what was the first project that you jumped
into in twenty eighteen once you've you're back from attorney
even you realized I can only do one design meeting
a week. I've got more time.
Speaker 1 (43:04):
Well, I said to this really smart marketing person. I
was like, so, what's our plan. She's like, well, we
are going to use you in social but not yet.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
And I was like, okay, now what do I do?
Speaker 1 (43:15):
So I had like two weeks of ladies who lunch
and I was like, I'm going crazy, like I can't
do this, and so she said we should start a podcast.
I said, well, I wanted to start a podcast two
years ago, and I was told it was not a
good idea, and she's like, it's a great idea, and
I was like, great, I'm on it. And so I
began the process of figuring out how to do that,
and then we were at a party for it was
(43:37):
like a rooftop event for some congresswoman or someone to
get elected, and I just remember going, I need to
find a way to make women rich. And the only
way that I know how is if we can know
who they are, we can have a community around them,
and we can support them with education. And so I
just remember thinking about this idea and I said to
(43:58):
a woman on the team, I was like, what do
you think about this idea. I was on the Council
for Women and Girls with Melissa de Rosa and the governor,
and I was like, I'm going to bring this to
the state and the state should have a state seal
that recognizes women own businesses, and blah blah blah and
the red tape and the calls and the just ad nauseum,
(44:19):
and I remember and I just reconnected with her today.
A woman who was an executive director on the committee
was like, why are you asking the state's permission? Just
do this yourself. And I was like, fuck yeah, I'm
doing it for myself, and that's when I took it
into my hands and I said, this has to launch.
The reason why I wanted to start Female Founder Collective
was I wanted there to be some recognizable symbol where
(44:40):
we as females a support and know who is running
the business. So I couldn't be more excited to be
a part of the Female Founder Collective and really give
women all across America and hopefully the world the opportunity
to recognize female made, female supported, and female powered brands
with and a longtime supporter who was at IMG, Leslie Russo,
(45:01):
was like, I'm going to put everything behind this. So
you get the photographer, the makeup, the hair, like, everything's covered.
We'll shoot it, We'll launch it with a panel at
fashion Week, and I had a website with like leave
your email here if you'd like our application, and that
was it. That was all we had was me and
my assistant at the time.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
So that's but I mean, that's so interesting that you
launched it within the context of an industry that you
were actually trying to get out of.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
Right, But I needed the eyeballs and the press and
media around that thing I felt to get momentum.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
So did you launch with a cohort or you just
launched with an idea.
Speaker 1 (45:34):
I launched with an idea. Apply here, we'd send you
the form, we'd review it. If you passed, you were in.
And then what you were in was like we were
making it up at the time, but there's members that
are still around from that time, which is really nice.
Speaker 2 (45:48):
We're five years old, So how did you start to
feel like it was becoming the hitting mass? So you
had the community that you wanted.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
So in the first i'd say two weeks, we hit
three thousand applications and I was like, oh shit, we
have to do something with this now. So the first
step was okay, here's this you know, once we've approved
and vetted you, here's the CEOs you can place on
your website or your products. That was kind of most important.
And then it was like, well, we need a day,
like we need an event. And I was about three
(46:16):
months in when I met my co founder and CEO
Ali Wyatt, and she came on and she had been
at Girl Bossy. She was the CEO of Girl Boston,
so she knew how to like structure this.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
So we started.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Planning Female Founder's Day, which ended up being in March
of twenty nineteen. So all of our focus went to, like, oh, right,
community you're in and our first big kickoff is going
to be in March, and we're going to have a
day where it's not a bunch of women just talking
on panels, because you can get that from anyone, but
we're gonna have vetted experts giving you ninety minute workshops
on whatever topic is your pain point, and so we
(46:50):
kind of have you know, we had our hero keynotes,
and then the day was like what's pick your poison?
And so after that then we said, okay, our next
event is this, and then we were able to have
enough kind of community events and then online events that
that was kind of how we started.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
Rebecca spent most of her time building Female Founder Collective,
letting her eponymous brand run without her until it couldn't
any longer.
Speaker 1 (47:18):
Things within the business shifted. I got rid of the
two ladies. The business needed me really back, and so
by that time I had a CEO, co founder, I
had a head of operations, and so I was like,
all right, I'm going to be focusing my attention back
into my company again. I felt like it was at
a space where when Ali and I came together, she
(47:38):
was like, I really want to be the CEO, and
I really want to run this day to day, Like
what part do you want in it? Because it won't
work if we both want to do that. And I
was like, great, I want to help with high level
strategy goals, pull in big contacts, and like use my
network to really amplify this. But I don't want to
(47:59):
be in the day today of managing the daily task.
I already have this other job. So I think for
me it worked out that I could then turn my
attention back to Rebecca mink Off and still be involved,
but not on the nitty gritty.
Speaker 2 (48:13):
Yeah, like putting the right team together in each place
for you to be at your best and highest use
in both correct. So, what was one point where at
the time you were like, Okay, this is really terrible.
This is like a low point for me, and now
in retrospect you see it as having really set you
up for the success that you have now.
Speaker 1 (48:31):
I think the low point was that day that I
got back that she said that to me, and that
that person and her and let's say there was a
total of three were there for let's say nine months,
and feeling like I was a complete and total stranger
in my own company with no power, and people say,
(48:55):
but this was your company, Like how did you have
no power? And I'm like, at a certain point, you
have word, you have you know. My brother was aligned
with them because he thought that they knew what they
were doing, and so I would be like, well, listen
to me, you know, and like one day I found
out that the speak had changed. It was like, we're
loving this, and I was like, no, the caption is
(49:17):
from me to the customer, it's not we and they're like, well,
she said to change it. I'd be like I'm erased.
And that was the worst time in my life. And
what I have trouble rectifying is that awful woman inspired
things that bring me joy? How did that awfulness from that?
(49:39):
I got these two things, my podcast and female Founder Collective,
And so sometimes I'm like, I hate you, but thank you.
Speaker 2 (49:46):
You know. It's a very weird feeling. Yeah, No, I
mean I feel like it's like the whole premise of
this entire show that like at the time, you think,
oh my god, it can't get any worse than it,
and I feel like you kind of to get to
like a real low in order for your perspective to shift,
because just as human beings, we just we don't change
(50:07):
drastically without being forced to. Like it is not on
our NATR, yeah for sure, but it does give birth
something totally now. Thank you so much for joining us.
I really feel like this has gone by in one second.
I could talk to you all day long.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (50:22):
Rebecca continues to juggle it all as a mom of
four running her Rebecca Mincoff label while continuing to prioritize
empowering women through the Female Founder Collective. If you're not already,
head over to her podcast, Superwoman and subscribe. I'm biased,
but I think our episode together on Superwoman.
Speaker 1 (50:42):
Is one of the best.
Speaker 2 (50:43):
Be sure to follow Rebecca on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter
at Rebecca Mincoff. Thanks for listening. Thanks for listening to
this episode of She Pivots. If you made it this far,
you're a true pivoter, So thanks for being part of
this community. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and if
you did leave us a rating, please be nice. Tell
(51:06):
your friends about us to learn more about our guests,
follow us on Instagram at she pivots the Podcast, or
sign up for our newsletter where you can get exclusive
behind the scenes content, or on our website she pivots
the Podcast talk to You Next Week. Special thanks to
the she pivots team, Executive producer Emily eda Velosik, Associate
(51:26):
producer and social media connoisseur Hannah Cousins, Research director Christine Dickinson,
Events and logistics coordinator Madeline Sonovak, and audio editor and
mixer Nina pollock I endorse t pivots
Welcome back to She Pivots. I'm Rebecca Mincoff.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Welcome to She Pivots, the podcast where we talk with
women who dared to pivot out of one career and
into something new and explore how their personal lives impacted
these decisions. I'm your host Emily Tish Sussman, and this
(00:33):
week we have on a guest again, Rebecca Minkoff. Were
re releasing her episode because when we recorded it last year,
we had no idea that she was about to become
a real housewife of New York. So we caught up
with Rebecca this week, found out all about what that
filming was like, what she's looking forward to, maybe not
(00:53):
looking forward to, and then we have the original conversation
with her. Afterwards we hear all about her pivot into fashion,
pivot out to the Female Founder's Collective, and hosting her
own podcast, and now into reality star Enjoy. My name
(01:14):
is Rebecca Mincoff.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
I'm a designer, podcaster, author, mother four, co founder of
the Female Founder Collective, and real housewife of New York City. Okay,
so how is this new title feeling for you? You know,
Heavyweights the Crown, Emily, Well, it's funny because I feel
like we have so much explaining to do. We're none
(01:37):
of us are housewives, so it's very weird to call
myself one because I do not identify as a rich
woman who has nothing to do all day. I'm definitely
working my ass off, and so are all the other ladies.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
So yeah, I would definitely know that would be like
about the last thing I would ever call you is
a housewife.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Actually, you know, I am dreams of being a housewife,
but not yet. So then what made you want to
do it?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
And this is how I felt.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
I thought that there was an opportunity to be part
of their revival or the reboot, I should say, of
showcasing eight very successful female entrepreneurs that are all diverse backgrounds, places, ethnicities,
And could that be a narrative that, yes, there's drama,
there's got to be drama or no one's watching. We
(02:23):
all know that, But could that also be something that's
just seen and celebrated because there's not enough of us, right.
It's also I said it in an earlier interview, like
it's great for like there's a whole host of women
that are either fans of the brand and grew up
with the brand or new ones that I could reach,
and if they get to know me better and they
like what they see, like, it's a great business opportunity
(02:46):
as well. So those were some of the reasons why
I decided to do it. We're also celebrating our twentieth anniversary,
and I thought, let's just get out there, and what
a better platform to be doing that with? So why
is this?
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Why?
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Why is this? What a better platform?
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Like, you know, we're going to attach this to the
interview that you and I did earlier this year together,
and so I'm interested into where I like, when we
did this interview, I didn't know that you were engaged
with the housewives. I don't know if you were already
filming them, had ended filming the beginning, or if you
were in even discussions with them. So I definitely didn't
ask any questions about it. But you know, we talked
through your evolution, like your own pivots, your own moments,
(03:24):
and how you built your fashion brand. And then when
you were a little bit removed, it gave you the
space to think about, Okay, what else can I do
for female founders? And then you started the podcast, you
started the Female Founders and you started supporting other businesses
through that.
Speaker 1 (03:40):
Like, how does this This isn't the most.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Obvious move to follow your trajectory, so like, why this
platform to follow that same thinking that.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
You had had. Well, yes, it is definitely veering left.
But what I will say is I've always taken risks.
We've always done the things that did not seem like
following the straight path. And at the time it doesn't
seem like it makes any sense, and then later on
people are like, oh, wow, you were the first to
do talk to influencers, store the future, wearables, you know,
(04:14):
talk to your customer, all these things that seemed crazy.
So in my book, while it does seem cuckoo, there
is a rhyme and reason for why I decided to
do it. And I think when you start unpacking who
watches this show? For the most part, it's women in
my exact demographic is also very smart, accomplished, talented women
(04:36):
as well. Who for them this show is like a
respite from like their crazy lives.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
It was funny.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
A good friend of my husband's is an accomplished, award
winning director and when she found out this was more
exciting for her than like being at the Sundance Film Festival,
and so, you know, the opportunity to show another dimension
of myself was something I've thought long and hard about
because you only get a certain slice on my podcast.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
And I'm mostly interviewing. You only get a certain slice on.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
Social which were we are showcasing a brand and product,
and so how do you then just add more dimensionality
to who I am? And hopefully that means you know,
you want to connect more in whatever way. I mean,
I feel like the side they probably want to focus
on in the show is mostly personal like you personally,
(05:23):
your kids or family like stuff that you've kind of
kept to yourself. Yes, but I'm a friend of and
what that means, and most people don't know that is
most of my private life still stays pretty private. And
we did that for a number of reasons. I have
very young children and I was not ready to expose
them to that, and my husband at the moment has.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
No interest on being on the show.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
So between him having no interests in my young children, like,
you know, you'll see slices of it, but it's not,
you know, heavily featured, which is what a friend of
kind of means. Yeah, Ok, that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
It's funny you were saying that you know, people would
necessarily expect it of you. Do you remember how you
told me that you were because we are friends, how
you told me that you were doing this? Remind me,
remind everyone. Yeah, it's that I I invited you to
attend a Gotham game because I invited all of nice friends.
I said, guys, everybody come see got the FC. We
(06:21):
just bought the women soccer team, Like I want all
of my friends to come. And you wrote back and
you were like, do you want the Real Housewives there?
And I was like, yeah, totally, Like who doesn't, but.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Like, do you know that? Oh my surprise that one?
And I truly could not have been more surprised. Yes,
a lot of people were surprised, and I've gotten a
lot of like, so, so why did you do this?
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Why did you open yourself up to this hatred that
you're about to get? Yeah, I mean it's sort of
inevitable that Like that's the point, right, I mean, not
like the point, but like that's how the drama stays,
is that like people bring things and they have feelings
about it, and like the hatred, like how what are
you preparing for? And how have you prepared yourself for it?
So so the girls on the cast have all prepared me.
(07:02):
They said, do no longer will you read comments or
engage with them. Someone else should do that for you,
because that's where the fans can get brutal. They also said,
take off and remove all Google alerts on yourself. I
have not done that yet because I feel the need
to know what is being said about me in the press,
and I think you know.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I interviewed a guest, Kristen from Nomadical Wines on my
podcast and I love my last question for passing along advice,
and she was like, only take advice from women whose
lives you want, And I just am reinforcing that, like,
if this is not a woman whose life I want,
do not listen, do not engage, And that helps, I think,
(07:44):
weed out a lot of the nasty stuff that's about
to be unleashed. And with the nasty is also great, right,
there's incredible opportunities ahead and I'm excited for that to happen.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
It has put you in this sort of like sisterhood
and camaraderie of a very small group of people whose
lives have been opened up and exposed in this way
to your point that you know, like the New York
reboot is women that have businesses that are definitely not housewives.
Speaker 1 (08:10):
It's actually kind of not.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
True like the majority of the housewives of the women
who have been on Housewives, do you feel a camaraderie
with women who have been on other franchises? Like, do
you feel connected to them? I mean, you guys do
have this kind of like crazy unique thing. It's called
a trauma bond.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
That's the word for it. That's the word for it.
It's it's almost like you know what they've been through
and someone can try and explain to you what it's like.
And Jenna Lyons tried to explain to me what it
was like before we started filming. It's like telling a
woman who's never been pregnant what it's like to like
give birth, and it can be intense. You know. By nature,
I am a girl's girl and I want women to succeed,
(08:51):
and so when women are fighting and coming for each other,
it's in my nature to want to de escalate, diffuse
and I know that inherent in this show what makes
it interesting and drama. So it's this tension for me
of I want to solve this situation, but I can't.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
What could I do?
Speaker 1 (09:09):
And I found that I was like the Jewish mother
being like, let me feed you, let me cook for you.
Who knows if they'll cut it out, but I swear
to God you could put together a montage of any
time they're fighting, I immediately get up and I'm like,
trying to serve people food.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Okay, that's actually going to be an incredible cut, like
all the TCD Stone cut, like Becky cooking trying.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
To serve people food.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Well, I mean on that point, I feel like the
format of the show like doesn't really align with the
way I would like emotionally live my life. In that
I don't know, I either like wouldn't be that confrontational.
I would like be confrontational and try to just sort
of like do it in the least is explosive way possible.
And then I might also hold a really long grutch,
which doesn't really work well if you're trying to move
(09:57):
a storyline across. Like, how did you find your personality
vibing with the format?
Speaker 1 (10:03):
I think with the format, I was very much like
the only way that I winted this is by being
myself an authentic. So when you know, one of the
women had something that she said about me went viral,
I think people expect you to hold the grudge, bring
it up, have a big fight about it. And I
was like, I brought it up. She apologized, I accepted
(10:25):
her apology. We're still friends, and that is wild to
watch people be like but she said it, and I'm like, yes,
and we are mature women, and so I have to
go against that belief and grain of like we're going
to have beef forever. We even joke about it right
now and we joke about you know, you'll see some
things we joke about later. So it's just like just
(10:48):
taking the air out of it a little bit because
I wanted to also just be me and that's who
I am. I'm not someone that like holds a grudge forever.
And you know, unless it's irreparable and you're a crazy person,
we can have a conversation and normalize just being mature.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Well, one of the things that's always struck me as
probably I don't know, I guess maybe like difficult to
maintain over a number of seasons is that you might
be sort of forced into people that you find to
be crazy or I find you know that anybody would
find to be crazy because you actually can't choose everybody involved.
So do you see that as being like was that
a limiting factor for you when filming it?
Speaker 1 (11:28):
And do you see it as being a limiting factor
moving forward?
Speaker 2 (11:30):
So I think it depends if someone is higher.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Is if someone is there to just be crazy and
be entertaining, that's just an energy that you learn to
sort of deal with. Is someone is there to be
mean spirited, evil, spiteful, really causing true drama and pain.
That's another level of things that get hard to deal with.
And I think I come at it from two places.
(11:54):
I'm not engaging with it. I will not give that life,
But also where did that person come from and what
trauma did they experience that made them that way? And
so I have to have a little empathy when they
are that way, not sympathy, but empathy of like, wow,
(12:15):
you just had to endure a lot, and good job
on surviving. But I'm not engaging with it and I'm
not going to validate it. I definitely feel that.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
Okay, on a totally different topic, I'm very excited for
the purse you have coming out, which one, The Wicked One, Oh,
the Wicked One. Yes, it's almost here.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Are we allowed to talk about it?
Speaker 2 (12:36):
Yes? We can?
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Okay, I'm so excited.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
How I'm the biggest musical theater fan love Wicked obviously
forever and ever. To be associated with this film is unbelievable.
So how did.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
This come about that you got to have a piece
in it? This came about ten days after giving birth
to my son. I was asked to fly to London.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
All expenses paid, first class.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
Wine and dined all weekend with like Mattel and Lego
and whatever.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
And I was in my hormone high and I was like,
how could I do that? Can I smuggle my non
passport baby across? You know?
Speaker 1 (13:09):
And after a while I was like, you know what,
I'm choosing my baby, Like I'm going to give this
opportunity up. And I just wrote a letter like I
just gave birth, I cannot possibly travel ten days after
having him. Thank you so much for this opportunity. If
there's a way to engage with you at a later date,
let us know. And they're like, send your second best person.
So I sent Mary. And Mary was my head of
(13:29):
pr and.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Partnerships, and she went, and it was this long process.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Of not only understanding what they wanted, who they were
looking for, but how do we as a brand bring
what people love and is iconic about Rebecca Makeoff and
the film. And we got to see footage and props
and the makings of which was so incredibly special. When
I tell you that no detail was spared, Like nine
million two of us were planted for one of the scenes.
(13:57):
You know, they rebuilt from scratch. I'm now blanking on
the name of the university. You're gonna fill in the blank,
shiz shiz, dear old shiz.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
Yes, thank you. I'm like, gosh, what was the name
of it?
Speaker 1 (14:09):
So, and they made it handicap accessible as they built it,
you know, like just the thought of, Okay, we don't
want to use CGI, we want this to be really
real for people. So and then you go into like
the grimmery and like, just it's fucking epic what they did.
So I was really inspired. We came out with two bags.
(14:32):
I wanted to do more, but you know, I am
surrounded by business people and they're like two is enough.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
One for Galinda, one for alphah Bah.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
One is a hot pink patent like box bag with
this swarros eat crystal strap not real Swasky, I guess
I can't say the name, but crystal strap. And then
one is based on one of our best selling bags
called the Easy and it's stud pattern is from excerpted
from the Grimmery and there's a great tag in both
bags said don't hide your magic. And it comes out
(15:01):
in November.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
It'll be in the windows at Bloomingdale's.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
I'm part of their big activation and it'll be available
on our site and it's limited.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
Addition, so it's going to sell out. Okay, that is
so cool. Are we going to see any of that
in the Housewives? Was that happening at the same time.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
Yeah, So we got to film a really cool scene
where London sized daughter who's a huge musical theater fan,
gets to come into the office. She gets to touch
and hold the props like we got the props delivered
as a surprise for her. She leaves with a bag
and I take her through the makings of you know
and why we chose that bag, so you'll get a
little sneak peek.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
Oh, that's so cool. That's going to be so special. Okay,
this was just at our quick update. Do you have
anything else that we should talk about?
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Well, I'm a prankster and you're going to see that
in the episodes. You know, you might see some things
that I'm trying to make some points about rumors that
are spreading and how we can expose the rumor spreader.
Ooh okay, that is spicy. I love it. Rebecca, thanks
so much for coming on, and now for all our listeners,
(16:05):
onto the original episode.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Into your Face as always.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
My name is Rebecca min Coff. I'm a fashion designer
and the co founder of Female Founder Collective. I have
a podcast, Superwomen with Rebecca Mincoff, and I'm a best
selling author Fearless. And you have four kids, and I
have a mother with four children, which blows my.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Mind, like three sent me into chaos. Four I cannot imagine.
I'm going home after this to take a nap. I'm
well deserved. Now where did you grow up? So the
first nine years of my life was San Diego. The
second nine years of my life was Tampa, Florida. That
was not my parents' intention, but they saw that there
(16:49):
was nothing happening in Tampa and that was great for
raising children and not having them get into trouble. So
my dad was a doctor and he had got an
opening in Florida and he was like, well, I want
to change of scenery. And that was it. You know,
you really launched your career, made a name for yourself
first as a fashion designer. And you said that the
(17:10):
first thing you designed was your butt mitzvah outfit.
Speaker 1 (17:14):
It was. It was the first thing that I designed
in war successfully. I'll say that I had the opportunity
to work with this New York City designer who had
moved to Podunkville where I lived, and she taught me
how to sew and make patterns, and I was so excited.
And as a young girl at twelve turning thirteen, when
you're entering womanhood but you don't look like a woman,
(17:36):
I was like, I got a design address that like
maybe can show off my burgeoning bosom. That was It's
weird that that was like for my bot mitzvah. That's
what I wanted, was like show off my chest. But
I had like double a boobs aka nothing, and so
I was like a square neck like medieval times. And
then I'll get like a little push up raw to
help me. Soon after her show stopping butt Mitzvah outfit.
(18:00):
Becca continued her creative endeavors and enrolls at a performing
arts school as a dancer, and then in high school,
I hit a really tough time where my teachers I
don't want to pivot us too hard. But I was
a dancer and a performing arts high school, but kept
getting told like, you're too tall, you ruin the symmetry,
your boobs are too big, like just everything terrible you
could tell a young woman. And I was a painfully thin,
(18:23):
very awkward young girl, and I couldn't fit into regular
clothes and I was bullied for it. And being able
to sew and make things fit me gave me a
lot of confidence and it made me feel incredibly empowered.
And so I just became addicted to the idea like,
oh it doesn't fit, no big deal, I can you know,
take it in or add this to it. And so
that was just something I just I wanted to sew
(18:44):
all the time. And then I would make things for
my friends and it just became a great way to
like hang out and you end up making something.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
So you grew up jewish. Was that a big part
of your identity you had about mizphone. It was a
huge part of my identity. It was every Friday with
Shabbat I had about Mitzvah. My dad was very serious
about observing the holidays up until the point, I would
say about fifteen, and then all of a sudden it
was like, uh, we did that, which was weird because
he was so strict about it, and so I was
(19:14):
already by that time. I went to jew camp starting
at thirteen, and by sixteen I was going to Israel
for six weeks for a workshop program with all the
other kids who were part of the camps. And at eighteen,
I had the opportunity to go live on a kibootz
for a year, and all my friends were going. But
I was so desperate to get here and to start
working and designing, and I felt like if I took
(19:36):
a year off getting drunk and living on a kibotz,
that I might be, you know, behind, And so it was.
It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had
to make. With Sanatka on that trip and here being
New York. Yeah, so after high school, you are like,
get me to New York.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Yes, So I thought I wanted to be a geneticist,
and so I went to Johns Hopkins like to like
see the school, and I thought, I will die in
a laboratory. I will just not make it. And if
I have to do this for seven years before I
can practice, and I really found out like what it
takes to be in that world. I thought, Wow, I
don't want this, and then I was like, maybe I
(20:13):
don't even want to go to college. And in my house,
my parents are kind of hippies. Everything was untraditional, so
you know, they said to any all of us like,
it's cool if you want to go to college, but
you don't have to, and if you do, you're paying
for it. And it was kind of like no pressure,
so none of us actually ended up going. What else
was non traditional in your household? I would say that
(20:34):
the things you think a mother should do for you
weren't done or a parent, you know, whether it's it's
the little things like signing you up for summer camp,
and it was like, no, here are the forms you
fill them out down to My brothers wanted to go
visit their friends and they were thirteen, and she put
them on a greyhound from Tampa to San Diego. So
I think everything we wanted, we had to work for.
(20:54):
There was a ledger in the kitchen and it was
about how you know what you earned. And I had
to cook dinner twice a week, and I had to
doshes twice a week, and so some of those things
are normal. But I think a lot of this hands
off approach to like if you want to figure it out,
was really there. I did negotiate at age nine with
my art teacher about her prices because my mom was like,
if you wanted these classes, they're too expensive, but you
can talk to her about lowering the price.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
At the time, did you realize that your parents were
a little more hands off than others around you.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
I started realizing it. I was angry about it, and
I was pissed because I would see like my friend
would just she celebrated Christmas, and I would go there
and be like, you get all these presents. I get one,
and your parents take you on trips and I have
to earn it. Like I was just like, whoa, this
is a different world. Yeah, but I'm trying to raise
my children in the same way. You want it, you
(21:42):
earn it, and I'm hoping it rubs off on the
entrepreneurial side on them the way it did with me.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
Yeah, at what point did your perspective flip on the parenting.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Having not my son? My son, my twelve year old
has always been grateful and gracious, but my daughter like
I want, I want, I want, I want, and living
in New York City, you know, and I'm like, oh no,
we are not taking that route with you.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
You will earn this. Yeah. Yeah, it's hard. I think
it's particularly hard in the city.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
But I also think, like, you get invited to a
party in New York City and I don't even know
the words for it, just the goodie bags and the
bouncy cat, like everything. The abundance is so much that
even if you're not providing it to them, they're seeing
it and they know it's possible, and it's hard to
be like, all right, come back down to earth. Okay,
So back to your journey. Was it always fashion that
(22:34):
attracts you?
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Like? What about fashion? Okay?
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Going back for Hanukah, every year we would get like
one thing and I would always get a magazine subscription
to w or Vogue, and then my brother would steal
it and I would kill him when it finally come
to me, I would devour it. And I feel like
I have to be in New York. That's where everything's happening,
and for everyone listening, it's pre any social I mean,
there's nothing magazines are it. So my brother had gone
(22:59):
to a party and he came home one night and
he said, I just met a designer. He was in
from New York doing a trunk show at the local
Podunk Nordstrum in Tampa, and he gave me his number.
He said he takes interns. Maybe you should call him.
And so I literally called this guy and he picked up.
He's like, yeah, come up. When do you want to
come up? We paid minimum wage and I was like, oh,
it's that easy, Okay, I'll be there. And I told
(23:21):
my parents. I was like, so I'm moving to New
York and I'm going to start working, and you know,
we got to go on to Craigslist and find me
an apartment. And my mom and dad were like, we're
not paying for you to go to an apartment. Like
you wanted to do this, you figured out. So what
we finally hobbled together was I lived with my friend
in Fordham University. We shared a bed. He was gay,
(23:43):
so it was like it was fine that we shared
a bed. He would steak me in every night and
then over like Russiashana, my parents came up and made
a deal with my cousin. They're like, all right, she's
going to sleep on the floor and babysit your kid. Well,
you let her live with you. And that was, you
know how it all started.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
So what did you do as an intern?
Speaker 1 (24:00):
So my first day, the CEO, who ended up becoming
a mentor, was like, ugh, you're just another pretty girl
he's let in here. Day one was you're going to
work in the shipping department, and I was so angry
and I was like, I am better than this. But
I really learned a lot about packaging and shipping. And
then it was like organize a supply closet, answer the phones,
(24:22):
cuts watches, call these stores, make appointments, and every day
was different. And as I began to get used to
sort of not knowing what I was going to do
that day, it just got exciting to be able to
learn every sort of part of the business. And then
about six months in, I said, I think you should
hire me full time. I've proven my worth and I
want to work in the design area and she was like, great.
Speaker 2 (24:43):
Yes you have. So she began to design for Craig Tailor,
but all the time she continued to keep one foot
in as a dancer, thinking that might be the path
she would pursue.
Speaker 1 (24:55):
I was so happy to be there, and I was
still kind of like, do I still be a dancer?
I was taking classes at Alvin Alien. I had gotten
into their two year certificate program and I was like, oh,
you know, I forget where I was. But someone's like,
you should be a model, and I was like, maybe
I'll be a model until I went into a castaing
and the guy was like, you know, you're really hairy,
(25:17):
and then he reached over and he's like and you
got to get rid of this and he grabbed my
stomach fat and I was like, I'm going to just
put that idea to bed, because okay, maybe I'll be
a dancer or designer. And then I said this to
this woman, Komy, the CEO, and she's like, you need
to decide what you want to do, Like you can't
be all over the place. It's time to get focused
(25:37):
and you know what is it? And I was like, okay,
she might be right. So I said I'll pursue design,
and so I ended up working there for a total
of around three years.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Wow. Do you feel like that was the right advice
for you in that moment?
Speaker 1 (25:48):
It was because I was just like, maybe I'll be
this and maybe I'll be that, And I feel like
those types of maybees are great if you're sixteen, but
they're not great if you're nineteen and you decided not
to go to college and you moved to New York
to work for a designer like Pickoling.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Spoiler alert.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
She did. She started small custom making a small collection
of pieces herself. I had a five piece collection. I
live New York was one of them, literally bought off
the street but cut up and me dazzled because that
was pre Etsy and people wanted DIY and an actress,
Jenna Elfman asked for it via my brother again he
seems to be a connection and senator on September ninth,
(26:28):
she wore on Jay Leno Two months later and said
my name on national televisions One actress hand a lot
of fun. She could be seen on the sitcom Accidentally
on Purpose, which airs Wednesday night. It's another Networks.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Please welcome to Jenna.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Elfman, and that was kind of like the big moment
of being in the magazine and making all these shirts
and nine months straight of that that.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
Shirt, riding the high of her new success. It was
her mentor that once again played a key role in
nudging her towards her true potential.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
And then Koomi the same sea called me and was like,
you're fired, Go do what you love.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
Wow. Yeah you were so young. I was twenty one.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Yeah. It was scary, but I think that when you
have nothing right and you were fueled by your work
and buy potential and opportunity, I was like, what's the
worst that could happen? I end up on my parents' couch, right,
And to me that was like, Okay, that'll suck and
I'll have to regroup, but like, let me just try it.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, okay, so you did the T shirts for a
little while. Yeah, about nine months, it's all. I did,
just these five T shirts.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
Yes, And then I started calling stores and I was like,
by the way, I have more than a shirt, you know,
let me show you. And then one store in these
village was like, I'll take this blouse on consignment, and
then I would literally given the plows and then go
into Union Square and pass out postcards like new Designer
Alert now, like I was one of those people standing
there like handing this out. And then I'd run back
(27:57):
to the store and be like did it sell and
he'd be like yeah, Like all right, I passed out
five hundred postcards for one sale, so if I want
to sell more, I.
Speaker 2 (28:04):
Gotta do one thousand.
Speaker 1 (28:05):
And I would go back to Union Square, and you know,
I was scrappy. I would find out who magazine editors were.
Email was new, but I would like figure it out
and then email them all images. And then I found
one burgeoning website called raven Style, and she would buy
stuff and I'd be like, I need the deposit before
I make the goods.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
Yeah, I was about to ask how you had the
capital and how you had the connections to be producing
at that kind of scale. It was not.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
It was not a big scale. It was a very
tiny scale. The amazing woman from Raven Style would give
me a deposit because she knew I had didn't have it,
so she'd give me enough. I'd go uptown, buy the fabric,
buy the crystals, make it, and then deliver it to
her for the balance of the payment. So I worked
like that for a long time and then I said
to my dad, I would like to open up a
(28:49):
credit card. Could you co sign it with me? And
because he had great credit, I got a lot of money.
But he was like, just want to let you know,
like I'm not paying for this card, like you are responsible.
And that's when I got into trouble. When I didn't
have enough orders or I had to buy fabric or whatever,
I'd put it on the card and be like, hey, yea,
(29:09):
I'll pay it back, and then you know, I slowly
racked up a lot of debt. That inevitably is when
I had to call my brother and that's you know,
that's when we begin working together and the bags started
to take off. So that was kind of the all right,
I'm out of my leak on the business side of stuff,
and I actually need someone to help me.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Can you actually talk through with some of those steps
are souse. I think that a lot of people when
they're thinking about their pivot, go immediately to product and think, oh, well,
I'll just make a product and I'll sell it, and
I think not having an understanding of the ebbs and flows.
I think, particularly of apparel business I think ends up
surprising a lot of people sounds like, including you, Oh,
(29:47):
it's surprising.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
So I think with apparel it's really you know, if
your dream is to be a designer, And again I
would give different advice if you're a T shirt versus
a cature gown. But I think that having your own
website is in credit important whether you're selling anything or not.
And I think today there's a lot more creativity in
how you can take orders. You know, one of the
things when NFTs were all the rage was the idea
(30:12):
that you could treat the NFT as a token and
you know, by this NFT you will get the dress too,
but you also get to see me in my studio
working or at a photo shoot, or access to things
that money can't buy. And so I think that's a
smart and powerful way to raise money. And I think
that the idea of the Tupperware party is not dead.
(30:33):
It's like who do you have and know with circles
of influence that could host and support you. When I
look back, there was a woman in Los Angeles that
would like put out wine and cheese and she's like,
bring seventy five bags. They'll be gone by the end
of the night, and she would invite all her friends
and they were excited, and the bags were gone and
I had cash. And so I think that as you
(30:54):
begin to look at your business, there's a lot of
non traditional ideas you can use to do it. But
so many women are like, oh, I'm starting an apparel company.
I need to raise money, you know. And I think
that that's the wrong approach because most investors know they
will not see her return on an investment of just
an apparel company. That's just not how it works. And
so I say start small, start focused, be the best
(31:17):
in whatever it is, even if it's a white T
shirt and why, and from there, really make your network
help support you and work for you. She continued to
build and grow, but slower than she wanted. She craved
another big break, and that's when she came up with
her iconic morning after bag.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
You know that one. They're perfectly disheveled, can fit everything,
but looks like an it girl would carry it.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Bag and people took notice of what's now known as
the iconic morning after bag.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
Now, the original morning after bag was very popular in
the mid two thousands, most.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Notably carried by celebrities Hayden Panitier and Lindsay Lohan.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
This is honest one of my favorite bags, just because
the functionality of this bag is great. Ship.
Speaker 1 (32:05):
I had just launched the bag. It had a heat
in a momentum that I never had with the apparel.
It hit a nerve with women in a way that
you can only hope happens to everyone.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
And switching to bags that's a much more expensive product,
like for you to make? Yeah, was that a decision
based on design? Based on presented return?
Speaker 1 (32:26):
Like?
Speaker 2 (32:26):
What was that decision for you?
Speaker 1 (32:27):
The decision for the bag was really about Jenna came
back to me. She said, I'm going to be in
a feature film. The character wears the bag the entire time.
You will not have seen this film because I went
straight to DVD. Sadly, okay, I was about to ask
you which films colle touched. Bag did not make it
to set. It was delivered two hours late. They started filming.
It was devastating. When I say, I was like, like
(32:48):
the assistant College's like, where is the bag?
Speaker 2 (32:50):
And I was like, I don't know.
Speaker 1 (32:53):
And then it arrived and she's like we started shooting
with another bag, and I was like, can you redo it?
She was like no, so my just cru it was terrible.
I was like on the corner of like Fifth Avenue
near Henry Bendell or wherever that Stora just was like
pacing back and forth while I was on the phone
with her, and I was like, well, I just I
just bought a really expensive bag. My first, you know,
(33:15):
I made her a sample. I made me a sample.
And then I noticed as I was wearing the sample,
so many women were stopping me on the street asking
me about, you know, the bag, and I thought, there's
something here. Let's see what happens. So a dear friend
of mine, who was a stylist that I knew through
the industry, was like, I'm gonna have Daily Candy write
about it, and we're going to put it in this
(33:36):
store that I know in La called Seteen, which is
like the go to store for celebrities, and they ordered
twelve Daily Candy wrote about it sold out in like
ten minutes.
Speaker 2 (33:46):
Pretty soon it girls everywhere werek herrying the bag. Lindsay
Lohan was photographed with it, and it began to fly
off the shelves faster than she could keep up with.
So she turned back to her dad looking for financing
to keep up with the orders.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
And so I went back to my dad. I was like,
all right, I'm not a loser anymore. I actually have
something that's working. Do you want to loan me just
a little bit more money to make the next production run.
He's like absolutely not, Like how are you paying the
credit card? Because I'm seeing the bills and the balance
isn't really going down that much. It's like one hundred
dollars a month, but this is this is sixty grand
that you've spent. I was like, all right, I'll talk
(34:21):
to you later.
Speaker 2 (34:22):
Bye.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
So I called my brother, and my brother had basic
business questions. Is there an LLC? Do you have a
TAXID number? All that whatever? And the original intent wasn't
like all right, now we're partners. He was just kind
of helping me through. He was advancing me capital. He
was in the software world. He has a software company,
and when he could see the numbers start to really
like the orders coming in, like really growing, he was like, oh,
(34:45):
there's something here, and he felt comfortable enough with the
trajectory of the business that he put his credit card
as you know, the funding of things. And then it
was his house. He mortgaged his house because we could
not get a loan, and the whole v see private
equity game hadn't even really started in our industry yet,
so we waited seven years before we took outside capital.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
She continued to bootstrap, barely paying herself a salary and
supplementing her growing business with other work. I supplemented my
T shirt years with styling.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
I was a stylist. I did Heidi Klumb for the
first season of Project Runway. They were like, all right,
we have one thousand dollars for ten episodes and no
budget for wardrobe. Do you want this great job? I
was like yes. I was begging people, like I would
call Chanelle and like all these things, and everyone would
shut the door in my face to lend her.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
Yes, and they didn't you want to lend her do.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Like reality TV Project Runway, Like that sounds terrible. It
was in reality TV was like new and dirty and
you know, like beneath people. Yeah, so I had to
like rub pennies together to like get her to look good.
I even put her in a lot of my stuff
at the time. Anyways, so that made me some money.
I mean that felt was actually moortant to me, kind
(36:02):
of an opportunity to put you in her clothes. Oh no,
it was great.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
Did that help with that publicity? That actually helps the line?
That was that exposure that helped.
Speaker 1 (36:09):
I mean it was nice because I could use it
when I go to a store like oh, Heidi Klum
wearing my shirt Patrick, you know, like I could when
the series became a success, I could use it working
with families complicated. Yeah, how's it been. So we sold
the business February of last year, so he is now
just an advisor. But I think we had the building
(36:29):
years were incredible. He was in his lane, I was
in mind. And then when we each figured out our
own areas and like started giving each other feedback and
advice in each other's lanes, the sparks would fly. And
so we had a lot of tough times where we
weren't speaking and not getting along and fighting pretty badly.
We got a business therapist basically to help us, you know,
(36:51):
get back on the same page, and we would do
that once a year as like vomit it all out
and hopefully come to some sort of alignment. But it
was it took a toll on our relationship for sure,
Still they.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Were clearly a good team. Eventually, the brand had grown
to over one hundred million in sales and they decided
to bring on a new president.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
We brought in this president that we brought her in
very early on. Oh, we brought her in before we
could afford to pay me. My brother was like, add
up your rent and your Ramen budget and let me
know what that totals. And I was like, it's twenty
three thousand dollars a year. He's like, great, that's your salary.
And so then we paid her. And then he didn't
(37:31):
take a salary because he was making money from his software.
So we brought her in in what year was it
two thousand and seven? I believe there's like a two
year span, but at its height, we were doing one
hundred and ten million in sales and we probably had
one hundred employees. It was unbearable. Unbearable, how the pressure,
the stress, all of it. Managing a team of eighteen
(37:53):
people and being all in it as a designer and
then expected to travel to thirty cities, do the waving
in the trunk shows, be the face of social you.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
Know, be a mother. It was untenable. So you started
having kids, and at what point did you feel like,
I can't give this whole portfolio. This eighteen person reporting
system is not going to cut it.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
So I was about to go on maternityly with baby
number three. It was twenty eighteen, and I had been
chasing this idea of I just need another hit. I
just need a big hit. So we had this big
growth surge with this crossbody that was one ninety five.
So I was like, me and the team all day long,
what's the next one, what's the next one? Okay, we
(38:39):
got it, Let's replicate it exactly how we did the
last one and get on this person this person, and
it wasn't working. And I was like banging my head
against the wall. And then I was like, maybe I
don't have it anymore. Maybe I'm just not cut out
for this, or maybe there's someone more talented than me.
And I was just like circling. And there was a
woman at the company who had been designing the under
(39:00):
my brother and he's like, why don't you like her
run things for a little bit while you go out
and she'll off for a fresh perspective. And I was like,
take it.
Speaker 2 (39:11):
I'm fucking tired. It's been a long journey.
Speaker 1 (39:16):
It was thirteen years at that point, and so I
really left and I handed her off, like, here my
mood boards for the next six seasons. Here's everything. I'd
tied it with a bow. She was like, great, put
it in the trash as soon as I left the
room and I went out on leave. And we'd also
hired someone we thought was going to be the most
incredible person in marketing, and she had a doctorate, and
(39:36):
I was like, well, what do I know? Like this
woman is clearly learned. Yes, So when I got back,
I felt like a stranger in my own company. And
the marketing person literally said to me, my job would
be easier if you didn't exist.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
The word's done. But it forced her to take a
step back and see a larger issue where she could
have an impact empowering em founders.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
So by that time, I only had to have one
design meeting a week at the time, and I had
a lot more time on my hands, and so I
was like, great, you know, I'll do more speaking. And
you know, that's when I really was like, wow, women
are not paid equally, Like I'm in an industry where
it's women bashing women, But I had no idea that
when you peel outside of the fashion industry, like, there's
(40:24):
another struggle going on that I really didn't know about.
And so to hear about wage inequality and you know,
more men named John than women and CEOs, like, I
was just like, holy shit, I thought we were just
I thought it was just women being terrible to women.
Speaker 2 (40:40):
I didn't know anything else. How did you find out
about it? Like, you were still in the same industry,
you were still in your company.
Speaker 1 (40:46):
Yeah, But I was desperate to make connections and this
started earlier in like twenty sixteen with women outside of
my industry. So I would host these dinners at my
store and like have women like the president of the WM,
the private wealth investor for Chase, and you know, a
magazine editor or just people outside of my world, and
(41:07):
I would hear them talk and I was like, oh shit,
you know, there needs to be a way to support
women more.
Speaker 2 (41:13):
What do you think you were chasing by starting this
dinner series.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
I was chasing a community and a camaraderie that I
wasn't able to get within my industry, and I was
hungry for outside perspectives.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
The timing is striking me as interesting as looking for
a community of women, because when I started this podcast,
I had an anticipation that a lot of women's kind
of dark moment that led to their pivot, like might
be COVID or might be like whatever, there's like personal
thing that happened to them. In my case, it was
having a lot of kids all at the same time.
What I did not anticipate is that I hear often
(41:47):
more often than I thought, is twenty sixteen the election
of Donald Trump as something that really changed a lot
of women's perspectives. Yeah, I just hear it much more
often than I anticipated. So that is the same year
that you started these dinners. Do you think, even if
it wasn't, the election in general just sort of like
the context that led you to start them.
Speaker 1 (42:04):
It's a good question. I don't know if it was
a conscious thing. It just felt like I was suffocating
in my own industry and it was so not supportive.
I remember being on air with another designer and the
interviewer said, Rebecca, you make my favorite dress, and then
I was cut out of the segment, and I thought,
now I really must have like done a shitty job
(42:28):
as a guest. And I saw the producer a couple
of weeks later said I'm so sorry we had to
cut you, like she's best friends with my boss, and
that designer was so offended that she wasn't the favorite
designer that she had you cut out. And I was like,
this is gross. You know, in twenty sixteen, I was
two years postpartum. I was like, you know, getting myself
back together and out there, and so two years of
(42:49):
meeting and talking and being around women. Then when I
had the time, I was like, we I need to
do something to.
Speaker 2 (42:54):
Support So what was the first project that you jumped
into in twenty eighteen once you've you're back from attorney
even you realized I can only do one design meeting
a week. I've got more time.
Speaker 1 (43:04):
Well, I said to this really smart marketing person. I
was like, so, what's our plan. She's like, well, we
are going to use you in social but not yet.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
And I was like, okay, now what do I do?
Speaker 1 (43:15):
So I had like two weeks of ladies who lunch
and I was like, I'm going crazy, like I can't
do this, and so she said we should start a podcast.
I said, well, I wanted to start a podcast two
years ago, and I was told it was not a
good idea, and she's like, it's a great idea, and
I was like, great, I'm on it. And so I
began the process of figuring out how to do that,
and then we were at a party for it was
(43:37):
like a rooftop event for some congresswoman or someone to
get elected, and I just remember going, I need to
find a way to make women rich. And the only
way that I know how is if we can know
who they are, we can have a community around them,
and we can support them with education. And so I
just remember thinking about this idea and I said to
(43:58):
a woman on the team, I was like, what do
you think about this idea. I was on the Council
for Women and Girls with Melissa de Rosa and the governor,
and I was like, I'm going to bring this to
the state and the state should have a state seal
that recognizes women own businesses, and blah blah blah and
the red tape and the calls and the just ad nauseum,
(44:19):
and I remember and I just reconnected with her today.
A woman who was an executive director on the committee
was like, why are you asking the state's permission? Just
do this yourself. And I was like, fuck yeah, I'm
doing it for myself, and that's when I took it
into my hands and I said, this has to launch.
The reason why I wanted to start Female Founder Collective
was I wanted there to be some recognizable symbol where
(44:40):
we as females a support and know who is running
the business. So I couldn't be more excited to be
a part of the Female Founder Collective and really give
women all across America and hopefully the world the opportunity
to recognize female made, female supported, and female powered brands
with and a longtime supporter who was at IMG, Leslie Russo,
(45:01):
was like, I'm going to put everything behind this. So
you get the photographer, the makeup, the hair, like, everything's covered.
We'll shoot it, We'll launch it with a panel at
fashion Week, and I had a website with like leave
your email here if you'd like our application, and that
was it. That was all we had was me and
my assistant at the time.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
So that's but I mean, that's so interesting that you
launched it within the context of an industry that you
were actually trying to get out of.
Speaker 1 (45:24):
Right, But I needed the eyeballs and the press and
media around that thing I felt to get momentum.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
So did you launch with a cohort or you just
launched with an idea.
Speaker 1 (45:34):
I launched with an idea. Apply here, we'd send you
the form, we'd review it. If you passed, you were in.
And then what you were in was like we were
making it up at the time, but there's members that
are still around from that time, which is really nice.
Speaker 2 (45:48):
We're five years old, So how did you start to
feel like it was becoming the hitting mass? So you
had the community that you wanted.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
So in the first i'd say two weeks, we hit
three thousand applications and I was like, oh shit, we
have to do something with this now. So the first
step was okay, here's this you know, once we've approved
and vetted you, here's the CEOs you can place on
your website or your products. That was kind of most important.
And then it was like, well, we need a day,
like we need an event. And I was about three
(46:16):
months in when I met my co founder and CEO
Ali Wyatt, and she came on and she had been
at Girl Bossy. She was the CEO of Girl Boston,
so she knew how to like structure this.
Speaker 2 (46:27):
So we started.
Speaker 1 (46:28):
Planning Female Founder's Day, which ended up being in March
of twenty nineteen. So all of our focus went to, like, oh, right,
community you're in and our first big kickoff is going
to be in March, and we're going to have a
day where it's not a bunch of women just talking
on panels, because you can get that from anyone, but
we're gonna have vetted experts giving you ninety minute workshops
on whatever topic is your pain point, and so we
(46:50):
kind of have you know, we had our hero keynotes,
and then the day was like what's pick your poison?
And so after that then we said, okay, our next
event is this, and then we were able to have
enough kind of community events and then online events that
that was kind of how we started.
Speaker 2 (47:07):
Rebecca spent most of her time building Female Founder Collective,
letting her eponymous brand run without her until it couldn't
any longer.
Speaker 1 (47:18):
Things within the business shifted. I got rid of the
two ladies. The business needed me really back, and so
by that time I had a CEO, co founder, I
had a head of operations, and so I was like,
all right, I'm going to be focusing my attention back
into my company again. I felt like it was at
a space where when Ali and I came together, she
(47:38):
was like, I really want to be the CEO, and
I really want to run this day to day, Like
what part do you want in it? Because it won't
work if we both want to do that. And I
was like, great, I want to help with high level
strategy goals, pull in big contacts, and like use my
network to really amplify this. But I don't want to
(47:59):
be in the day today of managing the daily task.
I already have this other job. So I think for
me it worked out that I could then turn my
attention back to Rebecca mink Off and still be involved,
but not on the nitty gritty.
Speaker 2 (48:13):
Yeah, like putting the right team together in each place
for you to be at your best and highest use
in both correct. So, what was one point where at
the time you were like, Okay, this is really terrible.
This is like a low point for me, and now
in retrospect you see it as having really set you
up for the success that you have now.
Speaker 1 (48:31):
I think the low point was that day that I
got back that she said that to me, and that
that person and her and let's say there was a
total of three were there for let's say nine months,
and feeling like I was a complete and total stranger
in my own company with no power, and people say,
(48:55):
but this was your company, Like how did you have
no power? And I'm like, at a certain point, you
have word, you have you know. My brother was aligned
with them because he thought that they knew what they
were doing, and so I would be like, well, listen
to me, you know, and like one day I found
out that the speak had changed. It was like, we're
loving this, and I was like, no, the caption is
(49:17):
from me to the customer, it's not we and they're like, well,
she said to change it. I'd be like I'm erased.
And that was the worst time in my life. And
what I have trouble rectifying is that awful woman inspired
things that bring me joy? How did that awfulness from that?
(49:39):
I got these two things, my podcast and female Founder Collective,
And so sometimes I'm like, I hate you, but thank you.
Speaker 2 (49:46):
You know. It's a very weird feeling. Yeah, No, I
mean I feel like it's like the whole premise of
this entire show that like at the time, you think,
oh my god, it can't get any worse than it,
and I feel like you kind of to get to
like a real low in order for your perspective to shift,
because just as human beings, we just we don't change
(50:07):
drastically without being forced to. Like it is not on
our NATR, yeah for sure, but it does give birth
something totally now. Thank you so much for joining us.
I really feel like this has gone by in one second.
I could talk to you all day long.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (50:22):
Rebecca continues to juggle it all as a mom of
four running her Rebecca Mincoff label while continuing to prioritize
empowering women through the Female Founder Collective. If you're not already,
head over to her podcast, Superwoman and subscribe. I'm biased,
but I think our episode together on Superwoman.
Speaker 1 (50:42):
Is one of the best.
Speaker 2 (50:43):
Be sure to follow Rebecca on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter
at Rebecca Mincoff. Thanks for listening. Thanks for listening to
this episode of She Pivots. If you made it this far,
you're a true pivoter, So thanks for being part of
this community. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and if
you did leave us a rating, please be nice. Tell
(51:06):
your friends about us to learn more about our guests,
follow us on Instagram at she pivots the Podcast, or
sign up for our newsletter where you can get exclusive
behind the scenes content, or on our website she pivots
the Podcast talk to You Next Week. Special thanks to
the she pivots team, Executive producer Emily eda Velosik, Associate
(51:26):
producer and social media connoisseur Hannah Cousins, Research director Christine Dickinson,
Events and logistics coordinator Madeline Sonovak, and audio editor and
mixer Nina pollock I endorse t pivots
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