Michelle and Jenna discuss how Lively’s ethos to empower women with “wild hearts and boss brains” is inspiring women around the world to own and share their stories.
Insights and Key Learnings
- Why Lively is creating a movement, not a product – You are a brand and movement first. Your product is a component of how you bring your ethos to life.
- Lively’s persona Liv: Your honest, balanced, courageous, risk-taking, and supportive friend
- Creating a brand that is accessible for women of all ages and demographics – Interacting with Lively should feel like shopping with your best friend, mom, and loved ones.
- Why creating a brand is like producing a movie and the team’s efforts threading what it means to “Live Lively” through everything they do, from designing the packaging to shaping the online experience
- Michelle’s hope for her daughter founding Lively: “I wanted to create something that I was selling to my daughter. A brand that represents that you as an individual are the most beautiful thing. Your body’s uniqueness and shape are what make you so special. You should celebrate that confidently and courageously.”
- Lively’s Fit Guide featuring women from their community – Your customers are your best models.
- How the team launched with 130,000 email subscribers and an ambassador program (Michelle walks us through their experiences)
- Managing operational burdens by partnering with your manufacturer as an investor
- Keeping it simple to scale effectively – If something feels overly complicated you’re not doing it right. “When everything in your organization is simple you can move quickly and be flexible.”
- How to integrate your team’s lives and values into your brand; Every Lively meeting starts with how each team member is living Lively
- Embracing a flexible work environment by encouraging your team to work when and where they feel most creative. You don’t need to have a meeting for everything.
- Michelle’s goal to create a culture where women can explore and experiment with what they are passionate about
- On paying it forward: How can you help others find the inner courage and confidence to take the leap?