March 22, 2024 • 26 mins
This week, Rachel Zoe is live at SXSW, joined by two women entrepreneurs who were selected as last year’s recipients of the BOTOX® Cosmetic (onabotulinumtoxinA) grant through their partnership with IFundWomen, where they received mentorship and funding for their businesses. Listen to them share their journey as women business owners, navigating The Confidence Gap, and how the grant program has helped to propel their businesses forward. Tune in to hear their empowering stories.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This episode is sponsored by Botox Cosmetic Onavachulinum Talks and
a Hi everyone, I'm Rachel Zoe and you're listening to
Climbing in Heels. This show is all about celebrating the
most extraordinary superwomen who will be sharing their incredible journeys
to the top, all while staying fabulous. Today's a very
(00:24):
special episode of the podcast, as we're coming to you
from Hotels Saint Cecilia in Austin, Texas. I'm joined here
today by two incredible women entrepreneurs who are hands selected
as last year's recipients of a Botox Cosmetic onavachu Linum
(00:44):
talksin a grant through their partnership with iFund Women, where
they received mentorship and funding for their businesses. As an
entrepreneur myself, I know from experience how impactful capital, coaching
and connections true we are to take your business to
the next level. I'm very, very excited to have Tiffany
(01:08):
and Chris Shan. This is very exciting. Okay, So, my
lovely guests and I were brought together today to talk
about the confidence gap that exists in the marketplace for
women in business. And I don't know if you all
know about this, but this is crazy. But a recent
study shows that women owned businesses generated two point seven
(01:31):
trillion dollars in revenue in twenty twenty three, and yet
only two point one percent of venture funding went to
those companies. Just no one thinks that's insane, because I
do well, those are staggering figures. I'm proud to say
that Botox Cosmetic is actively fighting to change that narrative
(01:51):
by bringing back this program for a second year, which
aims to foster women's entrepreneurial spirits and create a forum
for mentorship and community. Okay, So I'm joined today by
Krishawan and Tiffany, both Botox Cosmetic grant RECP bents yay,
and I'm so excited to hear their stories. Okay, So Tiffany,
(02:14):
why don't you kick us off and tell us a
bit about your background because I'm very excited to have you.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
All right, I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
My name is Tiffany Jones Louis. I'm the owner of
TJO Collection, and I'm sure y'all saw me walking around here.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I'm stick for one.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Okay, wait, can I sidebar? I'm so jealous. I'm like
I'm sorry. I want to feel bad for you that
your pants were too short. But oh yeah, adult, Okay,
go on my violence out.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
So I'm a fashion designer and when I was in
the Navy, I wore uniform, of course, and when I
got out the uniform, I had to wear my bigger
clothes and I did not have a week's worth of
business cash will wear it from my job. So I
decided to create a fashion line exclusively for till women.
(03:06):
And so I went from the Navy to being a
fashion designer and women started catching on to me from
all over the world. So we service women in thirty countries.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Now I'm in casual. I'm in so impressive, so impressive. Okay,
tell me hello everyone.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
My name is Krishan Lampley.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
I'm the owner, CEO and nicosion for Love Corkscrew. So
the wine that you're drinking is mine. I started eleven
years ago, which I can't believe, but I've been in
the industry for twenty five years. I was the first
African American woman to ever go national with a wine
(03:49):
brand on the entire Midwest. So I am from Chicago,
so the Chicago's around and right now we're distributing over
eighteen states to over forty states. Here in Texas, we're
in h GB, We're in Total Wines and more as well,
and over three million bottles sold so around the country, Target, Walmart,
(04:11):
Whole Foods, Myers, just to name a few. And again,
I'm super excited to be here. So thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I mean, this is so exciting. I mean, this confidence
gap really bumps me out. So let's talk about this. Okay,
all right, ready, So what was your biggest challenge in
your business before receiving the grant? Because you know, I
have different businesses, I do know the pain that we
(04:38):
can face when launching any business. It's terrifying. So I'm
very curious to know sort of what were some of
your biggest challenges.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Well, I'm in retail, so you know this a.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Be that's a challenge in and of itself.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Yes, And so what I was struggling with in my
brand was that the brand was growing faster than I
was able to keep inventory and stuff. And then by
the time that I would get inventory in the season
half passed, you know, So just being able to keep
up with the demand and.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Get ahead there was the hardest part.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
I always felt like, Man, I could serve so many
more women if I had more funding to buy more inventory.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
You know, there was the hardest part for me.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, I think that's a really common thread and starting,
but it's just ultimately funding and I think probably mentorship
as well, because it's you just don't know where to
drive to sometimes you.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Know for sure?
Speaker 1 (05:34):
What about you, Christian Velocity?
Speaker 4 (05:37):
In my industry, yes, I'm in retail as well, but
when you own a wine company, you have to move
those battles off the shelf. And how do you move them?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
You move them from in.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Store tastings, which are very expensive. Nielsen Ratings said that
seventy five percent of consumers decide what they're going to
drink from in store tastings. So I did not have
the funding to really get that marketing push. So in
being over three thousand locations, I got to be seen
when the other wine companies are dead in the center
(06:08):
love Corkstreet was in the corner collecting dust. So that
was always very difficult.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
And how did you how did you kind of push through?
Like I guess my question is like in your experiences,
have you really felt the effects of the confidence gap
when you were fundraising for your brands, like were you
were you feeling? I know I have seen that and
felt it first firsthand for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
I mean for sure. From one, I'm in a niche market. Yeah,
so uh.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
The biggest question is always if the major retail stores.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Aren't doing it, why are you?
Speaker 3 (06:44):
And I knew I could prove it through my sales
if I had.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
The money to just do some you know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (06:50):
And it was always so hard because I saw my customers,
my email list was growing, the emails, the comment everything,
and really someone having the confidence in me to know
that I could drive this car and grow these grow
this company even though major retailers weren't doing.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
I mean, and what about for you?
Speaker 4 (07:13):
For me, it was I had the ratings right. Wine
enthusiasts had give me ratings eighty nine in higher with
Best Buy with distinction.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
It's incredible so for my.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Wine to get these amazing ratings. But still I had
to work ten times as hard as any other wine company,
and I had to non stop sell myself. You get
a little annoyed, just a little annoyed. So I continue
to push forward, I continue to sell myself. I continually
have to do more than everyone else.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Are you finding more women in the room when you're
going into the rooms to ask for money and support
or just you know, when you're trying to sell the brand,
are you finding more women? Do you find that you
get more opportunities from women or men? And by the way,
I love men. I am not in any way putting
men down. I love men, so so I just mean,
(08:07):
you know, I have been in situations where I felt
like I was sitting there with like ten guys at
the table and they were like, so, wait what do
you do? Like wait what? And it was there was
a lot of questions and everything came down to like
I would walk out and be like, you don't think
I can do this? You know. I got that feeling
a lot when I was coming up.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
I still feel that way, you know, I still feel
that way, And it's still very few women vcs and
very few women you know, who you can get funding from.
So you kind of end up in a room with me, yeah,
and then deciphering through if they can actually understand what
(08:51):
you do, like to your point. So I'm still struggling
through there right now.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Well, because you're saying I'm making pants for tall women
and looking at you, like, why just roll them up
or just wear flats or nope, I hear you, I
see you. And it's brilliant. And what changed about your
business once you got the grant from Botox Cosmetic, Because
that's a really big deal.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Grant help me build velocity, you know it. I cannot
stress how much within my industry. I'll break down a
really quick number. There are only sixty out of one
hundred and eleven thousand in the world that are African
and American women nagolsions, vineyard owners or winery owners.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Sixty.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
That's wild.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
And a lot of people say, oh, I know a
lot of women, and I know a lot of African
American people in the wine industry.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
No you do not. There is sixty. No you do not.
There is sixty.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
So to be able to utilize an amazing grant like
this and an opportunity like this to build that velocity
to be seen, I have an amazing social media following. However,
I need to get more liquid to lips and this
grant has helped me do that.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
So very exciting, it's so incredible. I mean, I you know,
I feel like this grant is it's to your point
it's exactly what you need, because you do start to
I think at some point feel like, why is my
brand collecting dust? I know mine is as good, if
not better than that person, but they had more support.
I think it's incredibly frustrating. And what about you? How
(10:28):
did the grant change to me?
Speaker 3 (10:30):
I tell anybody the grant changed my life, and mainly
because it helped me buy more inventory to get ahead,
and now I'm able to double and triple you know,
the amount of things that I buy. Now I've already
purchased like next spring, and that keeps the you know,
(10:52):
velocity going for lack of bitter words. And then what
I've also been able to do was create pop up shops.
So now we're we're on foot to doing pop up shops,
letting people try the clothes on, and being able to
be out there and prove my point that there are
more of us than you think you know out there
(11:14):
that are tall. And I always ask people like, there's petite,
there's plusize, there's men and they are tall.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Why do we get that's not inclusive? You know?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
And when you want to talk about things like that,
we're not included.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
We're not included in fashion.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
We're not even included in the census most of the time,
so there's so much data out there that we're just
skipped over. And I'm proving that point every day, and
this grant helps me to continue doing that.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
You're I'm going to call out. I think they're jealous.
They just want naturally tall people to feel a little
bit of pen They're like, no, it's okay. Your pantovy
shirtsy like me. I'm wearing stilts, And I'm like, okay,
I's tell don't feel bad. No, I'm just kidding. It's
it's so necessary and there should absolutely be pants for
(12:07):
tall women. I mean a thousand percent, Okay. So I
talk about mentorship a lot. I believe that mentorship, at
least in my life, has been equally, if not sometimes
more important than actual money. Sometimes because you can have money,
and I have seen hundreds of businesses have all this
(12:30):
money and all this funding, but absolutely no guidance and
no mentorship, and no one on that board who cared,
just someone who wrote a check. And I feel that
the value of a great mentor or a great advocate
for what you're doing is monumentally just important in every
(12:51):
possible way. So how do you feel about that? Like,
have you had great experience with mentoring and how valuable
do you think that is?
Speaker 4 (13:00):
I have not, because there was no mentors for me. However,
this grant allowed access to people that I would have
never met, being able to talk to people within the
venture capitalist world, people in the joint venture world collaborations.
I wouldn't have been able to meet Tiffany, which we
(13:21):
didn't know.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
We were sorority sisters.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
We've done a collaboration. I actually did an amazing collaboration
where I came here to Texas and I did a
wine tasting for one of her just unbelievable events that
she had. So the mentorship can come in different ways.
It's not necessarily someone saying I'm in the wine industry,
this is how I succeeded, so you can follow my plan.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
That doesn't work. It doesn't work. Does one size all?
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Not at all.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
So I think it was a mixture again of collaboration
and having access that this grant allowed me to have
that I wouldn't have had before.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Yeah, And I think that's that's my point is sort
of this grant is not just money, it's bringing a
community in Botox Cosmetic brought this granted and they were like, Okay,
we're not just writing a check. We're actually going to
nurture and mentor and bring a community a network that
you otherwise wouldn't have met. Because I think that's the
hardest part sometimes.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
I really, I feel like, for the first time I'm
seeing I'm, you know, just a black girl from Memphis.
My family from Mississippi. It was no business owners. People
barely got education. So I hold two masters and I'm
a veteran, so I.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Was the first one, thank you than I have to
leave home.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
So but I'm not the leader right and being able
to have support for people to take me a little
bit further and see me and what I'm trying to do.
You know, the little girl inside of me is happy
to be here.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Get a motion. I love this for both of you. Honestly,
It's brilliant and I love your ideas and I love
all of it. And I think I think sometimes we
always still kind of feel like the little girl because
you always sti't want people to like you and buy
your things, like come pick me, come taste my wine,
come try my clothes, like yeer, It's it just takes
you back. I think always to when you were little,
(15:22):
where you're just like pick me, okay. So this is
a hard question, I think, and I'm someone that doesn't
necessarily think this way, but I do like to ask
the question, where do you see your business going in
the next like five years, ten years, or do you
just live in the day and you're like, I don't
know what's past the next four months. So I have.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Owned Love Corkscrew eleven years now, So eleven years. I'll
be fifty years old September thirtieth.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
That's my husband's birthday. Libra, I love Libras.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Yes, as you should.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So you guys are good people being fifty.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
I do not want to still have my company at
sixty five. I want to enjoy my retirement. I just
got engaged, so yes, I have no hands to snop, right,
So I'm literally going to be married for the first
time at fifty years old.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
I think that's freaking beautiful.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
So to my point is I want to enjoy the
rest of my life and that does not come into
this day to day grind. So I'm building the company
to sell it. So in five years, I give myself
Max Love Corkscrew will be sold beautiful.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
I'm going to retire.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
I have another company called the Lampley, which is my
last name, which is home Goods, and I want to
enjoy that, travel the world, source wines from South Africa,
from Shunnin Blancs to Kiyanti's and just really too. Yes,
I want to enjoy myself.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Aren't a drink walking now? Right now? By the way, God,
I've had a day, don't I deserve No, I'm just
getting un Yes, you do love corks. Who was at
the bar going right after this? Okay, Tiffany, what about you?
And I love that plan, by the way, and I
envy that because I never really had that plan. So
that's a good one, though, I do. I would like
(17:22):
to sit on a beach in the south of France,
retired with kids and grandchildren and just make jewelry. And
then my little son told me he's going to buy
me a castle there so that I can do it,
my little prince. Okay, So Tiffany, ten years from now.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
In teen years. So my I'm on the other end.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
I just had kids, and so my twins are two,
my daughter's four, and.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
You are busy.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
It was Toby, That's what happened.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
And you know in COVID, I kept looking at my
husband like, I just wish twins would arrive at our
doorstep twin girl, and.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
That we're done for Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
So I have three younger children, and my daughter's gonna
be tall she you know, p jam My sons are
already almost taller than her, and they're two years younger
than her. So I'm gonna have some giants. And but
what I want for them is that they don't struggle
the way I did. That my daughter doesn't struggle the
way I did, having to wear men's clothes and boys
(18:25):
clothes just to get by. I want better for her,
and so I'm hoping that in the next ten years
major retailers will wake up and at least allow us
to space.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
I love being.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Direct to consumer, but I just believe I should be
able to run to a store if I need something
today and.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Get it and I want every Yes, agreed. I think
that's perfect and beautiful, and I feel like it's all
gonna happen. I do. I'm pretty confident in US. Okay,
So lastly, what advice would you give to upcoming like
female entrepreneurs or just already sort of established trying to
(19:07):
survive still because they feel like as an entrepreneur, always
trying to survive in some way, Like there's I would
like to say, the highs are the high and the highest,
and the lows are the lowest. You know, it's it
can be scary and incredible all in the same hour. Right.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
I literally joke with my staff and we always are saying, oh,
you want to be an entrepreneur. You want to be
broke all the time and work in twenty four to seven.
Ooh so yeah, right, but I'm here. So the advice
that I give is, and I coin this and I
believe I said it on my Ted talk that your
(19:44):
passion follows you. You cannot follow your passion. And I
give the example of you like baking pound cake but
it tastes like a brick, or you enjoy seeing but
your tone death. That doesn't mean you're not passionate about.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
It, but your husband.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
But your passion follows you. What do I mean by that?
Your friends, your family, people around you. If you ask
them what you're great at, they'll tell you and.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
You don't even know.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
So that may be the perfect business because it just
comes easy. So my advice is to let your passion
follow you, get out of your own way, and never
stop and never settle.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
I one thousand person, I agree with every word or that.
While side my friend Tiffany, I think.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
For me, I always tell people, don't be afraid to pivot.
Sometimes it's just you're knocking on the wrong door.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
It doesn't mean that you have to stop. You just
need to pivot.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
And I say that because I remember when I joined
the military. My whole family was like, don't do that,
but I'm so glad I did. And then they opened
it up to another world. And then when it was
time to get out, they were all like, civilian life
is you you know, you're gonna go.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Do a business. You have security and benefits.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
I was like, I still feel like I gotta go though,
you know, and I'm so glad I did, And so
pivoting is okay. It's okay to make a change. I
think now I've opened myself up to if it doesn't.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Work, that's okay, but I gotta go try.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah. Yeah, which is by the way, really scary, right,
I mean it's very scary. It's all fun, exciting and
scary and to your point, your passion, I didn't know
what I was gonna do. I thought I was gonna
be a child psychiatrist, which maybe I am now throughout
my whole life, but I ended up being a stylist
(21:49):
because I didn't realize what I was doing. But since
the age of seven or eight years old, I was
laying out clothes for people and didn't like what they
were wearing, so it changed everything. I would guys gos.
I hated sports clothes, so I would like put things
out from Monday to Friday label. I didn't know that
was smiling. I didn't know you could make a job
out of that. But I think at the end of
(22:09):
the day, I scream at every mountain top possible. You
have to follow your passion because in it won't feel
like work, and on those brutal days, it won't matter
because you still love it. You know. My dad always says,
if you love your job, ninety eight percent of the time,
you are winning big. But because the other two percent,
(22:30):
just remember, that's why they call it work. I want
to thank you so much for being on climbing heels
with me today. This was so much fun. Your stories
are so inspiring. I adore you both. I can't wait
to drink your wine. I can't wear your pants. I Tiffany,
I love you. I still want to feel bad for you,
(22:51):
but like I just you're beautiful and you're tall, and
I'm happy that you have pants that I got literally
almost killed by leaf. But I do I really love
what you're doing. I mean it all kidding aside. I
think it's beautiful and necessary and there should be closed
for every single person of every size.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Can I just say that, being in fashion, I can't
tell it's an honor to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Now. You got me about to cry. I've watched you.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
For a really long time, and now I feel like
I can go out of the way. So thank you
for everything you've done. I don't know every challenge you've had,
but I just want to say thank you because you're
a woman, and I know it's hard.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Not just watch me heart me in a good way,
in a good way. I'm gonna hug my tall friends
defend you to thank you. You're a superwoman, and I
do believe that you know, as women and we have
a lot of superpowers. Right, just takes as a beat
to find it. Sometimes, you know, it's funny because one
(24:07):
of the things I always say about women, you know,
you hear especially in business, and I've heard it from
a lot of dudes in a room that didn't know
us paying attention, and they're like, I don't know. I mean,
she's going to be so emotional about it. And you
know what I say every time to that, Thank God, Like,
thank God, because if we were running the frickin' world,
(24:28):
it would be a lot better because we do bring
emotion to everything, and we are human. We're all human beings,
and there is pain, and there is hardship, and there
is challenge, and there are all these things and without emotion,
what the hell? Like I understand, Like it's I think
that's part of our magic, right, And I think emotion
(24:48):
is a beautiful thing no matter what it is, and
we have to be okay to feel what we feel.
Right while we're climbing in our heels? Are you wearing heels, Tiffany? Yeah,
she is? Thanks my girl?
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Are you.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
It's all at all?
Speaker 2 (25:03):
I'm old, not old?
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Stop it? Okay? All right, you guys. Thank you so
much to Tiffany Kashan for being on climbing in heels
with me today. Your stories are so incredibly important and
incredibly inspiring, and I really want to thank Botox Cosmetic
for bringing us together today and for the incredible work
they're doing to elevate women entrepreneurs. Women are warriors. I
(25:29):
believe that all women are warriors. I've made t shirts
that say it, bags that say it, and I think
we can truly do anything. I want to thank you
so much for listening to Climbing and Heels. Don't forget
to write a review. Wherever you get your podcasts. I
love reading them. And while you're at it, follow me
and at Rachel Zoe and at Climbing and Heels pod
on Instagram for more updates and upcoming guests, episodes and
(25:53):
all things Kira Tour. All right, you guys, this was
super fun. Happy International Women Day. I'm so on our
Women's Day, Women's Day, Krashan and Tiffany, I love you guys,
and I'm so excited to see what's coming for you guys,
and I can't wait to drink your wine. I'm gonna
hang a pair of your pants on my wall and
just look at them and hope I'm gonna grow into
(26:14):
them and be that tall, you know. And seriously, I'm
very excited to watch what you do, and it's an
honor to meet both of you. Honestly, thanks for having us.
You can also learn more about this year's Botox Cosmetic
(26:35):
Grant recipients, who will be announced in May by following
Botox Cosmetic on Instagram and YouTube. Talk to your specialist
to see if Botox Cosmetic is right for you. For
full prescribing information, including boxed warning, visit botoxcosmetic dot com
or call eight seven seven three five one zero three
zero zero
This episode is sponsored by Botox Cosmetic Onavachulinum Talks and
a Hi everyone, I'm Rachel Zoe and you're listening to
Climbing in Heels. This show is all about celebrating the
most extraordinary superwomen who will be sharing their incredible journeys
to the top, all while staying fabulous. Today's a very
(00:24):
special episode of the podcast, as we're coming to you
from Hotels Saint Cecilia in Austin, Texas. I'm joined here
today by two incredible women entrepreneurs who are hands selected
as last year's recipients of a Botox Cosmetic onavachu Linum
(00:44):
talksin a grant through their partnership with iFund Women, where
they received mentorship and funding for their businesses. As an
entrepreneur myself, I know from experience how impactful capital, coaching
and connections true we are to take your business to
the next level. I'm very, very excited to have Tiffany
(01:08):
and Chris Shan. This is very exciting. Okay, So, my
lovely guests and I were brought together today to talk
about the confidence gap that exists in the marketplace for
women in business. And I don't know if you all
know about this, but this is crazy. But a recent
study shows that women owned businesses generated two point seven
(01:31):
trillion dollars in revenue in twenty twenty three, and yet
only two point one percent of venture funding went to
those companies. Just no one thinks that's insane, because I
do well, those are staggering figures. I'm proud to say
that Botox Cosmetic is actively fighting to change that narrative
(01:51):
by bringing back this program for a second year, which
aims to foster women's entrepreneurial spirits and create a forum
for mentorship and community. Okay, So I'm joined today by
Krishawan and Tiffany, both Botox Cosmetic grant RECP bents yay,
and I'm so excited to hear their stories. Okay, So Tiffany,
(02:14):
why don't you kick us off and tell us a
bit about your background because I'm very excited to have you.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
All right, I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
My name is Tiffany Jones Louis. I'm the owner of
TJO Collection, and I'm sure y'all saw me walking around here.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
I'm stick for one.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Okay, wait, can I sidebar? I'm so jealous. I'm like
I'm sorry. I want to feel bad for you that
your pants were too short. But oh yeah, adult, Okay,
go on my violence out.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
So I'm a fashion designer and when I was in
the Navy, I wore uniform, of course, and when I
got out the uniform, I had to wear my bigger
clothes and I did not have a week's worth of
business cash will wear it from my job. So I
decided to create a fashion line exclusively for till women.
(03:06):
And so I went from the Navy to being a
fashion designer and women started catching on to me from
all over the world. So we service women in thirty countries.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Now I'm in casual. I'm in so impressive, so impressive. Okay,
tell me hello everyone.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
My name is Krishan Lampley.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
I'm the owner, CEO and nicosion for Love Corkscrew. So
the wine that you're drinking is mine. I started eleven
years ago, which I can't believe, but I've been in
the industry for twenty five years. I was the first
African American woman to ever go national with a wine
(03:49):
brand on the entire Midwest. So I am from Chicago,
so the Chicago's around and right now we're distributing over
eighteen states to over forty states. Here in Texas, we're
in h GB, We're in Total Wines and more as well,
and over three million bottles sold so around the country, Target, Walmart,
(04:11):
Whole Foods, Myers, just to name a few. And again,
I'm super excited to be here. So thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
I mean, this is so exciting. I mean, this confidence
gap really bumps me out. So let's talk about this. Okay,
all right, ready, So what was your biggest challenge in
your business before receiving the grant? Because you know, I
have different businesses, I do know the pain that we
(04:38):
can face when launching any business. It's terrifying. So I'm
very curious to know sort of what were some of
your biggest challenges.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Well, I'm in retail, so you know this a.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Be that's a challenge in and of itself.
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Yes, And so what I was struggling with in my
brand was that the brand was growing faster than I
was able to keep inventory and stuff. And then by
the time that I would get inventory in the season
half passed, you know, So just being able to keep
up with the demand and.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
Get ahead there was the hardest part.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
I always felt like, Man, I could serve so many
more women if I had more funding to buy more inventory.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
You know, there was the hardest part for me.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, I think that's a really common thread and starting,
but it's just ultimately funding and I think probably mentorship
as well, because it's you just don't know where to
drive to sometimes you.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Know for sure?
Speaker 1 (05:34):
What about you, Christian Velocity?
Speaker 4 (05:37):
In my industry, yes, I'm in retail as well, but
when you own a wine company, you have to move
those battles off the shelf. And how do you move them?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
You move them from in.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Store tastings, which are very expensive. Nielsen Ratings said that
seventy five percent of consumers decide what they're going to
drink from in store tastings. So I did not have
the funding to really get that marketing push. So in
being over three thousand locations, I got to be seen
when the other wine companies are dead in the center
(06:08):
love Corkstreet was in the corner collecting dust. So that
was always very difficult.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
And how did you how did you kind of push through?
Like I guess my question is like in your experiences,
have you really felt the effects of the confidence gap
when you were fundraising for your brands, like were you
were you feeling? I know I have seen that and
felt it first firsthand for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
I mean for sure. From one, I'm in a niche market. Yeah,
so uh.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
The biggest question is always if the major retail stores.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Aren't doing it, why are you?
Speaker 3 (06:44):
And I knew I could prove it through my sales
if I had.
Speaker 2 (06:48):
The money to just do some you know what I mean?
Speaker 3 (06:50):
And it was always so hard because I saw my customers,
my email list was growing, the emails, the comment everything,
and really someone having the confidence in me to know
that I could drive this car and grow these grow
this company even though major retailers weren't doing.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
I mean, and what about for you?
Speaker 4 (07:13):
For me, it was I had the ratings right. Wine
enthusiasts had give me ratings eighty nine in higher with
Best Buy with distinction.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
It's incredible so for my.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
Wine to get these amazing ratings. But still I had
to work ten times as hard as any other wine company,
and I had to non stop sell myself. You get
a little annoyed, just a little annoyed. So I continue
to push forward, I continue to sell myself. I continually
have to do more than everyone else.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Are you finding more women in the room when you're
going into the rooms to ask for money and support
or just you know, when you're trying to sell the brand,
are you finding more women? Do you find that you
get more opportunities from women or men? And by the way,
I love men. I am not in any way putting
men down. I love men, so so I just mean,
(08:07):
you know, I have been in situations where I felt
like I was sitting there with like ten guys at
the table and they were like, so, wait what do
you do? Like wait what? And it was there was
a lot of questions and everything came down to like
I would walk out and be like, you don't think
I can do this? You know. I got that feeling
a lot when I was coming up.
Speaker 3 (08:27):
I still feel that way, you know, I still feel
that way, And it's still very few women vcs and
very few women you know, who you can get funding from.
So you kind of end up in a room with me, yeah,
and then deciphering through if they can actually understand what
(08:51):
you do, like to your point. So I'm still struggling
through there right now.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Well, because you're saying I'm making pants for tall women
and looking at you, like, why just roll them up
or just wear flats or nope, I hear you, I
see you. And it's brilliant. And what changed about your
business once you got the grant from Botox Cosmetic, Because
that's a really big deal.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
Grant help me build velocity, you know it. I cannot
stress how much within my industry. I'll break down a
really quick number. There are only sixty out of one
hundred and eleven thousand in the world that are African
and American women nagolsions, vineyard owners or winery owners.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Sixty.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
That's wild.
Speaker 4 (09:38):
And a lot of people say, oh, I know a
lot of women, and I know a lot of African
American people in the wine industry.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
No you do not. There is sixty. No you do not.
There is sixty.
Speaker 4 (09:49):
So to be able to utilize an amazing grant like
this and an opportunity like this to build that velocity
to be seen, I have an amazing social media following. However,
I need to get more liquid to lips and this
grant has helped me do that.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
So very exciting, it's so incredible. I mean, I you know,
I feel like this grant is it's to your point
it's exactly what you need, because you do start to
I think at some point feel like, why is my
brand collecting dust? I know mine is as good, if
not better than that person, but they had more support.
I think it's incredibly frustrating. And what about you? How
(10:28):
did the grant change to me?
Speaker 3 (10:30):
I tell anybody the grant changed my life, and mainly
because it helped me buy more inventory to get ahead,
and now I'm able to double and triple you know,
the amount of things that I buy. Now I've already
purchased like next spring, and that keeps the you know,
(10:52):
velocity going for lack of bitter words. And then what
I've also been able to do was create pop up shops.
So now we're we're on foot to doing pop up shops,
letting people try the clothes on, and being able to
be out there and prove my point that there are
more of us than you think you know out there
(11:14):
that are tall. And I always ask people like, there's petite,
there's plusize, there's men and they are tall.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Why do we get that's not inclusive? You know?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
And when you want to talk about things like that,
we're not included.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
We're not included in fashion.
Speaker 3 (11:32):
We're not even included in the census most of the time,
so there's so much data out there that we're just
skipped over. And I'm proving that point every day, and
this grant helps me to continue doing that.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
You're I'm going to call out. I think they're jealous.
They just want naturally tall people to feel a little
bit of pen They're like, no, it's okay. Your pantovy
shirtsy like me. I'm wearing stilts, And I'm like, okay,
I's tell don't feel bad. No, I'm just kidding. It's
it's so necessary and there should absolutely be pants for
(12:07):
tall women. I mean a thousand percent, Okay. So I
talk about mentorship a lot. I believe that mentorship, at
least in my life, has been equally, if not sometimes
more important than actual money. Sometimes because you can have money,
and I have seen hundreds of businesses have all this
(12:30):
money and all this funding, but absolutely no guidance and
no mentorship, and no one on that board who cared,
just someone who wrote a check. And I feel that
the value of a great mentor or a great advocate
for what you're doing is monumentally just important in every
(12:51):
possible way. So how do you feel about that? Like,
have you had great experience with mentoring and how valuable
do you think that is?
Speaker 4 (13:00):
I have not, because there was no mentors for me. However,
this grant allowed access to people that I would have
never met, being able to talk to people within the
venture capitalist world, people in the joint venture world collaborations.
I wouldn't have been able to meet Tiffany, which we
(13:21):
didn't know.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
We were sorority sisters.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
We've done a collaboration. I actually did an amazing collaboration
where I came here to Texas and I did a
wine tasting for one of her just unbelievable events that
she had. So the mentorship can come in different ways.
It's not necessarily someone saying I'm in the wine industry,
this is how I succeeded, so you can follow my plan.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
That doesn't work. It doesn't work. Does one size all?
Speaker 2 (13:49):
Not at all.
Speaker 4 (13:50):
So I think it was a mixture again of collaboration
and having access that this grant allowed me to have
that I wouldn't have had before.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
Yeah, And I think that's that's my point is sort
of this grant is not just money, it's bringing a
community in Botox Cosmetic brought this granted and they were like, Okay,
we're not just writing a check. We're actually going to
nurture and mentor and bring a community a network that
you otherwise wouldn't have met. Because I think that's the
hardest part sometimes.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
I really, I feel like, for the first time I'm
seeing I'm, you know, just a black girl from Memphis.
My family from Mississippi. It was no business owners. People
barely got education. So I hold two masters and I'm
a veteran, so I.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Was the first one, thank you than I have to
leave home.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
So but I'm not the leader right and being able
to have support for people to take me a little
bit further and see me and what I'm trying to do.
You know, the little girl inside of me is happy
to be here.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Get a motion. I love this for both of you. Honestly,
It's brilliant and I love your ideas and I love
all of it. And I think I think sometimes we
always still kind of feel like the little girl because
you always sti't want people to like you and buy
your things, like come pick me, come taste my wine,
come try my clothes, like yeer, It's it just takes
you back. I think always to when you were little,
(15:22):
where you're just like pick me, okay. So this is
a hard question, I think, and I'm someone that doesn't
necessarily think this way, but I do like to ask
the question, where do you see your business going in
the next like five years, ten years, or do you
just live in the day and you're like, I don't
know what's past the next four months. So I have.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
Owned Love Corkscrew eleven years now, So eleven years. I'll
be fifty years old September thirtieth.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
That's my husband's birthday. Libra, I love Libras.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
Yes, as you should.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So you guys are good people being fifty.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
I do not want to still have my company at
sixty five. I want to enjoy my retirement. I just
got engaged, so yes, I have no hands to snop, right,
So I'm literally going to be married for the first
time at fifty years old.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
I think that's freaking beautiful.
Speaker 4 (16:24):
So to my point is I want to enjoy the
rest of my life and that does not come into
this day to day grind. So I'm building the company
to sell it. So in five years, I give myself
Max Love Corkscrew will be sold beautiful.
Speaker 2 (16:43):
I'm going to retire.
Speaker 4 (16:44):
I have another company called the Lampley, which is my
last name, which is home Goods, and I want to
enjoy that, travel the world, source wines from South Africa,
from Shunnin Blancs to Kiyanti's and just really too. Yes,
I want to enjoy myself.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Aren't a drink walking now? Right now? By the way, God,
I've had a day, don't I deserve No, I'm just
getting un Yes, you do love corks. Who was at
the bar going right after this? Okay, Tiffany, what about you?
And I love that plan, by the way, and I
envy that because I never really had that plan. So
that's a good one, though, I do. I would like
(17:22):
to sit on a beach in the south of France,
retired with kids and grandchildren and just make jewelry. And
then my little son told me he's going to buy
me a castle there so that I can do it,
my little prince. Okay, So Tiffany, ten years from now.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
In teen years. So my I'm on the other end.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
I just had kids, and so my twins are two,
my daughter's four, and.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
You are busy.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
It was Toby, That's what happened.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
And you know in COVID, I kept looking at my
husband like, I just wish twins would arrive at our
doorstep twin girl, and.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
That we're done for Oh my goodness.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
So I have three younger children, and my daughter's gonna
be tall she you know, p jam My sons are
already almost taller than her, and they're two years younger
than her. So I'm gonna have some giants. And but
what I want for them is that they don't struggle
the way I did. That my daughter doesn't struggle the
way I did, having to wear men's clothes and boys
(18:25):
clothes just to get by. I want better for her,
and so I'm hoping that in the next ten years
major retailers will wake up and at least allow us
to space.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
I love being.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
Direct to consumer, but I just believe I should be
able to run to a store if I need something
today and.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Get it and I want every Yes, agreed. I think
that's perfect and beautiful, and I feel like it's all
gonna happen. I do. I'm pretty confident in US. Okay,
So lastly, what advice would you give to upcoming like
female entrepreneurs or just already sort of established trying to
(19:07):
survive still because they feel like as an entrepreneur, always
trying to survive in some way, Like there's I would
like to say, the highs are the high and the highest,
and the lows are the lowest. You know, it's it
can be scary and incredible all in the same hour. Right.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
I literally joke with my staff and we always are saying, oh,
you want to be an entrepreneur. You want to be
broke all the time and work in twenty four to seven.
Ooh so yeah, right, but I'm here. So the advice
that I give is, and I coin this and I
believe I said it on my Ted talk that your
(19:44):
passion follows you. You cannot follow your passion. And I
give the example of you like baking pound cake but
it tastes like a brick, or you enjoy seeing but
your tone death. That doesn't mean you're not passionate about.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
It, but your husband.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
But your passion follows you. What do I mean by that?
Your friends, your family, people around you. If you ask
them what you're great at, they'll tell you and.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
You don't even know.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
So that may be the perfect business because it just
comes easy. So my advice is to let your passion
follow you, get out of your own way, and never
stop and never settle.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
I one thousand person, I agree with every word or that.
While side my friend Tiffany, I think.
Speaker 3 (20:37):
For me, I always tell people, don't be afraid to pivot.
Sometimes it's just you're knocking on the wrong door.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
It doesn't mean that you have to stop. You just
need to pivot.
Speaker 3 (20:50):
And I say that because I remember when I joined
the military. My whole family was like, don't do that,
but I'm so glad I did. And then they opened
it up to another world. And then when it was
time to get out, they were all like, civilian life
is you you know, you're gonna go.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Do a business. You have security and benefits.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
I was like, I still feel like I gotta go though,
you know, and I'm so glad I did, And so
pivoting is okay. It's okay to make a change. I
think now I've opened myself up to if it doesn't.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Work, that's okay, but I gotta go try.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah. Yeah, which is by the way, really scary, right,
I mean it's very scary. It's all fun, exciting and
scary and to your point, your passion, I didn't know
what I was gonna do. I thought I was gonna
be a child psychiatrist, which maybe I am now throughout
my whole life, but I ended up being a stylist
(21:49):
because I didn't realize what I was doing. But since
the age of seven or eight years old, I was
laying out clothes for people and didn't like what they
were wearing, so it changed everything. I would guys gos.
I hated sports clothes, so I would like put things
out from Monday to Friday label. I didn't know that
was smiling. I didn't know you could make a job
out of that. But I think at the end of
(22:09):
the day, I scream at every mountain top possible. You
have to follow your passion because in it won't feel
like work, and on those brutal days, it won't matter
because you still love it. You know. My dad always says,
if you love your job, ninety eight percent of the time,
you are winning big. But because the other two percent,
(22:30):
just remember, that's why they call it work. I want
to thank you so much for being on climbing heels
with me today. This was so much fun. Your stories
are so inspiring. I adore you both. I can't wait
to drink your wine. I can't wear your pants. I Tiffany,
I love you. I still want to feel bad for you,
(22:51):
but like I just you're beautiful and you're tall, and
I'm happy that you have pants that I got literally
almost killed by leaf. But I do I really love
what you're doing. I mean it all kidding aside. I
think it's beautiful and necessary and there should be closed
for every single person of every size.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
Can I just say that, being in fashion, I can't
tell it's an honor to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Now. You got me about to cry. I've watched you.
Speaker 3 (23:24):
For a really long time, and now I feel like
I can go out of the way. So thank you
for everything you've done. I don't know every challenge you've had,
but I just want to say thank you because you're
a woman, and I know it's hard.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
Not just watch me heart me in a good way,
in a good way. I'm gonna hug my tall friends
defend you to thank you. You're a superwoman, and I
do believe that you know, as women and we have
a lot of superpowers. Right, just takes as a beat
to find it. Sometimes, you know, it's funny because one
(24:07):
of the things I always say about women, you know,
you hear especially in business, and I've heard it from
a lot of dudes in a room that didn't know
us paying attention, and they're like, I don't know. I mean,
she's going to be so emotional about it. And you
know what I say every time to that, Thank God, Like,
thank God, because if we were running the frickin' world,
(24:28):
it would be a lot better because we do bring
emotion to everything, and we are human. We're all human beings,
and there is pain, and there is hardship, and there
is challenge, and there are all these things and without emotion,
what the hell? Like I understand, Like it's I think
that's part of our magic, right, And I think emotion
(24:48):
is a beautiful thing no matter what it is, and
we have to be okay to feel what we feel.
Right while we're climbing in our heels? Are you wearing heels, Tiffany? Yeah,
she is? Thanks my girl?
Speaker 4 (25:01):
Are you.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
It's all at all?
Speaker 2 (25:03):
I'm old, not old?
Speaker 1 (25:06):
Stop it? Okay? All right, you guys. Thank you so
much to Tiffany Kashan for being on climbing in heels
with me today. Your stories are so incredibly important and
incredibly inspiring, and I really want to thank Botox Cosmetic
for bringing us together today and for the incredible work
they're doing to elevate women entrepreneurs. Women are warriors. I
(25:29):
believe that all women are warriors. I've made t shirts
that say it, bags that say it, and I think
we can truly do anything. I want to thank you
so much for listening to Climbing and Heels. Don't forget
to write a review. Wherever you get your podcasts. I
love reading them. And while you're at it, follow me
and at Rachel Zoe and at Climbing and Heels pod
on Instagram for more updates and upcoming guests, episodes and
(25:53):
all things Kira Tour. All right, you guys, this was
super fun. Happy International Women Day. I'm so on our
Women's Day, Women's Day, Krashan and Tiffany, I love you guys,
and I'm so excited to see what's coming for you guys,
and I can't wait to drink your wine. I'm gonna
hang a pair of your pants on my wall and
just look at them and hope I'm gonna grow into
(26:14):
them and be that tall, you know. And seriously, I'm
very excited to watch what you do, and it's an
honor to meet both of you. Honestly, thanks for having us.
You can also learn more about this year's Botox Cosmetic
(26:35):
Grant recipients, who will be announced in May by following
Botox Cosmetic on Instagram and YouTube. Talk to your specialist
to see if Botox Cosmetic is right for you. For
full prescribing information, including boxed warning, visit botoxcosmetic dot com
or call eight seven seven three five one zero three
zero zero
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