August 29, 2024 • 25 mins
What if you could turn a simple ear-piercing into a lifelong memory? Join us as we welcome Louisa Schneider, the visionary founder and CEO of Rowan, who is reshaping the piercing industry. Discover how a personal quest for a safer ear-piercing option for her daughter blossomed into an innovative business now boasting 30 retail studios nationwide. Louisa's passion for sterility, safety, and celebratory experiences has transformed a routine procedure into a meaningful milestone for families.
Ever wonder how to navigate the rocky waters of fundraising and business growth? Louisa offers a treasure trove of strategies that helped her secure capital and forge a significant partnership with Target. Learn about the power of believing in your vision, even when faced with initial rejections, and the key lessons in adaptability and staying true to your core values. We also dive into Rowan's inclusive company culture, which not only encourages diversity but also empowers women through a customer-centric approach.
Balance is the name of the game when managing both a thriving business and a beautiful family. Louisa shares her personal strategies for maintaining a positive outlook and clear mind amidst a hectic schedule. From the importance of close friendships and the rejuvenating power of laughter to the benefits of yoga and a morning workout routine, she offers a candid look at her life outside the boardroom. Tune in for a blend of inspiration and practical advice that will resonate with any aspiring female entrepreneur or professional looking to strike a better work-life balance.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Voice Over (00:07):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (00:18):
Hello everyone and welcome to the
Female Founder Show.
I'm Bridget Fitzpatrick.
The Female Founder Show isdedicated to empowering female
entrepreneurs across NorthAmerica with inspiring stories
from some of the most incrediblefemale founders of successful
companies.
Through these stories, we aimto inspire, motivate and educate
aspiring entrepreneurs.
Just like you, we believe inthe power of sharing knowledge,
(00:40):
creating a supportive communityand breaking down barriers that
have held women back for quitesome time.
Today's guest is a provendisruptor in an industry that
has been well pretty boring.
She's taken the piercingindustry by storm with her
company, rowan, and madepiercing safe, fun and
celebratory.
Louisa Serene Schneider is thefounder and CEO of Rowan.
(01:02):
Louisa, thank you so much forjoining us today.
Thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, we'll just jump right inhere, and can you share with us
the inspiration behind startingRowan and what motivated you to
become an entrepreneur?
Louisa Schneider (01:14):
Yes, I'd love to.
My daughter is eight and a halfand when she was born, I was
working in a hedge fund.
At the time, we were studyingmalls and we were studying all
the stores that are in malls andlooking at them, and I was
amazed that the store that I hadgotten pierced at when I was 12
(01:38):
was still really the only placeto go, and it looked very
similar to how it looked a verylong time ago.
I won't tell you how long I gotmy ears pierced and,
unfortunately, after I got myears pierced, I had to have them
surgically sewn back up and hada had a couple of things happen
(01:59):
that weren't ideal and I think,if you know, if the experience
had been a little different, Iwould have had a better outcome.
So I was looking for somethingsafe for Fiona and our
pediatrician doesn't pierce ears, and there weren't any doctors
locally that did, and most ofthem said, yeah, you might just
need to go to a mall or ajewelry store or a tattoo parlor
(02:21):
, and I'd heard some good thingsabout tattoo parlors, but the
one near us was really rough andI just wasn't comfortable
taking my little girl in there,and so I started doing research
on it and my whole family aredoctors and nurses and a lot of
my aunts said that in fact theyhad pierced ears for
(02:42):
pediatricians offices or aturgent care clinics when they
worked there as nurses and thatthey were very comfortable with
needles, with sterility, withhow to handle the anxiety that
can come with it in an earpiercing, because there's
oftentimes a lot of excitementand then you get there and oh no
, I can't do it right, I'm notgoing to do it and that's hard.
And so I just really spentseveral years researching it and
(03:05):
started to bootstrap thebusiness out of my attic.
So I had two friends that werenurses and they wanted to learn
how to get trained to pierceears.
So we did that.
We did a lot of research, theygot trained to pierce ears, I
bought all of the supplies andwe set up a concierge style
business really out of my atticwhere I would let people book
(03:28):
appointments with our nurses.
We would come and we wouldbring our materials.
Everything was very clean andset up, but you'd have to get
your kitchen really sterile forus or wherever it was.
We were going to do the piercingat your home, but what we
discovered is that people reallywanted a nurse or a medical
professional to do the piercing.
And then they also wanted tocall afterwards and say, hey,
(03:48):
it's a little red or itchy, orwhen can I swim, or when can I
change these out.
Because even if we'd told themat the appointment, there was so
much going on, they wouldoftentimes forget.
And I think that's one thingthat Rowan really does well is
that we're there for you.
So we're trying to be fullcircle, trying to reach out to
you as you're doing the research.
(04:08):
Most parents want to do someresearch.
They want to know is this placesafe, is it clean, is it going
to be fun and nice andcelebratory?
And so we really try to checkall of those boxes with equal
importance and we have found agreat, a great product market
fit where people are lovingRowan and our nurses are loving
(04:29):
doing the piercing and being apart of the community.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (04:31):
Yeah.
So now fast forward to todayand you have retail studios set
up across the country, and howmany of those do you have now?
Louisa Schneider (04:41):
So we have about 30 studios across the
country.
We are getting ready to open inthe Tribune Tower on Michigan
Avenue, which is like a dreamcome true to me Growing up.
I just wanted to go to theAmerican Girl store in Michigan
Avenue in Chicago.
We are in New York City on theUpper East Side, we're in
Atlanta, we're at Krog Marketand at Avalon and Alpharetta and
(05:07):
we're growing.
There's a lot of demand forwhat we do, and so anywhere that
we can find a high density offamilies with children college
areas interestingly lots of momsand grandmothers are getting
pierced again for a second orthird time with their daughter
(05:27):
or son when they're gettingpierced for the first time.
That's something that we reallylove is seeing that
multigenerational.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (05:33):
Definitely Now.
It's such a milestone.
I think that if you talk toanyone, they can probably
remember when and where they gottheir ears pierced.
I was five years old.
I remember it very vividly.
I have a twin sister.
She went with me and she wasscreaming and crying and it
wasn't a great experience.
So now, like today with Rowan,I have two granddaughters that
(05:53):
went to a Rowan studio.
They had the best time.
They came out of there likethey just had a party and went
for ice cream and it was so funand the experience was so much
different than it was so manyyears ago.
So kudos to you for making thismilestone for so many an
enjoyable experience.
Louisa Schneider (06:10):
Well, that makes me really happy.
Thank you for doing that.
Yeah, that's the goal.
Is that, whether it's abirthday party or you graduated
from sixth grade or whatever,the milestone might be, that
you're able to do it and have apositive memory?
Yeah, exactly Now, as a femalefounder, what were some of the
unique?
Bridget Fitzpatrick (06:24):
challenges, that you're able to do it and
have a positive memory.
Yeah, exactly Now.
As a female founder, what weresome of the unique challenges
that you faced while buildingyour company and how did you
overcome them?
Louisa Schneider (06:33):
I can't even count how many challenges.
It is you know I really what Ilove about women is that we
really love to help each other.
But you know, it is hard.
It is hard for us oftentimes tofind the courage to go and do
this.
You might have an idea, butthen you think who am I to build
(06:55):
it?
What do I know about this?
How am I going to get the moneyto do it?
Are people going to believe inme enough to do this?
So all of those questionscertainly were a part of it.
I think I just could not stopthinking about the idea and I
was pretty mad, actually, at thefact that there was nowhere for
(07:19):
me to take my daughter.
I was frustrated.
I thought, wow, you know if Ireally did feel I have two older
sons and I felt like, wow, ifthis were something that the
boys were going to do, I thinkthere would already be a better
option for them.
And so it's really my husbandthat pushed me a little and he
said you have got to stoptalking about this and do
something.
And so challenges weredefinitely.
(07:42):
Once I knew that there was aproduct market fit, meaning.
Once I knew people wantednurses to pierce ears, they
wanted a medical professional,then it was all right.
Well, how do I, how do I scalethis?
How do I raise money?
And that part was so differentthan building the business,
(08:03):
because you have to build apresentation and then go and
speak to investors and take alot of rejection.
So you know, when there's agreat opportunity, you just have
to believe in it, right?
Because people are going totell you know, and actually what
you have to realize is that's agood thing.
That's why the opportunity isthere for you, because if
(08:23):
everyone saw it as such a greatidea, someone else would have
already done it.
And I think the generalconsensus initially was that it
wasn't a big enough area tobuild a business in that you
only get pierced once.
So why would I invest in you ifyou're just going to pierce
people and never see them again?
What we find is that we see ourcustomers very often, very
(08:45):
frequently.
They come back in to getchecked out.
They come back in to buy ourlatest new styles that we've
just dropped.
They come back in to get theirears styled, maybe get another
piercing.
So we actually have a lot ofrepeat purchase.
But that's something we had toprove out.
So the fundraising pieceultimately, our largest investor
was a woman, and I think thatis a challenge because there are
(09:07):
so few women in venture capitaland in finance.
But they're strong and thenumbers are growing, and so I
would just encourage anyonewho's thinking about this to
start talking to people.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (09:20):
OK, yeah, great advice is my next question
was going to be so, those womenthat are looking to raise
capital, what would be theadvice that you would give to
them?
And so just, start.
Louisa Schneider (09:31):
So there are so many.
I mean, even if you go intoInstagram and look up female
founders or any of these, youknow you can search.
There are so many organizationsnow there's chief tons of them
that have been created to, tobuild women up, and you can
start there.
There are grants that areavailable for female owned and
(09:52):
minority owned businesses.
These are things that youshouldn't hesitate to apply for
and to to research and and.
But it's really getting in frontof people talking to research
and and um, but it's reallygetting in front of people, um,
talking to them and asking them.
You know, okay, understood thatthis might not be an idea that
you're able to back or thatyou're able to invest, but is
there a name of anyone else thatyou can give me or a contact of
(10:13):
anyone else that you know whomight be interested, right?
So you kind of want to take anyconversation that you have and
lead to something else, and it'sabout not hearing the word no,
but hearing what's theopportunity that this
conversation is going to provide?
Right, because I learned a lotas soon as I could get over the
ego of they didn't want toinvest right away.
(10:35):
Then it was wow, what are theytelling me how can I change the
way I'm approaching this to makeit more interesting or to
answer any of their concerns?
Bridget Fitzpatrick (10:47):
So, yeah, that's great advice.
And also get the feedback as towhy the no.
What can you do to improve thenext time you go in front of
somebody, or maybe you're infront of the wrong type of
funder or you know that kind ofthing.
So great advice.
Thank you for sharing that.
Now, rowan has achievedsignificant success under your
leadership.
What strategies or approachesdo you believe have been pivotal
(11:08):
to your company's growth?
Louisa Schneider (11:10):
I think remaining open and willing to
change is probably the mostimportant thing that you can do
as a founder.
You really have to just keepgoing and you need one core
piece of the business that istrue, or that is your North Star
, because a lot of what youthink the business is or what it
(11:31):
will be is not actually.
Is not actually what it willturn into and may not actually
be what's profitable or whatresonates with the consumer.
So for us, we had a very largepartnership with Target, so we
were in hundreds of Targetlocations and for so many
(11:54):
entrepreneurs myself includedhearing that Target wanted us
for me was the panacea we hadmade it.
Hearing that Target wanted usfor me was the panacea we had
made it.
And ultimately, the partnershipat the size that we were and at
the size that Target is provedto be challenging and we were
not in a place to be able toreally support that business
(12:16):
without a lot more support fromthem at the time, and so we
ended up having to pull out ofthat partnership and we had to
pivot the whole business andwhat we realized is that
building a service in someoneelse's store is a hard thing to
do.
It's much easier to do it inyour own store, right, and so we
started building our own storesand they worked and our
(12:42):
employees were happier and ourcustomers appreciated our
periods in a relationship,especially with another party to
(13:06):
make sure that you maintainpositivity and just talk about
not necessarily the emotions atstake, but the business part of
that conversation and so I thinkthey really understood.
They loved having piercing, weloved being there, but
ultimately, if the bottom linewasn't what we needed it to be,
(13:27):
then we would table it and comeback later, and so the door is
open.
The conversation is still onethat exists, but I think being
able to navigate through changethat you aren't anticipating and
still have that North Star andthe North Star for me has always
been my daughter, so it'salways.
How would I want her piercingexperience to be?
Is this environment the waythat I would imagine it for her?
(13:53):
Would I be proud for her tohave this experience?
And if that is a yes, then Ifeel great about what we're
doing.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (13:59):
That's great.
I love that.
So I've heard you speak oncompany culture before.
How have you built a supportiveand inclusive company culture
at Rowan that encouragesdiversity and empowers women in
the workplace?
Louisa Schneider (14:13):
It's a really great question.
This is something where I think, just organically, a lot of
women have gravitated towardsour concept because they have a
piercing memory.
So we're fortunate in that waythat diversity of an employment
base has sought us as a concept.
So that has been somethingwhere it's been very easy to
(14:35):
find a wonderful team that isdiverse, who's come to us and
who's wanted to support andbuild the concept into the
business that it is.
I think that you know, while Ihad the idea for the business
and have done a lot of theinitial you know blood, sweat
and tears of getting thebusiness started, ultimately my
(14:58):
view is that it's very much ateam effort.
My view is that it's very much ateam effort and there have been
critical people along the waywho have helped us get from one
juncture to the next juncture,and then maybe they've decided
to go on and pursue another rolesomewhere else, but I'm always
extremely grateful to thembecause you can't get from A to
B without the journey and thenyou are at the next phase of the
(15:22):
business and that's a big partof building a business, because
you're literally forgingsomething out of nothing.
It's really hard to do.
We're at a place now where weknow what we do and we do it
really really well.
I think we do it better thananyone in the world and we have
an incredible team who knows howto hire and train.
Training is a huge part of whatwe do.
(15:43):
We have built a medical board.
No other piercing company has amedical board of including the
leading ear surgeon in the world.
So, these are things that takeyears to do, and so I think you
know, one of the things that iscritical is to have a great
(16:05):
leadership team around people,and so that's something that in
the past year, we've spent a lotof work on and very recently
have brought on a new EVP ofpeople, and she is a rock star
and her vision really alignswith the vision of the company,
and so, you know, very much astrong communicator and
(16:26):
encouraging upstream anddownstream feedback so that you
can get better right.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (16:31):
So important, so important Now.
We talked about funding alittle bit earlier.
Many aspiring femaleentrepreneurs face obstacles
such as limited access tocapital or lack of
representation.
What advice would you give towomen who are looking to start
their own business to help themovercome these challenges?
Louisa Schneider (16:50):
Folks that are looking to invest are eagerly
seeking out great ideas andgreat founders, but they don't
necessarily have a way offinding you, and so, again it is
how do I get in front of them?
And then, when I do get fiveminutes of their time, how do I
(17:11):
very quickly get to what's mostimportant, which is I have a
very important idea, I have abig idea that can scale to be a
very meaningful business, and Ican do it in a way that's
profitable.
And I can do it in a way that'sprofitable so I can take the
(17:34):
dollars that you give me and Ican turn them into a business
that will continue to make moneyfor you for a long time and for
all the other shareholders,right.
And so it's reallyunderstanding, or finding a
partner that can help youunderstand, the unit economics
of the business so that you cantalk about the financials of it.
That's really empowering and Ithink sometimes that's
intimidating.
(17:54):
My background is finance, so Ihad that.
But friends of mine who arevery successful entrepreneurs
that had a really differentbackground.
Maybe they were in marketing ormaybe they never worked in
business at all, but they justhad an idea.
They've hired people.
You really want to show that,in addition to having this
business model that can scale tobe big enough to matter and can
(18:17):
make money, that you have theability to take it there, or
that you know what you don'tknow and therefore you can hire
people to help you with that.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (18:28):
Yeah, that's great advice.
So many times women don't askfor help because they think they
can do it all and or they feellike they should have to do it
all.
So great advice there Ask forhelp.
Louisa Schneider (18:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
More simply said yeah Right.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (18:44):
So you have a beautiful family and a
successful company.
How do you find the harmonybetween the two?
Louisa Schneider (18:55):
I laugh a little because it comes in and
fits and starts.
So there are weeks when I haveto lean into the business more
than family and that's really,really hard.
So you know nothing, nothinglike this comes without a lot of
(19:15):
sacrifice.
So I've had to not be with mykids at times when I want to be
right, and I've also had to missbusiness meetings or decision
time at work and trust my teamto do that so that I could be
there for my kids or my husband,and so a lot of it is getting
(19:37):
to a place of understanding thatimperfection is okay.
I'm not going to be far fromperfect, that's all right.
I'm going to do my best.
I will say it's been amazing.
My daughter and her friendshave drafted out this dog
walking business plan and sheand her friends have taken a lot
(19:59):
of inspiration from the workthat I've done, and I love that
because, you know, while Iwasn't there for the award
ceremony this year because I wastraveling, I do think that what
I'm doing is giving her and herfriends the belief that they
can do whatever they want, andthat's awesome.
So but it's, you know, againasking for help, having people
(20:24):
lean in and help, even askingyour kids for help, right, like
they need to start to learn howto do their own laundry and put
it away If it's a year or twoearlier than they might have
otherwise.
But these are things that Ithink every mom and dad work
through.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (20:42):
Yeah, we often overlook the things that
we're teaching our children whenwe're not there.
So that's important that yourealize that, and I think so
many mothers that are businessowners should realize that we
might not be there, but we'reteaching them something.
We're teaching them a lifeskill that's so important and
watching and being thatinspiration that they need is
huge.
Louisa Schneider (21:04):
So many of my friends growing up in the town
where we live.
I really wanted to live in atown where a lot of moms worked,
and so we live very close toNew York City.
It's a very short commute andyou know, it's not an anomaly to
be a working mom, and for somany people it's not a choice,
(21:25):
and so I think that's reallyimportant to keep in mind as
well.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (21:28):
So Rowan has undoubtedly made an impact
in its industry.
What is your long-term visionfor the company and what do you
hope to achieve in the next fiveyears?
Louisa Schneider (21:37):
The next five years are so exciting for us, so
we've already mapped out growthfor the next 18 months.
Really, we are expanding.
There are new urban outdoorcenters, similar to Avalon,
which we talked about earlier.
There are high street areaslike Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
(22:00):
There are university towns.
All of these areas are askingfor a Rowan to come to them and
what we've found is that, youknow, the healthcare industry is
one that you know I'm veryhopeful.
I was at a conference this weekthat JP Morgan hosted and
there's so much innovationhappening in healthcare and I
hope that it's going to improvethe experience for many of our
(22:20):
healthcare workers.
But at the offset of COVID,almost a quarter of nurses have
left the hospital setting andwhat we have found is that we're
creating a really positive,happy place for them to work,
where they're very wellcompensated, and the goal for
Rowan is to continue to leaninto that and continue to make
that experience for themexcellent so that they really
(22:45):
want to work with us, and soit's to build these great work
opportunities and to grow ourfootprint.
I see us as having hundreds oflocations, if not potentially
thousands, both US, domestic andpotentially internationally as
well.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (23:02):
That's awesome.
I love hearing that.
So let's you have a beautifulfamily, like we said, and a
successful company.
What do you do for yourselfthat you feel helps you manage
all of this, this craziness goodcraziness, yeah, it's.
Louisa Schneider (23:19):
Friends are huge.
You need to invest in your,your whoever.
That core group of your friendsis people that can make you
laugh.
A sense of humor is huge, and Ireally enjoy doing yoga, so
that's one of my favorite thingsto do getting out and moving
and working through something onmy yoga mat, and then I can
come into the office and reallyfeel like I can just be there a
(23:43):
hundred percent and I've workedthrough anything that might be
challenging me.
Maybe it's you know my sondidn't want to go to tutoring,
or you know something happenedwith you know my spouse's work
and he's frustrated.
You know these things happen,but they're happening alongside
work and you really want to tryto.
I like to work out in themornings and then show up to
(24:04):
work with a clean slate so thateveryone who's coming in can
kind of have that presence fromme.
And yeah, I think also it'sjust trying to get together with
friends when I can and that'swhat I try to do Reading a
little bit too, but that happenslate at night, you're right.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (24:26):
Love the yoga routine and then getting
with friends.
Great advice, so much greatadvice today.
Thank you so much for sittingdown with us for a little bit
and helping our audienceunderstand that they're not
alone in this entrepreneurshipworld.
So we really appreciate yourtime and I'd love to maybe have
a follow-up with you at somepoint to see how things are
going.
Louisa Schneider (24:45):
I'd love that Anytime.
Thank you, thank you.
Voice Over (24:49):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
If you're a female founder andwould like to help other female
founders with your inspiringstory, we would love to hear
from you.
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (00:18):
Hello everyone and welcome to the
Female Founder Show.
I'm Bridget Fitzpatrick.
The Female Founder Show isdedicated to empowering female
entrepreneurs across NorthAmerica with inspiring stories
from some of the most incrediblefemale founders of successful
companies.
Through these stories, we aimto inspire, motivate and educate
aspiring entrepreneurs.
Just like you, we believe inthe power of sharing knowledge,
(00:40):
creating a supportive communityand breaking down barriers that
have held women back for quitesome time.
Today's guest is a provendisruptor in an industry that
has been well pretty boring.
She's taken the piercingindustry by storm with her
company, rowan, and madepiercing safe, fun and
celebratory.
Louisa Serene Schneider is thefounder and CEO of Rowan.
(01:02):
Louisa, thank you so much forjoining us today.
Thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, we'll just jump right inhere, and can you share with us
the inspiration behind startingRowan and what motivated you to
become an entrepreneur?
Louisa Schneider (01:14):
Yes, I'd love to.
My daughter is eight and a halfand when she was born, I was
working in a hedge fund.
At the time, we were studyingmalls and we were studying all
the stores that are in malls andlooking at them, and I was
amazed that the store that I hadgotten pierced at when I was 12
(01:38):
was still really the only placeto go, and it looked very
similar to how it looked a verylong time ago.
I won't tell you how long I gotmy ears pierced and,
unfortunately, after I got myears pierced, I had to have them
surgically sewn back up and hada had a couple of things happen
(01:59):
that weren't ideal and I think,if you know, if the experience
had been a little different, Iwould have had a better outcome.
So I was looking for somethingsafe for Fiona and our
pediatrician doesn't pierce ears, and there weren't any doctors
locally that did, and most ofthem said, yeah, you might just
need to go to a mall or ajewelry store or a tattoo parlor
(02:21):
, and I'd heard some good thingsabout tattoo parlors, but the
one near us was really rough andI just wasn't comfortable
taking my little girl in there,and so I started doing research
on it and my whole family aredoctors and nurses and a lot of
my aunts said that in fact theyhad pierced ears for
(02:42):
pediatricians offices or aturgent care clinics when they
worked there as nurses and thatthey were very comfortable with
needles, with sterility, withhow to handle the anxiety that
can come with it in an earpiercing, because there's
oftentimes a lot of excitementand then you get there and oh no
, I can't do it right, I'm notgoing to do it and that's hard.
And so I just really spentseveral years researching it and
(03:05):
started to bootstrap thebusiness out of my attic.
So I had two friends that werenurses and they wanted to learn
how to get trained to pierceears.
So we did that.
We did a lot of research, theygot trained to pierce ears, I
bought all of the supplies andwe set up a concierge style
business really out of my atticwhere I would let people book
(03:28):
appointments with our nurses.
We would come and we wouldbring our materials.
Everything was very clean andset up, but you'd have to get
your kitchen really sterile forus or wherever it was.
We were going to do the piercingat your home, but what we
discovered is that people reallywanted a nurse or a medical
professional to do the piercing.
And then they also wanted tocall afterwards and say, hey,
(03:48):
it's a little red or itchy, orwhen can I swim, or when can I
change these out.
Because even if we'd told themat the appointment, there was so
much going on, they wouldoftentimes forget.
And I think that's one thingthat Rowan really does well is
that we're there for you.
So we're trying to be fullcircle, trying to reach out to
you as you're doing the research.
(04:08):
Most parents want to do someresearch.
They want to know is this placesafe, is it clean, is it going
to be fun and nice andcelebratory?
And so we really try to checkall of those boxes with equal
importance and we have found agreat, a great product market
fit where people are lovingRowan and our nurses are loving
(04:29):
doing the piercing and being apart of the community.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (04:31):
Yeah.
So now fast forward to todayand you have retail studios set
up across the country, and howmany of those do you have now?
Louisa Schneider (04:41):
So we have about 30 studios across the
country.
We are getting ready to open inthe Tribune Tower on Michigan
Avenue, which is like a dreamcome true to me Growing up.
I just wanted to go to theAmerican Girl store in Michigan
Avenue in Chicago.
We are in New York City on theUpper East Side, we're in
Atlanta, we're at Krog Marketand at Avalon and Alpharetta and
(05:07):
we're growing.
There's a lot of demand forwhat we do, and so anywhere that
we can find a high density offamilies with children college
areas interestingly lots of momsand grandmothers are getting
pierced again for a second orthird time with their daughter
(05:27):
or son when they're gettingpierced for the first time.
That's something that we reallylove is seeing that
multigenerational.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (05:33):
Definitely Now.
It's such a milestone.
I think that if you talk toanyone, they can probably
remember when and where they gottheir ears pierced.
I was five years old.
I remember it very vividly.
I have a twin sister.
She went with me and she wasscreaming and crying and it
wasn't a great experience.
So now, like today with Rowan,I have two granddaughters that
(05:53):
went to a Rowan studio.
They had the best time.
They came out of there likethey just had a party and went
for ice cream and it was so funand the experience was so much
different than it was so manyyears ago.
So kudos to you for making thismilestone for so many an
enjoyable experience.
Louisa Schneider (06:10):
Well, that makes me really happy.
Thank you for doing that.
Yeah, that's the goal.
Is that, whether it's abirthday party or you graduated
from sixth grade or whatever,the milestone might be, that
you're able to do it and have apositive memory?
Yeah, exactly Now, as a femalefounder, what were some of the
unique?
Bridget Fitzpatrick (06:24):
challenges, that you're able to do it and
have a positive memory.
Yeah, exactly Now.
As a female founder, what weresome of the unique challenges
that you faced while buildingyour company and how did you
overcome them?
Louisa Schneider (06:33):
I can't even count how many challenges.
It is you know I really what Ilove about women is that we
really love to help each other.
But you know, it is hard.
It is hard for us oftentimes tofind the courage to go and do
this.
You might have an idea, butthen you think who am I to build
(06:55):
it?
What do I know about this?
How am I going to get the moneyto do it?
Are people going to believe inme enough to do this?
So all of those questionscertainly were a part of it.
I think I just could not stopthinking about the idea and I
was pretty mad, actually, at thefact that there was nowhere for
(07:19):
me to take my daughter.
I was frustrated.
I thought, wow, you know if Ireally did feel I have two older
sons and I felt like, wow, ifthis were something that the
boys were going to do, I thinkthere would already be a better
option for them.
And so it's really my husbandthat pushed me a little and he
said you have got to stoptalking about this and do
something.
And so challenges weredefinitely.
(07:42):
Once I knew that there was aproduct market fit, meaning.
Once I knew people wantednurses to pierce ears, they
wanted a medical professional,then it was all right.
Well, how do I, how do I scalethis?
How do I raise money?
And that part was so differentthan building the business,
(08:03):
because you have to build apresentation and then go and
speak to investors and take alot of rejection.
So you know, when there's agreat opportunity, you just have
to believe in it, right?
Because people are going totell you know, and actually what
you have to realize is that's agood thing.
That's why the opportunity isthere for you, because if
(08:23):
everyone saw it as such a greatidea, someone else would have
already done it.
And I think the generalconsensus initially was that it
wasn't a big enough area tobuild a business in that you
only get pierced once.
So why would I invest in you ifyou're just going to pierce
people and never see them again?
What we find is that we see ourcustomers very often, very
(08:45):
frequently.
They come back in to getchecked out.
They come back in to buy ourlatest new styles that we've
just dropped.
They come back in to get theirears styled, maybe get another
piercing.
So we actually have a lot ofrepeat purchase.
But that's something we had toprove out.
So the fundraising pieceultimately, our largest investor
was a woman, and I think thatis a challenge because there are
(09:07):
so few women in venture capitaland in finance.
But they're strong and thenumbers are growing, and so I
would just encourage anyonewho's thinking about this to
start talking to people.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (09:20):
OK, yeah, great advice is my next question
was going to be so, those womenthat are looking to raise
capital, what would be theadvice that you would give to
them?
And so just, start.
Louisa Schneider (09:31):
So there are so many.
I mean, even if you go intoInstagram and look up female
founders or any of these, youknow you can search.
There are so many organizationsnow there's chief tons of them
that have been created to, tobuild women up, and you can
start there.
There are grants that areavailable for female owned and
(09:52):
minority owned businesses.
These are things that youshouldn't hesitate to apply for
and to to research and and.
But it's really getting in frontof people talking to research
and and um, but it's reallygetting in front of people, um,
talking to them and asking them.
You know, okay, understood thatthis might not be an idea that
you're able to back or thatyou're able to invest, but is
there a name of anyone else thatyou can give me or a contact of
(10:13):
anyone else that you know whomight be interested, right?
So you kind of want to take anyconversation that you have and
lead to something else, and it'sabout not hearing the word no,
but hearing what's theopportunity that this
conversation is going to provide?
Right, because I learned a lotas soon as I could get over the
ego of they didn't want toinvest right away.
(10:35):
Then it was wow, what are theytelling me how can I change the
way I'm approaching this to makeit more interesting or to
answer any of their concerns?
Bridget Fitzpatrick (10:47):
So, yeah, that's great advice.
And also get the feedback as towhy the no.
What can you do to improve thenext time you go in front of
somebody, or maybe you're infront of the wrong type of
funder or you know that kind ofthing.
So great advice.
Thank you for sharing that.
Now, rowan has achievedsignificant success under your
leadership.
What strategies or approachesdo you believe have been pivotal
(11:08):
to your company's growth?
Louisa Schneider (11:10):
I think remaining open and willing to
change is probably the mostimportant thing that you can do
as a founder.
You really have to just keepgoing and you need one core
piece of the business that istrue, or that is your North Star
, because a lot of what youthink the business is or what it
(11:31):
will be is not actually.
Is not actually what it willturn into and may not actually
be what's profitable or whatresonates with the consumer.
So for us, we had a very largepartnership with Target, so we
were in hundreds of Targetlocations and for so many
(11:54):
entrepreneurs myself includedhearing that Target wanted us
for me was the panacea we hadmade it.
Hearing that Target wanted usfor me was the panacea we had
made it.
And ultimately, the partnershipat the size that we were and at
the size that Target is provedto be challenging and we were
not in a place to be able toreally support that business
(12:16):
without a lot more support fromthem at the time, and so we
ended up having to pull out ofthat partnership and we had to
pivot the whole business andwhat we realized is that
building a service in someoneelse's store is a hard thing to
do.
It's much easier to do it inyour own store, right, and so we
started building our own storesand they worked and our
(12:42):
employees were happier and ourcustomers appreciated our
periods in a relationship,especially with another party to
(13:06):
make sure that you maintainpositivity and just talk about
not necessarily the emotions atstake, but the business part of
that conversation and so I thinkthey really understood.
They loved having piercing, weloved being there, but
ultimately, if the bottom linewasn't what we needed it to be,
(13:27):
then we would table it and comeback later, and so the door is
open.
The conversation is still onethat exists, but I think being
able to navigate through changethat you aren't anticipating and
still have that North Star andthe North Star for me has always
been my daughter, so it'salways.
How would I want her piercingexperience to be?
Is this environment the waythat I would imagine it for her?
(13:53):
Would I be proud for her tohave this experience?
And if that is a yes, then Ifeel great about what we're
doing.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (13:59):
That's great.
I love that.
So I've heard you speak oncompany culture before.
How have you built a supportiveand inclusive company culture
at Rowan that encouragesdiversity and empowers women in
the workplace?
Louisa Schneider (14:13):
It's a really great question.
This is something where I think, just organically, a lot of
women have gravitated towardsour concept because they have a
piercing memory.
So we're fortunate in that waythat diversity of an employment
base has sought us as a concept.
So that has been somethingwhere it's been very easy to
(14:35):
find a wonderful team that isdiverse, who's come to us and
who's wanted to support andbuild the concept into the
business that it is.
I think that you know, while Ihad the idea for the business
and have done a lot of theinitial you know blood, sweat
and tears of getting thebusiness started, ultimately my
(14:58):
view is that it's very much ateam effort.
My view is that it's very much ateam effort and there have been
critical people along the waywho have helped us get from one
juncture to the next juncture,and then maybe they've decided
to go on and pursue another rolesomewhere else, but I'm always
extremely grateful to thembecause you can't get from A to
B without the journey and thenyou are at the next phase of the
(15:22):
business and that's a big partof building a business, because
you're literally forgingsomething out of nothing.
It's really hard to do.
We're at a place now where weknow what we do and we do it
really really well.
I think we do it better thananyone in the world and we have
an incredible team who knows howto hire and train.
Training is a huge part of whatwe do.
(15:43):
We have built a medical board.
No other piercing company has amedical board of including the
leading ear surgeon in the world.
So, these are things that takeyears to do, and so I think you
know, one of the things that iscritical is to have a great
(16:05):
leadership team around people,and so that's something that in
the past year, we've spent a lotof work on and very recently
have brought on a new EVP ofpeople, and she is a rock star
and her vision really alignswith the vision of the company,
and so, you know, very much astrong communicator and
(16:26):
encouraging upstream anddownstream feedback so that you
can get better right.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (16:31):
So important, so important Now.
We talked about funding alittle bit earlier.
Many aspiring femaleentrepreneurs face obstacles
such as limited access tocapital or lack of
representation.
What advice would you give towomen who are looking to start
their own business to help themovercome these challenges?
Louisa Schneider (16:50):
Folks that are looking to invest are eagerly
seeking out great ideas andgreat founders, but they don't
necessarily have a way offinding you, and so, again it is
how do I get in front of them?
And then, when I do get fiveminutes of their time, how do I
(17:11):
very quickly get to what's mostimportant, which is I have a
very important idea, I have abig idea that can scale to be a
very meaningful business, and Ican do it in a way that's
profitable.
And I can do it in a way that'sprofitable so I can take the
(17:34):
dollars that you give me and Ican turn them into a business
that will continue to make moneyfor you for a long time and for
all the other shareholders,right.
And so it's reallyunderstanding, or finding a
partner that can help youunderstand, the unit economics
of the business so that you cantalk about the financials of it.
That's really empowering and Ithink sometimes that's
intimidating.
(17:54):
My background is finance, so Ihad that.
But friends of mine who arevery successful entrepreneurs
that had a really differentbackground.
Maybe they were in marketing ormaybe they never worked in
business at all, but they justhad an idea.
They've hired people.
You really want to show that,in addition to having this
business model that can scale tobe big enough to matter and can
(18:17):
make money, that you have theability to take it there, or
that you know what you don'tknow and therefore you can hire
people to help you with that.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (18:28):
Yeah, that's great advice.
So many times women don't askfor help because they think they
can do it all and or they feellike they should have to do it
all.
So great advice there Ask forhelp.
Louisa Schneider (18:40):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
More simply said yeah Right.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (18:44):
So you have a beautiful family and a
successful company.
How do you find the harmonybetween the two?
Louisa Schneider (18:55):
I laugh a little because it comes in and
fits and starts.
So there are weeks when I haveto lean into the business more
than family and that's really,really hard.
So you know nothing, nothinglike this comes without a lot of
(19:15):
sacrifice.
So I've had to not be with mykids at times when I want to be
right, and I've also had to missbusiness meetings or decision
time at work and trust my teamto do that so that I could be
there for my kids or my husband,and so a lot of it is getting
(19:37):
to a place of understanding thatimperfection is okay.
I'm not going to be far fromperfect, that's all right.
I'm going to do my best.
I will say it's been amazing.
My daughter and her friendshave drafted out this dog
walking business plan and sheand her friends have taken a lot
(19:59):
of inspiration from the workthat I've done, and I love that
because, you know, while Iwasn't there for the award
ceremony this year because I wastraveling, I do think that what
I'm doing is giving her and herfriends the belief that they
can do whatever they want, andthat's awesome.
So but it's, you know, againasking for help, having people
(20:24):
lean in and help, even askingyour kids for help, right, like
they need to start to learn howto do their own laundry and put
it away If it's a year or twoearlier than they might have
otherwise.
But these are things that Ithink every mom and dad work
through.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (20:42):
Yeah, we often overlook the things that
we're teaching our children whenwe're not there.
So that's important that yourealize that, and I think so
many mothers that are businessowners should realize that we
might not be there, but we'reteaching them something.
We're teaching them a lifeskill that's so important and
watching and being thatinspiration that they need is
huge.
Louisa Schneider (21:04):
So many of my friends growing up in the town
where we live.
I really wanted to live in atown where a lot of moms worked,
and so we live very close toNew York City.
It's a very short commute andyou know, it's not an anomaly to
be a working mom, and for somany people it's not a choice,
(21:25):
and so I think that's reallyimportant to keep in mind as
well.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (21:28):
So Rowan has undoubtedly made an impact
in its industry.
What is your long-term visionfor the company and what do you
hope to achieve in the next fiveyears?
Louisa Schneider (21:37):
The next five years are so exciting for us, so
we've already mapped out growthfor the next 18 months.
Really, we are expanding.
There are new urban outdoorcenters, similar to Avalon,
which we talked about earlier.
There are high street areaslike Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
(22:00):
There are university towns.
All of these areas are askingfor a Rowan to come to them and
what we've found is that, youknow, the healthcare industry is
one that you know I'm veryhopeful.
I was at a conference this weekthat JP Morgan hosted and
there's so much innovationhappening in healthcare and I
hope that it's going to improvethe experience for many of our
(22:20):
healthcare workers.
But at the offset of COVID,almost a quarter of nurses have
left the hospital setting andwhat we have found is that we're
creating a really positive,happy place for them to work,
where they're very wellcompensated, and the goal for
Rowan is to continue to leaninto that and continue to make
that experience for themexcellent so that they really
(22:45):
want to work with us, and soit's to build these great work
opportunities and to grow ourfootprint.
I see us as having hundreds oflocations, if not potentially
thousands, both US, domestic andpotentially internationally as
well.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (23:02):
That's awesome.
I love hearing that.
So let's you have a beautifulfamily, like we said, and a
successful company.
What do you do for yourselfthat you feel helps you manage
all of this, this craziness goodcraziness, yeah, it's.
Louisa Schneider (23:19):
Friends are huge.
You need to invest in your,your whoever.
That core group of your friendsis people that can make you
laugh.
A sense of humor is huge, and Ireally enjoy doing yoga, so
that's one of my favorite thingsto do getting out and moving
and working through something onmy yoga mat, and then I can
come into the office and reallyfeel like I can just be there a
(23:43):
hundred percent and I've workedthrough anything that might be
challenging me.
Maybe it's you know my sondidn't want to go to tutoring,
or you know something happenedwith you know my spouse's work
and he's frustrated.
You know these things happen,but they're happening alongside
work and you really want to tryto.
I like to work out in themornings and then show up to
(24:04):
work with a clean slate so thateveryone who's coming in can
kind of have that presence fromme.
And yeah, I think also it'sjust trying to get together with
friends when I can and that'swhat I try to do Reading a
little bit too, but that happenslate at night, you're right.
Bridget Fitzpatrick (24:26):
Love the yoga routine and then getting
with friends.
Great advice, so much greatadvice today.
Thank you so much for sittingdown with us for a little bit
and helping our audienceunderstand that they're not
alone in this entrepreneurshipworld.
So we really appreciate yourtime and I'd love to maybe have
a follow-up with you at somepoint to see how things are
going.
Louisa Schneider (24:45):
I'd love that Anytime.
Thank you, thank you.
Voice Over (24:49):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
If you're a female founder andwould like to help other female
founders with your inspiringstory, we would love to hear
from you.
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