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Fave Hits: 6 Quick Questions with Lezlie Karls, Co - Founder of Mid-Day Squares (part 2)

Fave Hits: 6 Quick Questions with Lezlie Karls, Co - Founder of Mid-Day Squares (part 2)

FromFemale Startup Club


Fave Hits: 6 Quick Questions with Lezlie Karls, Co - Founder of Mid-Day Squares (part 2)

FromFemale Startup Club

ratings:
Length:
8 minutes
Released:
Jul 13, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

Today we are learning from Lezlie Karls, Co-Founder of Mid-Day Squares. What are Mid-Day Squares I hear you ask: They’re vegan protein bars that are also known as little pieces of heaven perfectly designed to stop your hunger or cravings in between meals. And they’re on a Mission To Take Over The World Of Healthy Snacks.

In this episode we’re talking about a solid 10/10 sampling program they launched with overcoming hurdles with manufacturing and operations, turning down an acquisition and some crazy drama they went through when Hershey’s came banging on their door with a cease and desist.

We cover so much in this incredible chat - she’s a real force to be reckoned with. Now a killing entrepreneur, Lezlie also bravely opens up about what it means to fail a business. How to fail, make the cut, and move on. We learn a lot from others’ successes, but there’s undoubtedly, even more, to learn about failures. They’re just a little bit trickier to talk about.

Lezlie had no trouble pinpointing the exact reason her beloved luxury fashion brand, Hector, failed. And in this conversation, she’s ready to pass on her lessons. Number one derives from becoming a consumer of your own product, as is now the case with Mid-Day Squares. Number two is all about having those around you being able to support your product. Clothing line Hector was within the 1% price point. We’re talking high-end fashion. This meant Lezlie’s community couldn’t afford to support her. When launching Mid-Day Squares it became easy for people to buy her product. Easy for people to support. This all helps create virality. Number three is all around not putting herself out there enough. She was always behind the scenes. What is more engaging than seeing a 23-year-old running around NYC in heels trying to get into stores? If that’s not inspiring, I don’t know what is. But she didn’t show that. She didn’t know how to. How to tell her story. How to put herself out there. How to market herself.

At one point you need to know how to shut something down. A good Founder knows how to throw in the towel. So, she did. After 3 years. Took some time off and realized what to do differently in the next venture. Learning about Mid-Day squares you see how all of these learnings have really come into play to her approach this time around, and just goes to show how valuable it is to learn from your mistakes. Let's get stuck in!

LINKS WE MENTION:

Mid-day Squares Instagram

Lezlie's Instagram

Lezlie's LinkedIn

Female Startup Club's Instagram

Doone's Instagram

Doone's TikTok

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Released:
Jul 13, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Want access to the best knowledge, tips, tactics, and strategies from the world's most exciting (and successful) entrepreneurs - who happen to be women? Read on... We started the Female Startup Club podcast to bring you insights and learnings from the world’s most successful female founders, entrepreneurs, and women in business. This is a space for women-in-progress to learn through insightful episodes, be inspired, and take action to get what you want out of your startup.We’re on a mission to help women build impactful eCommerce and direct-to-consumer businesses through inspirational and practical content. More than a podcast, Female Startup Club is an educational platform that provides insightful podcasts and technical business courses. The startup series has grown into one of the top 0.5% of podcasts listened to globally and became a top 10 podcast for Entrepreneurship in the US that impacts thousands of small business owners every day. Inspiration for the podcast came from reading Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss and loving the way men share so directly, that no BS approach. We wanted to hear that same business perspective from women. No fluff. (Btw, the book is awesome but it lacks the female perspective). Enter Female Startup Club. What started as quick video interviews with women chatting about their CPG and DTC businesses on social media turned into a thriving startup podcast. Now just over a year in we’ve done 330+ episodes with some of the world’s most exciting female entrepreneurs who share their direct insights, learnings, eCommerce tactics, and strategies in business to help other founders who are trying to figure startup life out and navigate the entrepreneurial path. We’re totally bias, but it’s really cool. Even though it’s an interview-style show, it’s really just two women having a girlfriend-to-girlfriend chat about how she’s built her business. It’s like meeting an interesting founder at a party, being genuinely curious about what they’re doing, and excited to understand the why and how of their entrepreneurial journey. We like to think of Female Startup Club as your Hype Girl. We show that it’s possible and give you the motivation, tools, and resources you need to keep going in business.Today, we have the luxury of talking to some of the most inspiring women in the female entrepreneurial space three times a week through the Female Startup Club podcast. From Blueland’s Sarah Paiji Yoo-, to Rowena Bird from LUSH Cosmetics and further big names such as Gretta van Riel, Sandy Lin, Mimi Ikonn, and Nadya Okamoto. When you zoom out to the big picture, there are clear patterns among the startup growth paths and tactics of these various women, despite coming from vastly different stories and businesses. All these founder conversations have led to a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the realities of starting an eCommerce business in today’s climate. We’ve been told over and over again by these women that they’re happy to share their startup journeys so deeply because they wish there had been a platform like this when they were starting out. If we can show other women-in-progress that anyone can do it,- and that we all start from the same place (an idea!), we can empower women to dream big and think bigger.But above all, at Female Startup Club we truly believe the opportunities arising from knowledge sharing in the female entrepreneurial community to be limitless. Something we strive to do every day is to create a network of powerful women who want to learn and share, to collect learnings, insights, and strategies, and create useful-, valuable content relevant to the DTC, CPG, eCommerce space. ⁣Hold each other up, share our ideas with our community, and expand your businesses and minds. For this, we are extremely proud to be official supporters of the Malala Fund, donating a portion of our sales to the non-profit working for a world where every girl can learn and lead. Learn more at: Femalestartupclub.com