Finding Inspiration through Travel -Israel

   I've returned from my trip to Israel with a renewed sense of spirituality, enlightenment and overall joy.  But most of all, I've returned with inspiration.  Of course I found inspiration in the land and the people of Israel - but mostly, I found inspiration in the people that I traveled with.
   Birthright is this amazing gift that is given to young American Jews.  We are given the opportunity to travel for 12 days to a land that our ancestors DREAMED of (they say this continually throughout the trip) - but it really does ring true.  We should never take for granted the fact that a whole bunch of rich, Jewish Americans decided that it's important for us to visit our homeland and discover our roots...for FREE.  From ages 18-26, we're encouraged to travel back to Israel, see Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv, the border of Gaza, and find some spiritual renewal.  For me, I'm already spiritually renewed.  I actually officially converted to Judaism a little over a year ago after being raised Catholic and hating it the entire time.  At 12 years old I was asking my parents why I couldn't be Jewish. (Their response was, you can choose whatever religion you want when you're an adult...and I did) Of course seeing the Western Wall and visiting Yad Vashem was meaningful for me in finding my faith.  But the entire time, I found myself still thinking about my business (obviously) and also learning from the other people in my group what an amazing, talented, group we were.
    First off, I was inspired by the group of people who lived so freely.  People who found work where they traveled, nomads who created their destiny wherever they ended up.  My neurotic New Yorker nature would have a hard-time with this lifestyle, but of course, I envy it.  The ability to just live care-free and say, "I can find work where I go, I can make something of myself, and I can see the world while doing it."  PLENTY of entrepreneur's take this exact risk.  They drop their neuroses, quit their jobs and LIVE by believing in themselves, and their aspirations.  I'm still moonlighting, and teetering on the edge of letting go.  Being in Israel definitely reminded me that there is so much in the world to see, and often, work holds you back from that.
    Then there were the artists & musicians & actors.  There was Dom who has been touring with his band since he was 13 years old, Maxx who was humble about his background but actually has a quite intense reel of movies he's been in, and Meghan who is doing some fantastic photography and videography work in NYC. These are people - living their dreams.  We're often all so scared of taking the leap and saying, "I love [art/music/poetry], but I could never make a living doing it - I'll go sell something instead."  I did this.  I loved art.  I loved fashion design.  But after college - I said, "I'm going to be practical", and I found a job in merchandise planning. Am I regretful? No.  I've always been practical, I enjoy making money, and quite frankly, I enjoy living the lifestyle that I'm able to do with a steady job.  But again - there is this pull - this energy- that is telling me, there is more to life than money, and some SATC lifestyle that you aspired for at a young age.  I'm not so sure that it was Israel, or my Judaism that made me realize this.  It was the people I was with.  I was INSPIRED by their strength and dedication to their passions.
      Finally, there were the soldiers.  The men and women who from 18 years old are forced to spend 2-3 years serving their country in the IDF.  I could spend days writing about how inspiring it is to see EVERY citizen (or nearly every citizen) have to help their country succeed through the military. I think it matures you quickly, and gives a well needed break from school before heading back into college.  It helps you realize where your passions lie, what you want to commit to, and what life is really all about. It's INSPIRING to see young people have such a love for their country.  I wish more Americans loved what we are given.
    And then there are the conversations that we had. The awe inspiring, meaningful, life-changing discussions that helped us to realize our hopes and dreams.  While traveling through this awesome, gorgeous, beautiful, country - we were encouraged to share our feelings (sometimes more thoughts than we wanted, or really needed to know) and it was so beautiful to hear everyone talk so candidly about their emotions, their dreams, their fears, their aspirations, their failures and their lives. 

So here is how I'm going to take my inspirations from Israel back to my life in NYC:

Travel MORE.  Take your vacation, see how others live, and grow from it. Traveling puts your life into a different perspective, makes you realize things you didn't see before, and can create amazing opportunities for growth (emotionally, physically, spiritually - AND in your business!)

Take more RISKS:  In my personal life, I've taken a risk.  I leaped, I fell and I'm happily climbing upwards.  But in my business, I am still standing at the edge, not quite ready to jump.  I'm not going to jump until I'm ready, but I'm certainly closer to the edge than I was before.

Believe in Yourself - Now it's not that I didn't believe in myself before.  I DID!  But often, when you see other people fulfilling their dreams, it pushes you to trust yourself even more.  Know thyself, know what's right, and know that whatever happens, it is meant to be.  You must be your biggest cheerleader, or your neurotic New Yorker will get in your way.

Make New Friends, But Keep the Old - It was astonishing to me that I could grow so close to people in a period of 12 days.  I learned a LOT about friendship and trust through this trip.  Sometimes, your new friends have your back more than your old do.  But often times, your old friends might know what's best for you.  Even if it doesn't seem like they have your best interest at heart at first, think on a grander scheme.  Your friends are all there for you for a reason.

My horoscope the day before I left said "You will meet someone in your travels who will change your life."  I can honestly say that Yes - there was someone who changed my life.  But in the broader perspective I met over 50 people who changed my life.  In fact, I think the person who changed my life was ME.  I was confronted by my truest, most honest self - who reflected back at me and said: "Change your Life".  I'm SO glad I did, and I can't wait to see what life (and travels) bring me next.

Wed-Tech: A New Subset Struggling to be Heard

Wed-Tech. 

It's a term we coined ourselves...and by we, I mean the dozens of bridal technology start-ups here in NYC.  As I was meeting with fellow entrepreneurs talking about my own start-up, Something Borrowed NY, I had so many conversations about the wedding space and how antiquated it is.  The most obvious conversation was how The Knot, formally known as "the" e-commerce resource for weddings, is a mess.  Their content is haphazard and organized in a manner that is unhelpful to brides planning their weddings, their vendor matrix is based on who pays the most money to get a higher listing, and their parent company, XO Group, is too concerned with rapidly expanding their other brands and their IPO than concentrating on moving forward with bridal technology.

With the current surge in Wed-Tech companies, I decided to get us all together.  There were too many meetings I had with people doing similar "iterations" for us NOT to talk about it.  No one (and I say this lovingly), has gotten it "right" yet - besides Pinterest.  And the reason they're such geniuses, and the number one fastest growing website of all time, is because they didn't limit themselves to just weddings.  They were able to capitalize scrapbookers, fashion lovers, dog lovers, cat lovers...any lover of anything to just compile their inspiration pictures in an organized manner. I can speak for my own business and say that my Pinterest has surged to become the #4 traffic driver to my site based on the fact that when people type in "bridal accessories" - I pop up, they pin, and they are directed to my business.

The continuing dichotomy I struggle with is wedding business vs. tech business.  Quite frankly, the tech industry doesn't understand weddings unless it's super sexy with algorithms and an app, and the wedding industry doesn't get tech unless it's super user-friendly and picture based.  There have been a FEW companies who I've seen be funded by the tech world that have a wedding focus; Tailored (formally known as Dress Rush), Lover.ly and Wedding Lovely to name few.  All of these businesses are essentially picture search engines to help you more easily find vendors and inspiration.  They all have different ways of doing it - but they're essentially sharing a common thread.  So when other start-ups that are trying to disrupt (BridesView, Neat Weddings, myself, Knot a Registry, Little Borrowed Dress, etc.),  we're automatically lumped into this "wedding space" that the tech world already sees as "flooded". 

So if tech isn't interested - how about the wedding giants?  This is the way The Aisle NY went.  Shara Levy and David Yassky paired with well known bridal giants Mark Ingram and Deborah Moses to leverage their influence in the bridal industry since their "tech" angle was nothing world changing. (For lack of a better term...they're the "Gilt for Weddings") Their press push was impressive, and certainly was noticed, but last I heard their business was not sky-rocketing.  So - it wasn't about the money they raised, but about the people they raised it from.  Are the wedding industry top dogs NOT as influential as the tech ones?  Perhaps.  But you'd think if you own a wedding business - that being backed by one of the most recognizable wedding figured in the industry would do wonders for your business.  


So now where does this leave me?  I can't raise tech funding because my business is not "sexy" enough in the eyes of tech investors.  (In efforts to make these ridiculous continual comparisons, Something Borrowed NY is the "Rent the Runway" for brides)  Our site is simply an e-commerce site that RENTS accessories to brides for their wedding day. Of course I COULD make it sound sexier (I want to team with Clothia to have brides virtually try on their accessories from their own home, I want an app that has you fill out details about your dress & wedding style that pairs you with the right bridal accessory, I want to create pop-up-shops around the US to help brides touch and feel the products...) but this requires me finding a tech co-founder and I'm not sure if I want to go that route.  


OR


I could try to partner with a top Wedding Planner (think about what BeachMint has done) who backs the concept and leverages our credibility in the wedding space.  Yet, this is another gamble knowing that other businesses who have gone this route have not necessarily been as successful as they anticipated.  


OR


Maybe the best way to do this - is to have both?  A tech backed angel and a wedding angel.  Perhaps the combination of the two is the kryptonite we need to leverage ourselves in BOTH spaces and help us grow beyond the potential of either space on its own.  If my business is straddling the line between WED and TECH - why not just do both?  It seems having support from both sides is far better than just one.  So...Who's In?


Brittany Haas is Founder of Something Borrowed NY. Always drawing and designing, she graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Fiber Science & Apparel Design. Upon graduation she decided to learn the business side of the fashion industry. Since then, she’s gained experience as a financial merchandise planner for several top Fashion houses, and now brings her business savvy to the bridal industry. She has been featured on Women2.0, Forbes.com, and Yahoo Small Business. She is also the leader of @WedTech. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhaas.

Passion - NY Giants vs. Entrepreneurs

A FANTASTIC article by Mark Birch about passion...

http://birch.co/post/17265443279/you-cannot-manufacture-belief

Re-Post on Women 2.0

My post yesterday was re-posted by Women 2.0.  Check it out here!

Juggling a FT job & a start-up (hint...it's not easy)

A short post to describe how miserable I am since I'm missing out on the #wefestival going on right now.  I was accepted...and elated!  What a wonderful opportunity to learn from my idols & meet with other aspiring entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately, as some of you know, I'm heading off to Paris on Friday with my FT company for market.  We've been swamped here (...we're talking 9am-1am days swamped) and it would be totally irresponsible of me to take off a day, just two days before we jump on a plane and have 2 full on crazy, busy weeks.

Enter the boo/hisses here...I know...nobody feels bad for me - I'll be in Paris for 2 weeks.  I assure you, I'll be working non-stop and I won't be skipping down streets with a crepe in hand and a beret on my head. (well...maybe I'll do that on my one day off)

This whole ordeal made me think about "the juggle."  I was fortunate enough to attend Arianna Huffington's keynote address last night for the event and was able to mingle with some entrepreneurs for the night.  The number one question I was asked was:

"How do you do it? Juggle both a FT job and your business?"

The short answer is INTENSE organization & little sleep.  But I'll elaborate.

When I first started working on "SBNY" I was bored at my current job.  I found that weeks 1 and 2 of the month were busy and for the remainder of the month, I was left twiddling my thumbs.  The idea for Something Borrowed NY was conceptualized in 2009 when my 2nd oldest sister was married.  However, it was now 2011 and I needed a project. Ok - let's get SUPER real.  I had just gone through an AWFUL break-up (we lived together...so that creates a mess), and I knew I needed something to get my mind off of my depressing romantic state. So I researched, I read, I took classes at GA, I enlisted my best friend and we started.  I coded the site myself, I took frequent long lunches or personal days to have meetings with designers, entrepreneurs & investors, and we launched. 

I took a deep breath.  Once the site was up and running - maintaining and juggling both became much easier...but not for long.

Social media is KEY to building a business.  I was spending my days tweeting non-stop.  That's when I started to hire interns.  They were creating blog posts, tweeting & facebook(ing) for us. 

and then...I was offered my current job.

I wasn't looking - but it came along knocking...and I had to take it.  It was a fantastic job, great benefits, a huge promotion...but could I still juggle?

I'm working through it now.  There are certain things I need to miss, such as the WEfestival today.  But, I still try to go to at LEAST 2 networking events a week after work.  The business keeps growing, the orders keep coming, and BOTH jobs get better and better every day.

Can I do this forever?  No. But I don't need to make that decision yet. 

Here's a few tips of how I "do it all":

• Make a list...and check it way more than twice - I have reminders for EVERYTHING;  laundry, gym time, networking events, SBNY shipments, dinners with friends etc.  It's all in my iPhone and I'd be lost without it.  Organizing your time and being able to check things off, keeps you sane.
• Keep one day to yourself - We all need to unwind.  For me, I try to make Mondays my night off.  After I get home from my FT job, it's a free night. (Admittedly, to watch the bachelor) Point is, no more hustling, it's a night to do what I want to do.
• Enlist people to help - I have 3 interns who help me with all of my social media needs.  In exchange for school credit, they help me with social media, and I try to help them gain new experiences in the bridal industry.  Or...find a co-founder!
• Positive Thinking - I can't express enough how important this is!  For me, I attend an Inten-Sati class. It helps me complete two tasks, working out & positive re-affirmation.  No matter how you do it - just remind yourself that you can do it.  There is no success without failure.

Fashion 2011

I've compiled a few pictures from my morning fashion shots.  Every morning I try to take a picture of what I'm wearing...because I generally forget what I wore the week before, and don't want to be "that girl" who wears the same outfits weekly...this is a curse my mother has engrained in me...nevertheless - I think it will be cool to look back on in a few years.  You can see my morning updates on instagram (bhaas) or twitter.

Here's the best of 2011:

Interviewing in the Fashion Industry

I've only graduated from college a short 4 years go - but I've had many internships & jobs in my career thus far.  As I knew I wanted to work in fashion, but didn't know to what capacity, I made sure that my education was well rounded in both design & merchandising as well as my work experience. You can check out my resume, to see where my experiences lie, but I was able to nab an internship in design, marketing and retail before I graduated.  After graduation, I realized that design wasn't for me and ended up where I am now - financial/merchandise planning (as well as being an entrepreneur on the side of course).  I'll write another post at some point on WHY schools should start training more for fashion planning as there is a HUGE need in the industry. (...no jobs these days?  I get at least one offer a week since I'm a financial/merchandise planner...)  Point is, you can get any job you want if you know how to position yourself in the job.  You can do that by focusing on your strengths and squashing their doubts before they can even bring them up.

I'm a "Cyber Mentor" for Cornell University to students who are now in the Fiber Science Apparel Design major that I went through.  My "mentee" is starting to interview for internships and asked me for some advice. She said what I told her was "invaluable" (brush my shoulders off), so I decided to share with everyone as I'm sure this could help many people out there.


1) When interviewing companies to prepare for an interview, what type of company background details should I be looking for?

As far as company background - know the history.  You don't need to know EVERYTHING - but know that Ralph Lauren started just selling ties.  Know who the designer of the company is (in this case...still Ralph...but for Hermes for example - it's Christophe Lemaire) and know the BRAND IDENTITY.  A big key word at Ralph is LIFESTYLE. It's a LIFESTYLE brand (which means it encompasses LOTS of different lines...mens, womens, home, pets etc) and it's selling Ralph's vision.  Whether it be preppy, or cowboy, or Americana - it can be rustic and luxe, it can be expensive and it can be more affordable. He's selling his IMAGE - and something great to say would be that you like the way that Ralph's vision encompasses every age/income bracket and yet he can still dress the same aesthetic.  For Hermes, it's about our heritage & craftsmanship. Read current articles, know these brand identities to drive the focus that you already "drink the Kool-Aid" of the company.  Describing these companies visions would be completely different than that of Proenza Schouler or Marc Jacobs.  Know your audience.

2) What do companies want to learn most about me during an interview? And is there something almost all companies have in common that they want most from a potential employee/intern?

Design internships are different - but I think what most want to see is eagerness to learn.  My biggest thing was I was looking for a multitude of experience to broaden my horizons.  I saw the design side, the marketing side, the retail side...I wanted to use my internships to give me a well rounded education. If you're focused on just design, I'd say look for different types of companies; small, large, private, public, corporate etc.


3) Is there anything I should definitely avoid saying?

DON"T pigeon hole yourself into saying you only want womenswear. For instance,  Ralph is known for menswear!  Even if you have NO aspirations of ever designing childrenswear or menswear - these influential experiences are always great for shaping your OWN future aesthetic!  You can say that at school, they don't focus on menswear - but tell them you're open to learning about it so that you can gain from the experience! If you're truly not interested in the company for what they are, then don't apply.

4) Is there a difference between how I approach a design internship vs another type of internship (ie. sales)?

Use your education as an advantage in every situation.  When I was going for NON-DESIGN internships - I would say that my design background made me a better candidate than blanket "marketing/sales" majors because I had the hands on experience of knowing how a garment is made.  Knowing the intricacies of fabric, style, design lines etc. make you more informed on how to market/sell an item.  If I was going for a DESIGN internship  - imagine you're going up against ALL design majors - so say that your liberal arts background (if you have one) has shaped you to looking at design differently.  Maybe pre-calc and writing seminars didn't help so much - but talk about how by taking these classes you've been given inspiration to learn from outside of the workroom.  Also by taking merchandising/marketing classes - you're becoming familiar with the industry and that always helps towards design!  Just THINK of how you can make yourself be the ultimate candidate. 

Think of what THEY think will be your weaknesses - and have an excuse/reason behind each of them.