Michelle Madhok
CEO and Founder
Publisher of shefinds.com and momfinds.com
SHEFINDS MEDIA
Who inspires you?
Martha Stewart
Why have you decided to become an entrepreneur?
I don’t deal well with authority.
Where do you see your company in the next five years?
Much bigger and better and needing less of me in the day to day.
How is your “Finds” series of websites (shefinds.com and momfinds.com) different from other fashion blogs?
We focus on the actionable. What can you do/buy? Not just pretty photographs.
What was a defining moment in your career?
When I arrived at CBS in 1995 and they asked if I “did internet.” I said I had an AOL account and they put me in charge of cbs.com.
What is your next step within your career?
It’s not a career. It’s a life. All I can do is keep trying to do better every day.
How did you finance your business when it was at the early stage? (Self-funded, crowd-funded, Angel Investor, VC)
Bootstrapped for 3 years then raised $1.3M then bought the equity back last year.
Tell me something about yourself that we don’t know already.
I’ve spent $3K on laser hair removal over the last 10 years and it was totally worth it.
What is your favorite color?
It changes. Right now I’m into Pantone’s color of the year, Tangerine Tango.
What is your guilty pleasure? (Real Housewives, Chocolate, 50 shades of Grey, etc)
The song Call Me Maybe.
Who is your celebrity crush?
How do you define success?
Getting to own my time.
If you had one year that you could say was the best year of your life what year would it be? Why? How old were you?
Each year keeps getting better. So this past year – age 40 – is one of the best. Also this is the year my book, Wear This Now, comes out.
Describe a time you failed. What did you learn from that experience?
I did amazing work at AOL, but I consistently had problems with bosses – 12 of them over 5 years. I learned a distaste for corporate culture and strive to do it differently at SHEFINDS MEDIA.
What do you do fun?
Post Instagram photos of my super cute dog, Gumby, at our house on the North Fork of Island while drinking copious amounts of Crouteaux Rose. http://instagr.am/p/NzjjcykjEn/ http://instagr.am/p/N9ZKxfEjMe/
Do you have a hidden talent?
I used to be a really talented fiction writer. I was accepted to the University of Iowa MFA program, but I couldn’t bring myself to move to Iowa.
What is your favorite mobile app?
Stitcher. I’m a podcast addict. Multitasking! Love Slate XX podcast and NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour.
What do you do to help focus?
Clear my inbox and try to get back into the GTD system.
Cool Kid or Nerd in High school?
AP class, yearbook/newspaper editor nerd that had a few cool kid friends, but wrote scandalous articles about the Student Body President.
What is your favorite style trend for the fall?
Smoking slippers. Who doesn’t want to wear slippers in public?
Keep up with Michelle Madhok on SheFinds, BrideFinds, MomFinds, Inside She Finds, and Twitter.
Her Book: Wear This Now- Available for purchase
Michelle’s Interview conducted by WIM intern, Kimberly Hamilton