Melissa Gonzalez, Founder and CEO of Lion’esque Style. Melissa is a former Wall Street Executive and multi-season host of Latin Beat on BET. Now she’s working to help emerging brands take it to the next level.
Who inspires you?
Everyday, my mom. She has taught me to learn from your history and experiences and understand how they create stepping stones for the future.
Why are you an entrepreneur?
It’s just something that’s in your blood. Since I was a little girl, I always had the itch to create, and just “doing” something wasn’t enough. I am entrepreneur because I love to build something.
What was a defining moment in your career?
I think this continues to evolve each year, but for me this year it was hosting the WEEN academy summer class at our office. It was a half day with driven and promising college students who arrived with goals, preparation and ideas of promise. It was an inspiring morning.
How is your company different from your competitors?
We feature a tightly edited selection from today’s up and comers who have a keen sense of fabrication and produce items with longevity and versatility, those that will work now and for years to come. We fall in love with their stories and believe they have created brands that women need to know. We also tie them to trends and publish daily style tips for our customers, enabling them with ideas to assemble new looks and outfits with their purchased pieces.
Where do you see your company in the next five years?
Part of my dream can’t be shared yet, but overall we are in this to be a game changer for how women connect to emerging brands.
What’s next for your company?
In 2013 we are focusing on evolving from what we learned in 2012 and further developing our technology build out to create a true marketplace destination that proactively answers the needs of our followers.
How did you finance your business when it was at the early stage? (Self-funded, crowd-funded, Angel Investor, VC)
To date we are self-funded with the support of a couple of friend investors. The goal in 2013, as a member of the new First Growth Venture Network vintage, is raising money for our tech build out.
Tell me something about yourself that we don’t know already.
When I was a little girl, I wanted to be the first female professional baseball player.
What is your guilty pleasure? (Real Housewives, Chocolate, 50 shades of Grey, etc)
Revenge!
The Sunday night agenda is dinner, face mask, Revenge and Homeland, then I am ready to start the new week.
Describe a time you failed. What did you learn from that experience?
Right out of college I failed my Series 7 exam and I was the only one in the Credit Suisse Star program that did. I was devastated, but I had amazing people around me that believed in my potential. The head of trading specifically took me under his wing (told me how he was fired off the Stock Exchange floor when he first started his career) and explained how I reminded him of himself. He not only supported me in that moment, but for the rest of my time at the firm as if I was a little sister. From this I learned failures sometimes happen because the lesson learned is greater than succeeding easily the first time. I learned better time management, prioritizing and giving back to others that are younger and earlier in their careers.
What is your favorite mobile app?
Oh, this is a hard one. I will say the Nike training app has been a life saver especially when sticking to a gym class schedule has been challenging. They have 30-45minute workouts and it syncs to your curated playlists. As an added bonus, you unlock points for Nike purchases as you complete goals!
What do you do to help focus?
I create lists. Having a list of tasks written down is a great way to see the bigger picture and prioritize. Then I listen to my current favorite song before getting started to clear my head and inspire me.
Your favorite trend in fashion right now is……
Another hard one! In general I love how we are all empowered with pattern pants/jeans. It lets you add some personality to your fall/winter wardrobe.
What is on your gift-giving guide?
We curated great gifts for groups, moms, for girlfriends and from all price ranges. Have a look!
Any words of advice for up & coming designers who are trying to get their products noticed?
I would stress the importance of knowing your market and having a business plan for attacking your target market. Being everywhere or being in the wrong places will be time consuming and can be a fast way to run out of energy and money.
Just in time for the holiday season, LionesqueStyle.com curates its first experience store connecting women with a unique shopping destination.
What: LionesqueStyle.com Holiday Experience Pop Up Shop
When: November 26th-December 22nd , Monday through Friday 11am-7pm
Where: The Corner, located at 501 Lexington Avenue at 47th Street
Added Bonus: Be sure to follow Lion’esque Style on Facebook & Twitter @LionesqueStyle @MelsStyles for surprise announcements and appointments for a guided style tour.