The Journey to Create and Cultivate (and All of the Messy Mistakes in the Middle) w/ Jaclyn Johnson

I knew the world was changing and that the company would need a second life, a second digital life that it was going to lead. And I knew, like, we were going to need cash to do that. We were going to need the right team in place to do that, to move into a completely digital product. We had started it a little bit and, like, been testing it, but, like, in order to build digitally, you need a lot of money, and you need people who specialize in that. And so I knew it was the right time for us to bring on that partner that would bring the company into this new era.

Welcome to the show, Jacqueline. I'm so excited to have you here.

Thank you. So excited to be here.

You're someone I've admired for many years because of what you've been able to create, but also from just who I believe you to be. And I've been blessed to have one conversation with you a few weeks ago, and you went above and beyond for me. And so I just know how much you care and how passionate you are about helping other women succeed. I know that's one big component of your life's work.

Oh, thank you. Well, it's great to meet you, and hopefully I can shed some light on more things in the podcast.

Yeah. So I always like to ask, tell us a little bit more about the story behind the success. And I know that's a little bit broad, but in particular, I'd love to know a little bit more about how you became an entrepreneur, because I know that it happened pretty early on in your life. So I'd love to know a bit more about that backstory story.

Yeah, for sure. So I always like to say my foray into entrepreneurship was sort of accidental. Like, I definitely did not set out to start a business or run a business. I came from a family of small business owners, so I had, you know, obviously seen my parents bring homework. I. My sister and I were, like, stuffing envelopes in the offices, like, early days. And so it was just, like, never really on my radar. I was working in corporate in New York City, working my way up the ranks. And essentially it was around 2009 when the recession hit, and the company I was at started to, like, lay off people. And I knew I was sort of, like, on the chopping block because it was just kind of happening in waves. And the CEO at the time was like, listen, like, there's this job at the same company, sister brand in Los Angeles that you can take. Same salary, same position, you know, otherwise, essentially, like, you're getting laid off. And So I took that job as like a sign to like get out of New York, try something new. Went to this company, was promptly like let go, like two months later in a new city with like zero relationships and was really freaked out, to be totally honest, and ended up freelancing and kind of starting this like freelancing gig, which ended up turning into my first company, which was a marketing agency and you know, had zero idea what I was doing. I had obviously worked in corporate the entire time, structures, teams, large companies, you know, kind of going from, from that environment to like a scrappy startup, like you're doing everything from the bookkeeping to the hiring to the firing, to like, you know, all of the things, the new business, all of it was a lot. But it was something that, you know, was kind of a welcome challenge at the time because I was not getting any jobs in LA because at the time really the industry was all entertainment or gaming and my background wasn't really in that. And so it was kind of like a means of survival I guess, in some ways, but also sort of a happy accident into becoming an entrepreneur.

So I'd love to break that down even more because it's super fascinating. So when you were working in corporate, was it in marketing?

Yes. So I, I mean I always feel like I'm dating myself but like, so my first job out of college was at this marketing agency and it was at the time called like a word of mouth guerrilla marketing agency, which was really just social media marketing, but just didn't have a name at the time. And it was like me and these like three guys basically out of this like really shady office in Flatiron and they were basically like really ahead of the time. They were like, we're on Facebook, we're creating pages for companies. And like it was just like they were really ahead of the game. They understood the nuances of social media before brands were even participating. I was doing campaigns where for Mac cosmetics, where I was like in beauty forums, like meeting with like Mac artists and like seeding them products and like it was like the early, early days of social media. And so it was really interesting because I got that sort of scrappy startup environment with these like guys that were starting this business. And I was really one of the first people who had real corporate experience in social media. So I was able to really move quickly up the ranks. I was poached by another agency called iCrossing and I was working with CVS and Mazda and like developing their social media strategies at the time. And then I Was in house at Interactive Corporation, which is like a massive conglomerate that owns like The Daily Beast, match.com, you know, now tinder, weather.com, whatever, like a bunch of dot coms. And the job that I was like essentially let go or was transferred from was at a company called pronto.com, which is essentially their Amazon competitor. And was transferred then to City Search in Los Angeles, which, like, I don't know if anyone remembers citysearch anymore, but it was really interesting because I, when I got to City Search, I. And again, this is going to make me sound a hundred years old, but I was like, guys like Yelp had just launched and I was like, we have a huge opportunity to go up against Yelp. Like, we're legacy, they're new. Like, let's, let's turn our City Search editors into ambassadors and influencers. Like, let's start like teaming up and having review. Like, and everyone looked at me like I was an insane person. They were like, no, like, we do things a certain way. We've done it this way for like 20 years. And like, you're really annoying, basically. And so it was as much as I was like laid off for, you know, the recession and cuts and all that stuff, I was definitely laid off because I was not a personality fit at the company. Because I was like, let's go, let's do stuff. Like, you know, and they were just like, it's a no. So it was really hard because I felt like I had been like climbing the ladder, like doing all the right things and making all the right moves. And then all of a sudden to be like, we're good, you know, it was really hard to hear that.

Yeah, and you're so creative and you have your, you know, you know what's up and coming and you love trying new things and to have that be shut down. Like you said, definitely not a personality fit. So as you moved into freelancing, did you know exactly what you wanted to offer? And I'm curious to know, how did you start to get contracts?

Yeah, so basically I sent an email out to like my wider network at that point and was like, hi guys. Moved to LA and got laid off. So, you know, just looking for some like freelance gigs or full time jobs. Like, I wasn't really even like looking, I was just like, I just want work. But I was really lucky. So my boss at the company that I ended up being transferred, like the company I was at that transferred me to the company in la. My boss at the time was John Foley, who is now most well known as the CEO of Peloton and the founder of Peloton. So John is like an incredible mentor. Was so great to work for, really, like, you know, put a lot into my thoughts and innovation and everything. And so he's the one who got me that job in la. So when I emailed, I basically emailed him too. And I was like, I got laid off. And he was like, oh my God, like, I made you move to LA and now you're like, laid off. So he was like on a mission to get me a client. And so he ended up getting me my first freelance client, which was called Folica, essentially a Sephora competitor. And basically from there I was able to get a lot more freelance clients. And what I was really offering at the time, which was sort of like the hot thing, was social media management. So, like basically creating these profiles, managing posting content. This is when there was like one channel and it was like very, you know, was Facebook and it was pretty easy and like really working with them to build out their customer service channels through that and launch pages and things of that nature. So that's really what I was sort of doing early stage. And then it morphed into, as things were changing, like influencer marketing, event marketing, like more of the things that we started seeing coming out of that time period.

And how long did you do that?

So I did that freelance, I would say for about a year. And then essentially I was also blogging at the time. So I had a pretty well known blog called Some Notes on Napkins. It still exists on the Internet. It's very embarrassing, but I started a blog in 2006 and so there was four of us on the Internet that had blogs and I got a lot of press around it. I was in Teen Vogue and I was in Allure and it was all these whatever. There was four of us. And so I was doing that. And so I started to do. I was doing more influencer stuff as well. And I went to this event and like participated in this, like, event and met this girl who was like, oh, you have your own thing. Like, I have my own thing. Like, we should look at office space together. And having come from New York, I was like, I can't afford office space. Like, what? But then being in LA at the time, we ended up finding this like really kind of amazing loft in downtown LA. And it was like 800 bucks a month. And the three. There was three of us. We had another guy that joined us too that like split it. And I was Like, I can't believe we have this space. Like, this is so crazy. And it was nice because I was also new to the city, so I wanted to, like, get out. So we had this sort of creative space we created, and we sort of branded the space and called it no Subject. And it was like, we all worked out of it. We hosted, like, events during Art Walk. It was like, this really fun creative space. And then eventually I ended up starting my first business with the woman that I got the space with, which was then we called no Subject, the agency. And so her specialization was really, like, on the event side. I was really, like, social media and marketing side. And so combined, we started to get clients together and, like, ended up starting my first company kind of out of nowhere.

Wow. So I had a blog, too. It was called Life's Too Short to be Subtle. It was in 2010. It was not in any magazines, but it was something. It changed my life, though. And I started practicing. Like, I started posting what I was grateful for and just stuff about London because I had randomly moved there. And it was such a great. I don't know. I don't even know what to call it. It was just such a great outlet. I guess those were the best days.

For blogging because there was no formula. Like, when it became formulaic is when I stopped. But, like, mine was, like, I would make these collages of, like, outfits and fashion and home and music and, like, it had nothing. It was really like. I mean, the first blog post, I'm like a girl in the city, you know, like, whatever. Like, it was so embarrassing. But every blog was so different back then. Like, it was really, like, authentic to the person journaling. And then, like, the moment someone started taking pictures of their outfits, like, everyone just went into that direction, and it obviously became something completely different. But that was sort of the best. That was like the early, early days. And it was sort of the wild, wild west of the Internet. And it was great.

I love it. So you started this business with your new friend in the city and the woman you shared the office with. And how long did you guys run that?

So we ended up running it. Well, the company itself was for seven years, but we ended up having a business partner breakup. As you do, like, when you're starting companies and you kind of have no plan. That often happens. So she ended up going her own way. I ended up continuing to run the company for four years after that. The company change had a million iterations of, like, what it was, what we were doing, etc. But we really got to work with some of the best clients out there. Like by the end of it, l', Oreal, Urban Decay, Uber Microsoft, like we had huge clients and it was a really successful business which was really exciting. But I ended up selling that company to small girls pr, which is was a PR agency out of New York. And they took over basically the west coast operations of my company and created their west coast office.

So one of the things I admire greatly about you is just your ability to make things happen. And from the outside looking in, I'm like, how? Okay, so you come from corporate, you start this freelance gig, you then start another business, then somehow you know how to sell your company, you know how to attract all these like top end people. You're super magnetic. I mean, how is this happening? Are you just like constantly learning? Do you have a mentor that supports you every step of the way? What does that look like?

I definitely do not have a mentor. I like, I want to say it's like I sometimes like fail upwards in ways because like when you think about like the no subject trajectory in that business, like there were so many mistakes made with that business. Like I always say, like, truly I felt like that was getting my MBA and being a business owner because like any mistake I made 100% and it really taught me that business really taught me the business of business versus the creative and selling, which is what I was always really good at. Like that's what I came from was the strategy, the creative and obviously being able to sell things in the actual like invoicing ops, like scaling like processes, like not great at like, I was like, everything's in my brain, I don't know how. Like I'd rather just do it myself. I don't know how to teach. Like I can't do any of that stuff. So that was a major masterclass. And like when I say that it was like very painful. Like it was really hard. I definitely taking over the a company by myself was like super challenging. When we had employees, like everyone, like lawsuits, like it was a. It was intense, right? Like so. And it's like you make a lot of mistakes and you learn a lot about it. And I had a lot of shame around that. Like in the early days and then once I started kind of talking to people about what had happened, so many people were like, oh yeah, that happened to my friend. Or like that happened to this person. Or like, oh, yep, totally like, and I was like, oh wait, this is like something that like people go through. Like there's Always these, like, you know, kind of messy mistakes you're making in business. And that was really how Create and Cultivate started. So basically like, by wanting to have a community of entrepreneurs and women and freelancers and stuff that were kind of going through the same thing. I started Create and Cultivate of like getting women together. It was never intended to be a business. It was more just like a community building thing. And like, you know, I knew how to throw events and I wanted to kind of just see, like, can we do cool things through the agency? And like, that took on a life of its own and really kept kind of parallel pathing to the agency, but again, never made money. But it was like this thing that people loved and like really gravitated towards both as consumers and as brands. And I was like, huh? And it got to the point where it was really interesting because the small girls conversation and like, this is what I always say, like, like selling your company and figuring things out, it wasn't so straightforward. Like, it took a lot of. It took a while for us to get there because they were sort of like, listen, like, we need an LA office, like for this client we have. And like, we love you and like, we do the same things and like, we had thrown each other business throughout the year and like, we don't want to compete with you necessarily, but, like, what's your deal? And I was sort of like, you know, again, this conversation took like three years before it got done, like the actual deal. Because at first I was like, you know, I'm open. Like, I definitely know my struggle is in scaling and operationalizing. And were a team of like five I think, at the time, but we're doing about 2 million a year in rev, and they were like 30 and like way, way bigger and way more structured than we were. So I was like, this does feel like a good fit for us to be able to like, scale and grow. And it was really about defining out my role. So while that was happening over years of conversation, Crane Cultivate kind of took on a life of its own. I started a joint venture with my business partner on Crate, and Cultivate was like, hey, let's take a leap of faith, see what happens. Worst comes to worse, it's like, like, nothing happens and we like shut it down and it ended up kind of taking off. And so like two years later, when we revisit the conversation, they were like, what's your deal? And I was like, oh, it's kind of like complicated now. Like, I have this other kind of company and I have no subject and whatever. And they were like, okay, well like what would be your ideal scenario? And I was like, I really do. Like we have a pipeline of business, we have a great team, we have a great office in la. It's easy for you guys to plug in. I can't do the day to day anymore. So, you know, I would love to be able to do both in some world. And so we ended up creating a deal that worked for both of us and I was able to sell that business and give it a good home, you know, with really great, you know, women running that company. And then basically like, it kind of came down to like, do you want to stay here? Do you want to go do this thing? Create and cultivate? And I ended up taking the risk and like doing create and cultivate and, you know, the rest is kind of history.

How much do you rely on your instinct over the rational mind when making decisions like that?

I am like instinct all the way because I just, I also just like feel pulled in certain directions sometimes in my life where I'm like, oh yeah, I gotta go do this, like I gotta see it through. And I think I can make this work. And so I think for me, I'm like very much follow my gut and make things happen. And if they don't work out, I always am like that happen for a reason, you know, like, so that's kind of how same.

So I'm curious to know. I know when I started I Heart My Life, I wanted to get into events as well, a little bit different than, you know, create and cultivate. But my first event was at this random pop up shop in Richmond in London, England. Lululemon. It was Lululemon. And Lululemon was just coming over to the UK and I think I had six people there and we talked all about the wheel of life and like personal development. So what a creating cultivate look like from the beginning, what was that first event?

Totally. So we, the way it sort of happened was the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs had reached out to us and like I had known their team and they were like, hey, like we're looking for programing on days, you know, to get people to book rooms and be down here. You know, obviously weekends are good, but like we're trying to figure out something. Is there anything you guys would want to do? And so I was basically like, huh, like who can go away on a weekend? This is like our weekday. This is obviously before like virtual work and all that. And I was like, oh, like freelancers business Owners, like, they make their own schedules. Like, they could go do that. So we put together the first crate and cultivate at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. They ended up basically coughing us the event space, but we kind of booked it together, where it was like, you bought a package, you stayed in a room overnight, obviously. And we had a combination of, like, workshops, panels, but, like, a lot of diy, like, little things, because DIY was, like, very hot at the time. And I think this was, like, 2011. And, you know, we promoted it and we got about, I think, like, 20, 25 people there, and it was super fun, super successful. You know, we took a lot of photos, we posted about it, and basically Levi has reached out and was like, oh, what's this? Like, we'd love to, like, be part of it. And I was like, oh, like, yeah, for sure. Like, you know. You know, we might do it again there. And ended up like, being like, you could be the presenting sponsor for, like, $3,000. And they were like, cool. Put it on my credit card, like, whatever. But I knew. I was like, Because I was like, if we get Levi's to sponsor this, it's like, immediately cool, right? So we threw together the next one. Levi's sponsored it. We, you know, did a presenting creatives dinner from Levi's. All this stuff. We definitely lost money on it. And we had, like, 50 people come, and it was super successful. And then as soon as everyone saw that Levi's was part of it, every brand came, like, knocking, like, hey, what's this? What's this? What's this? And then from there, it just kept getting bigger and bigger. But again, like, it was, like, breaking even at best. Like, it really wasn't about for me. The way I was thinking of it was like, this is a good lead gen into the agency, right? Like, all these brands are going to be sponsoring. And then I can be like, oh, we can also do your influencer work and your marketing, and we can do events for you like this. And then what ended up happening was like, people started to be obsessed with create and cultivate and, like, wanting to be part of that. The team was like, are we working for that company or this guy? Like, everyone was confused, including me. And clients were like, it was like this kind of, like, hodgepodge of things. And I was like, sort of figuring it out until it hit a boiling point where I was like, okay, I need to actually, like, hire people for this thing. And that's when I really did the joint venture with my partner, who was like, let's go big with this thing. I was still not sure. I was skeptical. Like, I wasn't like, yeah, let's do it. I was like, I don't know. Like, this is not making money. Events are expensive. Like I. And frankly, I've never thrown events this big. Like, you know, it's kind of a risk. But you know, I always think about her because my business partner at the time, because, you know, she was like a silent partner, more of like an investor. But like she really believed in it. And it was nice because like I didn't, you know, I was like, I don't know, I don't know this world. So it was nice that, you know, she was kind of pushed me into taking the risk.

And what do you think it was that attracted people to the brand so intensely?

So I think it was a few different things. Like, I think one is like we were really first to market in creating an event and a site for modern working women. Like that was. Now there's like a thousand, right? You can go to. We were the only one. Like it was like Forbes or us. Like there was nothing else online for like business owners. And our approach was real talk. Like from the beginning I was like, I want to be giving the hard hitting stories of like. Like, I remember one of our first blog posts was like, what to do when you're breaking up with a business partner. Like all of these things that like just did not exist on the Internet. So I think we hit a market. Being first to market in that space. Two was that like our events were always super Instagrammable and like this is before Instagram. Like we were very specific about creating events that created this sense of inspiration and excitement and that were really like, like our first event we had zero budget, right? So we took neon electrical tape and just created this like installation using all this neon tape and like everyone took photos of it and like we just were scrappy and like did cool shit that no one else was doing at the time. So that was really exciting. And then three was also, I think the authenticity behind the brand, like the fact that it didn't start with money as like the motive, I think and honestly wasn't the motive for like six years. Like it was just about creating community and doing cool things. And I think that created a very authentic following and community that was like rapidly engaged in what we were doing. I think that was part of it. And then also was that like we were like, as mentioned, we were giving away everything for free. Like we wanted to do it for free. For as long as possible until it was like too expensive to do it any other way. But I really wanted accessibility to be a big part of the brand.

And looking back, would you have done anything differently at those beginning stages?

No, I don't think so. I mean, I think like, I mean from an events perspective, like 1000%, like our first event, like we ran out of water like three hours in. There were so many things that were like a hot mess like at that event because I was like, I never thrown an event this big. But I think also everything was like a learning for sure. But yeah, I don't think I would have done anything different. The only thing I say now that I would have done differently around creating Cultivate, not even back then, but like recently is I would have raised money. We were completely self funded and bootstrapped the entire time until we were sold to private equity. But in many ways that made us really great. Right? Like, we had a lot of control. We were really scrappy. We had all those things. But in other ways it was really challenging because all of our competitors were venture backed. And I think people thought we were venture backed. And so like from both sides, it was like a very scrappy, small team doing things up until like, literally we sold. But like it was. We could have grown much faster had we brought in venture capital. But at the time when we were starting and doing all these things, like, that wasn't a thing. Like women weren't raising millions of dollars at the time and if they were, they were very tapped into Silicon Valley and not like a random girls event. That was like trying, like, people would have laughed at me if I had tried to raise money for Cultivate when we were like growing, you know, and it was different, but it was like during those early stages, like, you know, I would have been laughed out of rooms for sure.

And what was the year that you started?

I mean, the first Crane culture was 2011. So it's like a long time ago. And then the first one where we were like, okay, this is like a business we're going to like approach. It was probably like 2015, 2016.

Wow. So, yeah, I came across the brand probably around 2018, 2019, so much after that. And so what we from create and cultivate now is, you know, you have celebrities on your stages, it's super polished. Like, obviously you've been the face of the brand for a while. And so I'm curious to know, you know, getting back to that conversation about around being magnetic and attracting people, how did you start to Attract celebrities and get them on the stage and get them on your podcast and build those relationships.

Yeah, so early days, it was like a lot of cold emails and I was like, cold emailing everyone I knew. I was lucky that I had the blog and that influencer little into that community because I was able to get a lot of that talent in the door easily because I knew them. And I remember one of the first big gets that we had was at our Chicago conference. Garance Dure, who's a big blogger, old school. And I had emailed her team so many times and finally she said yes. But I think what we were able to do was our approach was a few different things. One was we were approaching celebrities, which at the time was very novel, as like entrepreneurs, not just celebrities, right? Like, we were really approaching it as like, this is an entrepreneurial conference. Like, this is not a fan conference. Like, these are women who want advice in that way. And again, this was like 2015, 16, and like, no one had really looked at celebrities in that light, but they were all trying to get into that world. So it was kind of a really good time to have that positioning. And two, we provided a really white glove experience cause we obviously couldn't afford to pay people. So we were like, we will, you know, set up a pop up shop for you. We will, like, you know, make sure that you have like, good press on site. Like, we'll make sure, like, your experience is really seamless and that you're getting as much out of this as we're getting as out as much as having you here. And really, like, the way I say is like, it only takes one big name to waterfall into other names. And that big name for us was Jessica Alba. We had been chatting, Honest company had reached out to us to sponsor and this was 2017. And we were like, great, amazing. Like, I was so excited. They were like such a cool brand and their team, you know, we're going through all the logistics and things like that. And their team was like, what do you think about having like, Jessica speak? And we're like, yeah, like, we're on board. Like, we are in. We will make this happen. And I was just like blown away by that, which was so exciting. And then essentially from that, I was able to go to like Rachel Zoe's team. And I was like, hey, Jessica, Al was speaking. And I had had a relationship with Rachel through my previous company. And she was like, oh, amazing. Like, I know Jessica, I know you. This feels like a good thing. Rachel spoke and then Rachel was Like, oh, my friend Jen Meyer should speak. And, like, Jen Meyer was, like, interviewing her. And then randomly, like, one of my friends was like, oh, I am connected to, you know, Nicole Richie. Like, it all kind of spiraled from there because they had a good experience on site where they were like, we're seeing a return on our kind of investment in speaking. And therefore, that world is very small in the same way the influencer world is small in the same way the marketing world is small. And people were like, it's a really good experience. And, like, we got a lot out of it. And so that was how we were able to keep that momentum going. And, like, from that time, obviously, so much has changed because after, like, I would say the first two years, it was like, I couldn't even believe the people we were getting to speak. Like, it was so insane. Like, and every. And it was always me, like, negotiating on my own, like, hi. Like, I really. And, like, literally battling agents who, like, did not want their clients to do this, like, being like, no, she needs to do this. Like, and basically then it got to the point of saturation, where there were so many places for celebrities speak that became the new norm. And then, like, it changed, you know, so we were lucky because, again, we were first to market in creating that type of experience.

So amazing.

Yeah.

When I first came to create and cultivate, I saw Jessica Simpson speak. And that was so huge for me because I always loved her and admired her so much. I was just blown away.

A good example of the Jessica Simpson story. So Jessica Simpson's brand was a client at my first company. Like, so the company that owned her brand. Like, we worked with them, we did, like, we did influencer campaigns for Jessica Simpson. And I, like, obviously kept that email. And then afterwards, when I, like, I had emailed her team for four years probably, and been like, just checking in with love. Jessica would love Jessica. And then basically, finally, they're like, she has a book and, like, she has something to talk about, you know, like, because they really wanted. Obviously, she's had her billion dollar business forever, but they're like, she wants something to, like, stand on, which makes sense. And we made it happen. And it was like, I had been in touch with that team for five years before that happened. I had been emailing Martha Stewart's team for, like, at least seven years. Like, wow. Just followed up, followed up, followed up. Because it's all about the timing, you know, so it really is one of those things where, like, just keep following up and, like, be persistent and, like, It'll happen at the right time.

Beautiful. So that leads me to my next question. So we've described a lot of the successes, you know, the bright, shiny stuff that was working well that people were attracted to. We all know behind the scenes, as a business owner, you're doing so much. There's burnout, there's stress, there's follow ups for seven years. So talk to us a little bit about your decision to eventually sell, create and cultivate and what was the reason for that?

Yeah, so I mean, for us being a self funded business, like the, a high growth self funded business, like the natural trajectory is either to go raise money or sell. And we were in a position where we didn't necessarily need money, but we did need a larger org to absorb us to get to that next level and provide sort of that larger framework that we would need to grow and build. And we had built something that was really unique and that was really complementary to a lot of different businesses. So we had, in early 2020, basically had conversations with really big media players about taking on, create and cultivate. So exciting, like lots of synergistic kind of opportunities. And then Covid and we're like, oh my God, coming off our best year, our best Q1, like, I was like, this is it. We're doing it. Like, oh my God, this is so exciting. And then like, like, oh, no, no, no. Like, let me like hold my beer. Kind of the universe, like where it was like complete disaster and everything that we had been talking about had gone out the window and it was just triaged, as every business owner knows of like unpacking events, pivoting to virtual, having to deal with like, you know, being a virtual leader and like managing your team and like, oh, and the world is in crisis and like, just so, so, so intense. And I would say like March 2020 through like August 2020 were like the hardest months of my life. Being an entrepreneur, being in the workplace, I probably would say in general, like, yeah, it was so hard because I. The first three months of the pandemic, I went into like adrenaline mode. And like, best case scenario, I'm like, okay, like, we're going to do this. This isn't this. We're going to pivot. And you know, my team, like, luckily I had a really strong executive team in my mind. I was like, we'll be back to events by summer, so it's fine. Like, we'll do this, we'll do this with this. And then, you know, they were like, I don't. We got A plan for if we're not, you know, And I, like, had such a hard time, like, truly mourning the fact that, like, the company that I had, that was, like, absolutely crushing it. And, like, finally getting to that place where it was, like, on it, like, doing its thing is no longer that. And also, like, you can't leave your house and, like, everyone's sick and dying. Like, it was so much pressure, and everyone's just sitting on their zoom. Like, what are we gonna do?

Like, what?

What's the plan? And, like, it was so intense. But we were lucky in that, like, we moved fast. We pivoted quickly into digital. We launched our first digital event May 2020. We had over 10,000 people attend from 50 different countries. And from there, we completely were able to transition, I would say, 90% of our sales into digital. So luckily, like, some of our partners pulled out, you know, nature of the beast of, like, that year. But, like, a lot of them doubled down and were like, no, we're going to stay on and support you. Thank God. And then we were able to really, like, pivot and show strong growth by the end of the year. And so people came back by the end of the year where they were sort of like, okay, like, this isn't a one and done. This is, like, the new normal. We need to get back to business. And we started getting more offers to sell. And at that point, I knew, like, one, like, I just was beaten to the ground as, like, a human being. And two, I knew the world was changing and that the company would need a second life, a second digital life that it was going to lead. And I knew, like, we were going to need cash to do that. We were going to need the right team in place to do that, to move into a completely digital product. We had started it a little bit and, like, been testing it, but, like, in order to build digitally, you need a lot of money and you need people who specialize in that. And so I knew it was the right time for us to bring on that partner that would bring the company into this new era.

Thank you for sharing all that. And I remember watching your emails come in about the new virtual events in 2020, and I was just so curious about what you guys were going to do, being that events company. And so how did you personally handle that? Like, I know you said it was the hardest period of your life, but who did you lean on for support? How did you. How did you get through?

I did not handle it well, I'll tell you that. I mean, I feel like to the front facing team. I was really trying to push the team forward and really, like, trying to get everyone on the same page. We were lucky that, like, our team had been with the company for a long time at that point. And everyone was down to get dirty. Our event producers became digital producers. Our set designer taught herself how to create graphic design. Like, we were all just like, we're going to figure this out. Like, and we all jumped in and we're like, okay, let's do it. So everyone's attitude was in the right space, which was so amazing. For me personally, I have a career coach I've had for, like, five years. Her name's Gretchen Jones. She's amazing. And I feel like our sessions were like, part therapy and part planning where we were just like. Because I had to vent to someone about, like, really mourning, like, what could have been while also looking at the future of, like, what can we do right now? And also how to lead during that time. Because it was so hard to motivate yourself to be like, we got this, you know, and, like, getting the team to be like, virtual happy hour number five, you know, like, we're all like, what the hell? Like, so it was hard to motivate across the board. So it was really important that, like, I had that person to venture. That wasn't someone on my team. Right? Yeah, because they were. Everyone was holding on by a thread at that point and no one had a rule book on this. And so we were just moving fast and, like, doing what we could in that moment. But I have to say, I'm so proud of the work that we did in 2020. We moved mountains to make it happen, and we were able to. And this all comes down to, again, like, the venture side of it. We were able to move faster than anyone else because everyone had boards, Everyone had people to make, like, 19 people to make that decision. And it was just us in a room being like, all right, let's do it, you know, and, like, call in every favor we have and just make it happen. And, like, I was so proud of the work that we were able to put out during such, like, a really intense time.

Oh, yeah, definitely. You should be amazing. And so when you eventually sold, how did that feel? Was it like a sigh of relief? Were you sad? Was it a mix of emotions?

It's totally a mix of emotions. It was a great feeling because I felt like the company was being valued in the way I wanted it to be. And the private equity firm that acquired us understood my vision was very much like, we've got this. We're going to come in and help you and be a true partner. And they are and have been, which is really nice. Which isn't always the case. But it was also like a complete identity shed in a way where I was like, you know, I'm. I was CEO for like, I think a year since the sale. And then we brought on a new CEO who I'm obsessed with and I love, but like I, you know, I talk to people who sell their companies and I'm like, it's so weird to wake up one day and not do what you've done for the last 10 years. Like, it's a very weird feeling to see things going on without your like, oversight into things. But it's also very, you know, it's nice to close a book and like close a chapter of your life in such a positive way when things could have really gone in a different direction considering what happened.

Yeah. And I know you have a lot of other projects that are happening behind the scenes, so can you talk about those?

Yeah. So two different things I'm working on. One is New Money Ventures, which is a $20 million consumer fund focused on funding the next generation of female led brands. So now on the venture side, obviously helping women capitalize on their businesses while also giving advice and mentorship as well. And then I'm launching my first direct to consumer brand, product brand, not a service brand, which is exciting. And it's called May Wines and it's a wine brand. It's essentially a glass of wine in a bottle. So a glass bottle of wine. It's really came about after the pandemic where I was drinking so much, like truly a bottle of wine a night and you know, was also trying to get back into that moderation side of things and really just found myself like opening a bottle of wine, leaving it in my fridge, forgetting about it, it putting, pouring it out, spending a lot of money on it and really wanted to create like a, a really beautiful and like aspirational experience with like A Glass of Wine. And so we're really excited about it. We're launching that as well as a membership around it. So if you want to be a part of our membership, you get monthly shipments, but you also get a surprising delight curated element from like some of our favorite startup brands. So we have partnerships with like other Land Candles and Ceremonia and so you get to test and try cool products as well. Yeah, we're launching with Peter Noir Sauvignon Blanc and Rose. So it's very exciting.

That's amazing. We'll link all of that in the show notes. I'll get the URLs from you.

Yes.

I'm curious to know, what would you say are your top three keys to your personal success?

I would definitely say perseverance, like being able to get knocked down and get back up, I think is like my number one piece for any founder. You really have to be resilient in that way and like be able to persevere in the situations. Two, I would say is like the human element. I always say, you know, in my book Work Party, I always say be a pleasure, a fucking pleasure to work with. But like the reality is like, that's really true. Like at the end of the day, like everyone on the other end of that email is a human trying to do a job. And so I think when you approach things in that way with like a problem solving hat, to make sure everyone feels like they're getting something good from a situation is the best way to approach it. Which is why I think I've had really longevity with clients and partners is that that's my approach to it is not so well per the contract. Like sometimes you have to lean into that, but sometimes it's just like, all right, let's help each other out in this situation. And then three, I would say is cultivating a really good team around you. You know, I have employees that have worked for me at my first company, at my second company I'm still friendly with. We, you know, recommend each other, we hire each other, whatever. And I think creating that network of good people around you and when you find those good people, like whether they keep working for you or not, like maintaining those relationships in that network is really key.

And what are you most proud of?

I would have to say selling to companies has been like a real feat, especially as like a self funded business. It's very rare. So I would say I'm definitely the most proud of those two sales.

Yeah. Amazing. So the final question I always ask all of our guests is what is one way that people can create a life that's better than their dreams? Because I feel like we all have plans, but you're the perfect example. Life can take us in very different directions and things can actually turn out better. What do you think is one way to do that?

I think you have to stop comparing yourselves to other people. I think that's we live in such a world and I'm guilty of doing this too, of like, oh God, okay, she's on the COVID of that magazine. Oh, she sold her company for $50 million. She raised $2 million. Like, why am I not doing that? Why is my company not growing fast enough? And the moment I just kind of stopped looking at everyone else. And like my friend Maxi always says, there's a reason why horses race with blinders. Keeping your eye focused on your own personal success and what success means to you and what that looks like. And that could be financial. That could be, you know, time with your kids. That could be whatever it is to you. And getting to that goal is the most important way to create a life you love. Because if you just keep moving the goalpost, you'll never be happy.

And do you take time to, like, feel grateful for what you've experienced or celebrate? Like, what does that look like for you to stay, you know, and stay focused on you?

Yeah, now I do. I would say I didn't for, like. For, like, eight years. I was just grinding it out. And I still look back, and it was really intense, but I loved every minute of it. I wouldn't have been doing it if I didn't. But now, for me, I'm just in a different place where I can take time to hang with my dogs, see my friends, do podcasts, be part of different communities, mentor. I do a lot of mentoring on Intro, which is this app where you can book experts, and I love it. It's my new favorite thing to do. I just love chatting with people and getting to hear their stories, and, like, that's something that I would have never had time to do. So now it's just about. It's a different phase in my life where, you know, success means different things.

Yeah. And I love that you plugged Intro because that's how we connected. We had such an incredible session. You were so generous with me, and I'm so grateful that, you know, I followed my heart and booked that because I've always admired you so much. So thank you for that.

Yeah.

And where can. Yeah, no friends. And where can people find you online?

Yep. So I'm aclynrjohnson on pretty much every platform. Very embarrassing. On TikTok, I, like, kind of try to do it. And then you can also follow reapcultivateorkparty, which is the podcast that I do, drink May, which is the wine line. And you can use podcast 10 as a code for 10% off.

Oh, amazing. Thank you. I love how you call yourself a multi hyphenate. I think that's perfect.

I feel like it's the new way of the world. Everyone has their hands in a lot of pots.

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to see what's next for you. I honestly, I'm sure that you know this, but, like, you are so exceptional. I can't even stress that enough. Just hearing your story and everything that you've been through and everything you've been able to create, all the people you've attracted, I just. I don't even know how you do it. So I just want you to know I. I think you're so exceptional, and I know that you're really just getting started. There's so much more.

Thank you so much. That's so nice to hear. I really appreciate it. You're welcome.

Thanks, Jacqueline. Yay.

Thank you.