How Jessica Alba Proved Her Doubters Wrong ...

Even movie stars have to stare down skeptics when they're launching a company and seeking funding. Here's how Jessica Alba persevered--and wound up with a company valued at nearly $1 billion.

When actress Jessica Alba first conceived her idea to launch a line of nontoxic household and baby products in 2008, skeptics tried to push her toward the same tried and true starlet formula: "Why not just be the face of a new perfume?" A few years later, she has a pretty good answer. The Honest Company is expected to pull in more than $150 million in revenue in 2014, has a reported $1 billion valuation, and is poised to go public. Take that, Hollywood.

Jessica says ... I founded The Honest Company on this idea: Everything that touches you and your family--everything in your home--needs to be nontoxic, needs to be effective and beautiful to look at, and needs to be affordable. I really wanted it to have an e-commerce model. What are the things that all parents need? Diapers and wipes, for sure. And then a mix of cleaning and personal care products. Wouldn't it be great if you could pick five things and get them delivered through a monthly subscription?

Everyone I approached was skeptical. There wasn't one person who said, "Yeah, that can happen." I heard "Just do one thing really well and then you can expand" a lot. But I wanted this to be a whole lifestyle brand. Everyone I talked with in Hollywood could not wrap their heads around the idea. Whenever I tried to sit down with them about it, they would just get this glazed look on their faces. Entertainment is a totally different business. It's like, how do you squeeze the most out of a person for five seconds, and then you move on to the next one. It's hard for people to take anyone seriously who's never done this before. They see you only as something else. But all that just gave me fire to move forward.

I approached this guy who built the top-selling accessories brand at Macy's. We're friends, and he was trying to help me figure out how to execute on this idea. But he built his brand off of one item and then expanded. He found traditional retail partners and then opened his own stores. He didn't understand how to build this thing from scratch. Friends want to help you, but they're also going to be the most critical. We launched with 17 products. Even my husband, Cash, thought the idea was too big.

It took me three years to find my business partners. You have to be brutally honest with yourself and understand your strengths and weaknesses. I'm not a business person--I'm a mom. I wasn't going to be coding. I wasn't going to be in the lab mixing potions. (Though I do test all the products on my kids!) I wasn't going to be the one doing the business model and running the operation. If I went in there and said, "Hey, I'm going to put together this business from scratch all by myself," I'm sure it would have been a lot more difficult to get VCs to take me seriously, but once you have the right partners, it isn't. Having the right partners also means having people you like. They're all people I wouldn't mind getting stuck with at an airport for five hours. We can hang and have a beer and chat it up, or stay silent together and be totally cool with that. That's really important.

Then the team sat down with a lot of people who weren't going to invest--friends like Tory Burch and Narciso Rodriguez, both of whom built successful businesses, and people from big tech companies and public companies--to test our pitch. They asked us great questions: What are you going to do when you run out of product? What if it's not delivered on time? How are you going to get people to your website? 

With them, it didn't matter that we weren't perfect in the way we pitched Honest. It was kind of like how comedians go out and do stand up in small clubs in different cities to test their material before they do their HBO special: All of that back-and-forth helped us refine our pitch. And it got a lot shorter--we got it down to a 10-minute pitch deck and a 15-minute question-and-answer session. So then we knew we could do it in a 30-minute meeting.

Almost every VC we talked to was on their first or second child and told me their wives were doing the same research that I was, trying to find a brand they could trust. We didn't try to find investors with young families. It just happened. But in retrospect, that would have been a good tactic!

By the time we got into the room with VCs, it wasn't that hard of a sell. We went in with a real plan of attack, a strong process, and smart people. By that point we had talked to so many people, having them try to poke holes in the idea. Because that is exactly what the VCs are going to do. Inevitably, they're going to ask questions you can't answer. If you're writing down the 20th question to which you don't have an answer, that's a problem. You can say "I'll get back to you," but not more than five times.

http://www.inc.com/magazine/201411/lindsay-blakely/how-jessica-alba-proved-her-doubters-were-wrong.html

How Jemal Peters aka Big J's Kitchen Used Instagram To Build His Business ...

A man known by many names, Jemal Peters knows the streets of London only too well. Motivated by the arrival of his daughter, the now savvy businessman picked himself off the streets to form Big J’s Kitchen, a business that blends elements of London culture to offer ‘Da Flavour of Da Street!’

Hi Jemal. Can you start by telling us a bit about your background? 

Where do I start? I’m south London born and raised. I’m a go-getter with a passion for food and drink,

I grew up with my mum and two brothers, and since I was a child I’ve always been known for having entrepreneurial ways and a go-getter attitude… I’m known for making things happen.

What aspects did you learn from your childhood that you have taken into the business? 

Most of it! The obvious things I’ve taken into business are my cooking skills, the ability to taste and mix flavours and then create something special.

From early on I learnt how to hustle and I knew that if something cost me £1… I’d sell it for at least £2, which to me is the fundamental point of a business. Certain situations happened in life which enabled me to realise from a young age that the world owes you nothing but at the same time is willing to give you anything and everything you want … all you’ve got to do is go get it! So I’ve had a saying that I created from a young age: “A dream’s worth nothing if you leave it on your pillow!”, so anything I want in life… I pray for it then work hard to get it.

You have amassed a high following through Instagram. Tell us how you’ve used the app to your advantage… 

I’m always on the lookout for what’s new and ways of doing things that haven’t been done before. My brother takes some top quality photography and about a year or two back he was telling me about this thing called Instagram. He was on it sharing pics and he had people from all over the world contacting him. Facebook's good and Twitter’s cool, I’ll go on them now and then, but I prefer things more visual, so ‘insta’ was perfect for me. I noticed a trend that people would always take pictures of their food and post it… so not only did I start slapping meals up using my products, I also got everyone involved by doing competitions where people put the #BigJsKitchen hashtag on their food pictures and automatically got added to the competition where they could win special Big J Goodie bags and the winning pictures would go up on my website. This took off and went out of control; I got a number of followers and business contacts which led to Big J’s Kitchen products being put in Puma Sports VIP goodie bags for the London 2012 Olympics and many other promotions. This was vital in showing the world that London’s not just tea and crumpets; we have a new food brand that represents the fun, real and diverse urban side on the up – Big J’s Kitchen, “Da Flavour Of Da Street”!

How do you think non-food related businesses could utilise the image-sharing concept to gain a following? 

In exactly the same way. Seeing is believing; it allows people to see what you’re about and get involved with you. A product’s a product, whether it’s food, trainers, clothing or technology. Find your community in there and let them see what you’ve got! Also no one likes stingy people, so give something back… prizes, giveaways, discounts whatever. Social networking is major and it’s only getting bigger… you can reach all corners of the world and it’s usually free! You’d be a fool not to take advantage of it.

To you, what makes a business successful? 

A business that’s something fresh and new, even if it’s in a well established field, as well as the people behind it, good ethics and values.

How would you describe your entrepreneurial approach? 

Trustworthy, creative and effective. I make sure I box clever, and I “Keep It 100”. Integrity is important to me and I like to build good relationships.

Finally, can you offer any advice to those wanting to change their circumstances for the better? 

A dream’s worth nothing If you leave it on your pillow! If you want something, get up and get it.

Learn from others’ mistakes and successes. Don’t do it all on your own, there’s no point! Take advantage of the support that’s out there. I made sure I got support and mentoring from people who had done it before and could really help me, I linked up with mentors like Chelsey Baker and Jim Foxhall through the Rockstar mentoring programme and in a few short sessions they taught me a number of things that would have taken me years to learn and things that I may have had to learn the hard way.

For more information on Big J’s Kitchen go to http://www.bigjskitchen.com or if you need funding and mentoring for your business or business idea contact The Rockstar Group www.Rockstartstartuploans.co.uk

Extracts taken from the full interview with Jemal Peters, which can be found at http://www.startyourbusinessmag.com/jemal-peters-aka-big-j/

A Chat With Logan Hall & Aidan Rushby, founders of Movebubble ...

A collaborative platform, the Movebubble community lets owners and renters communicate directly using technology to replace what was traditionally done by agents. From listing a property, booking viewings, making and accepting an offer, creating and signing a rental agreement to paying rent and deposits, Movebubble lets you do everything in one place without added complication and the cost of a middle person. Once the user finds and negotiates an agreement for a chosen property, a one off £50 fee is paid to reserve it and remove it from the marketplace. We caught up with founders, Aidan Rushby, a former property agent and marketer Logan Hall…

How did the two of you come together to create a business? 

L: Aidan and I met on our MBA, and ‘clicked’ immediately. Aidan had already had an idea in this space, and developed this with Tony and I into what it is now. However, the idea and business is ever-changing and is now really driven by the enthusiasm we see in the team surrounding us and what our customers are telling us every day.

What do you think investors see in the business and in you both as entrepreneurs? 

A: Investors want to be able to understand the idea. They need to feel confident that there is a market, and that there is a profitable ‘unique’ business model. Investors are obviously looking for something that is truly disruptive, and that will fundamentally change the way things are done. I think that is what they saw in Movebubble. They are also investing in the people and the team. We are extremely lucky to have a fantastic community, team and investors that share the vision.

How do you find it working with each other? 

L: Aidan and I work incredibly closely with one another. Having a friendship means we can be brutally honest with one another, which means we don’t waste time and can resolve any issues quickly so they don’t affect Movebubble. One of the great things about working together is that we don’t try and compete for roles. Aidan is CEO, and a great one. I am a CMO and focused on happy customers. It’s important that we don’t overlap as this is a waste of valuable resources.

Have you had any regrets so far or have there been any lessons learnt? 

A: (laughs) Many! I think the one main lesson we have learned is ‘think big, deliver smaller, release faster’. If your smaller releases work you can develop them, but don’t run before you can walk. However, having said that, maintaining a grander vision is crucial to getting buy in from investors, team and customers. You have to have that BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)!

Apart from financial success, what else would you like to accomplish in life? 

A: I would just love to be the driving force in growing a business and truly disrupting an archaic industry globally. I just want to know that I have made people’s lives easier.

L: I just want to be a better surfer, learn to play the piano and spend my life with my family.

What can we expect of the business in the next couple of years? 

L: Expansion and some really exciting products.

A: All I can say is watch this space!

Extracts taken from the full interview with Logan Hall & Aidan Rushby, which can be found at http://www.startyourbusinessmag.com/logan-aidan-movebubble/