SUITED FOR SUCCESS 👩‍💼

CWBS Vol. 13

Nov 24, 2020

Hello CWBS!

Our theme for Vol. 13 of The Scope is Suited for Success, inspired by the incredible insights of CBS Alum Annabel Fowler Gatto, founder of Suitably, a direct to consumer women's workwear brand and our It’s Her Business Female Founder of the week. Going beyond physically suiting up for success, my biggest hope is that the information we provide to you through The Scope – informative business bites, event highlights, industry overviews, and exclusive internships, to name a few – give you the skills necessary to be suited for success at every level of your professional pursuits. Happy reading!

Sophia Naqvi, Membership Engagement Chair 2020-2021

PUBLIC: Invest in good company.

Want to give Public a try? Download the free app and start with $20 worth of stock on us.

Travel-Free Thanksgiving: As COVID-19 cases rise around the country, the CDC urges Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving. Further recommendations include limiting holiday festivities to one’s immediate household or at the very least gathering outdoors. Learn more.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel?: Pfizer has asked the FDA for emergency approval of its new COVID-19 vaccine, which would allow distribution to limited groups of Americans as soon as December. The vaccine has been proven to be safe and 95% effective. Learn more.

Unrelenting Unemployment: Initial jobless claims ticked up to 742,000 last week, indicating a slow economic recovery in the United States. Claims are currently higher than in any recession on record, even as employers increase job openings. Learn more.

ANNABEL FOWLER GATTO OF SUITABLY

SHOP SUITABLY

“Launching and then building a business, requires years of hard work, perseverance, and people will be doubting you. True passion is critical to help you move forward when the going gets really tough.”

- ANNABEL FOWLER GATTO

Annabel Gatto is the Co-Founder and CEO of Suitably, a direct-to-consumer workwear brand for professional women.

Annabel developed her sense of office style while working in the corporate world. Her experience at Morgan Stanley, Groupon, and Sullivan & Cromwell each required learning a new industry and deciphering a new dress code. Now, she reaches over 100,000 followers via @annabelfgatto on Instagram who come to her for affordable, practical style inspiration.

Throughout her professional journey, she was often frustrated by the painful experience of shopping for workwear and the lack of resources available to help women succeed in the workplace. She heard over and over again that young women, in particular, wanted simplification, more affordable prices, and transparency. This formed the basis for Suitably where Annabel strives to keep customer input at the heart of every decision.

Annabel is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia Business School. She currently lives in NYC with her husband and spirited Goldendoodle, Theodore.

1. What inspired you to start Suitably?

Shopping for work is much more expensive and complicated for women than it is for men. This is unacceptable! I was frustrated by the lack of affordable brands to shop for fairly priced, high-quality pieces. Hearing from thousands of women, I realized that my frustrations were not mine alone. I believe that every woman– no matter her background or economic status– deserves a wardrobe that helps her feel confident. I set out to create a brand that would solve this problem and make it easy & affordable for women to feel proud and confident in the clothes they wear to work. From this, Suitably was born!

2. What does a typical workday look like for you?

Due to COVID, Suitably’s fundraising, growing our team, and moving to a fulfillment center have all been delayed. Right now, my 9 to 5 is spent deep in the weeds of running a business. I am usually fulfilling orders that come in throughout the day, steaming garments, packing boxes, and responding to customer inquiries via our email and live chat. In the evening, I usually shift my focus and spend time working on strategic initiatives to help grow Suitably. A few examples of this are partnerships and management of our campus/brand ambassador programs to creating/analyzing the performance of our digital ad campaigns or responding to press inquiries that come in. I also spend time reviewing content for all of our social channels, Suitably’s blog (Well Suited), and our newsletter.

3. What skills are vital to starting a business?

Every entrepreneur's path is different. I have met entrepreneurs from all backgrounds, with varying skill sets or professional experiences, and I wouldn’t say there is a prescribed skill set for entrepreneurs. However, I would add that it’s not an easy path, and being truly passionate about your business or idea is a prerequisite. Launching and then building a business, requires years of hard work, perseverance and people will be doubting you. True passion is critical to help you move forward when the going gets really tough.

4. What are some books, podcasts, newsletters, or blogs that you’ve enjoyed and would recommend to CWBS readers? Any topic goes!

Podcast – How I Built This by Guy Raz for stories on entrepreneurship. Start with the episode on Bonobos with Andy Dunn, it's excellent. In the Dark (Season 2) – highlights flaws in the criminal justice system, very relevant right now. If you are into true crime, Dr.Death, Over My Dead Body and To Live & Die in LA are also good.

Newsletter/Blog – Suitably’s newsletter is a fantastic go-to source for career and style tips for every professional woman. Our blog, Well Suited, also provides a host of career, style and life content that will inform and inspire you! It's divided into three sections: Career, Style, and Women at Work. You'll find everything from free resume/cold email templates and 10 ways to style a classic black blazer to our zoom call style guide, profiles of inspiring professional women and more.

Books – Conversations With Myself by Nelson Mandela is a must-read.

5. Between the 24/7 Blazer, Suite Skirt, Intro Dress, and Keynote Dress, what is your one must-have item of Suitably apparel?

The 24/7 Blazer is a wardrobe staple for every woman. It's the piece you'll invest in now and have for life. It can be dressed up or down, worn for a variety of occasions (from work to weekend) and the 24/7 is always appropriate. There is no blazer out there that is as high quality as ours is, machine washable, comfy, and under $100. Once you own it, you'll never want to wear another blazer again!

6. How do you see Suitably growing in the future?

Traditionally, workwear is overpriced, boring, stuffy, unflattering and there has not been a workwear brand that most women truly love. From the start, it was critical to build a customer-centric brand that redefined workwear for Gen Z and Millennial women. Suitably launched in February 2020, about a month before COVID spread throughout the country, so we are still very much in the toddler phase of the business. That said, we are growing. My goal is to provide as many women as possible with high-quality staples for work that they can wear for life. We're focused on profitability, expanding into new product categories, and opening up some pop-up stores when it is safe to do so! Look out for exciting things to come from Suitably in the future.

7. Who is a woman leader you look up to?

My former manager at Groupon is not only a leader I look up to but the type of leader I aspire to be. When I joined her team, she immediately took me under her wing. She did everything to help me reach my potential and achieve my personal goals. I observed her do this with each person on the team. That’s just the kind of leader she was. The kind of leader who does all she can to lift others up and the kind of leader that wants each team member to succeed. She was incredibly passionate about her job and dedicated to empowering others. She created an environment where I was excited to come to work every day and work my absolute hardest. This is the kind of leader we should all aspire to be! In addition to being a top executive, she is also a mom. She has shown me that it really is possible to do it all. While she is incredibly busy, she is still always there for me whenever I reach out for advice.

8. As a Columbia Business School Alum, is there any general advice you have for Columbia students about opportunities on campus/in NYC?

I know the past few months have been filled with lots of emotions and changes for students during this unprecedented time. I know the semester is different from how students thought it would be. Remember this will pass and a brand new, amazing, chapter of life is ahead.

As for opportunities, Columbia's location and network give students incredible access to a variety of unique opportunities and professionals in New York that those outside of the city do not have access to. This is one aspect that drew me to Columbia Business School and something I even wrote about in my application essays.

It’s very unique to have access to so many professional opportunities while in college and I always encourage New York-based students that I mentor to take full advantage – whether it’s taking on an in-semester internship or setting up coffee chats with alumni in industries you are interested in. It’s also important to note that some of the most interesting opportunities are not necessarily posted on the job board and require reaching out to an alum, expressing your interest, and asking if there is anything you can help out on. As for campus opportunities, I always advise to not get too tied up in putting a ton of clubs on your resume for the sake of it. Find a club, group or volunteer opportunity that you are passionate about, professional or non-professional, showing depth of involvement is very important. As an undergraduate, it was student council for me!

Internships

Valued at over $4.2 trillion, the global health and wellness economy has been doing well and growing steadily. In addition to the traditional solutions,— personal care, nutrition, fitness, personalized medicine— novel exciting sectors now emerge, including wellness tourism, health spas, and wellness real estate.
As the Global Wellness Institute emphasizes, the booming market is committed to achieving a “complete well-being of the body, mind, and spirit.” In the Institute’s vision, wellness is defined as the active pursuit of lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health, which extends beyond physical fitness and incorporates mental, social, and spiritual behaviors.
Corporate wellness has exploded! Started in 1979, Johnson & Johnson’s Live for Life program is often viewed as the prototype for corporate wellness: the company educated its employees on stress management and offered onsite tools. Now, the report by the U.S. Department of Labor found that more than 80% of U.S. companies with over fifty employees offer some sort of corporate wellness benefit. A report from Harvard Business School found that for U.S.-based companies, medical expenses drop by $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs. Numerous studies indicate that wellness programs boost productivity, reduce stress, and increase employee engagement.
For the wellness industry, COVID-19 is the ultimate wake-up call. As infections rise and lockdown continues, never before has health and well-being plummeted so rapidly everywhere across the globe. As the online sales of fitness equipment soared, consumers shifted away from the gyms to at-home exercise spaces.
While telehealth has been rising slowly, the pandemic accelerated its growth: in the U.S., the number of U.S. consumers using telehealth rose from 11% in 2019 to 46% this year. Now, up to $250 billion of current U.S. healthcare spending could potentially be virtualized.
To address the exposed inequalities in access to healthcare, many wellness companies are emerging from the pandemic bringing innovative solutions.
Key corporate wellness companies: Exubrancy, BurnAlong, BetterSpace, Sonic Boom Wellness, Virgin Pulse, Fitbit, Wellable, WellRight, Corehealth Technologies, Limeade.
Sources (1, 2, 3, 4)

FEMALE FOUNDERS: ZAZA NAPAS VONGKUSOLKIT OF KEBBÍO

SHOP KEBBÍO

Zaza Vongkusolkit founded KEBBÍO, an up-and-coming sustainable health and wellness brand in Bangkok, after graduating as a Biology major from Barnard College in 2019. She realized that a lot of health trends in Bangkok revolved around imported goods as opposed to supporting local farmers and their produce. This meant more food miles and a higher carbon footprint, and local farmers being neglected. KEBBÍO strives to bring together consumers and producers through a shorter and more transparent supply chain. With organic cashew milk being the first product launched and many more in the pipeline, KEBBÍO makes it easier for people to make healthy choices that support the local economy and do not harm the planet. Prior to founding KEBBÍO, Zaza worked at Mitr Phol Group on various projects including those in social enterprise.

What inspired you to start KEBBÍO?

I've been abroad for around 10 years now, and I've always been interested in this area. Coming back to Thailand, I realized that a lot of the trends are very much inspired by the Western world––and healthy options here are always imported, when, in fact, it doesn't really have to be since there’s good produce already in Thailand. But people didn't understand that local produce is just as good, if not even better than, imported goods. So, I thought I'd use local ingredients to prove that you don't need to import goods to make healthy products.

When I moved back, I worked at Mitr Phol Group, which is a large sugar company, and one of the projects I worked on was on social responsibility. I went and did a summer outreach and saw that farmers are being neglected in Thailand––when they shouldn't be. I put two and two together and thought, why not support the local farmers, who are engaging in healthy and responsible farming practices while bringing this health trend to Thailand? If we do that, we don't have to follow the almond milk trend where almonds are being imported from California when it's not necessarily the most sustainable place to be growing almonds. On the other hand, Thailand is arguably not a drought-ridden country, and there are abundant crops of fruits and vegetables. I married these two concepts and that became KEBBÍO. To this end, the name KEBBÍO comes from ‘keb / เก็บ’ which means ‘to keep,’ used in the Thai words ‘เก็บเกี่ยว’ (to harvest) and ‘เก็บรักษา’ (to conserve), and ‘bio’ is the Greek root word for ‘life,’ which fits very well because I’m a biologist. I thought I’d combine these two––and that's basically the philosophy behind the whole brand.

What skills are vital to starting a business, particularly in the health and wellness industry and the beverages industry?

I think the number one, most important thing is to be a self-starter because no one's going to push you to do something. You have to make the most of the time you have, which perhaps isn’t a problem for our lineage because we're over-achievers, but I have met people who have amazing ideas but just can't get started. And it's so important to just sit down, plan the whole thing out, get your hands dirty, and just do it––because if you don't try, you don't know. The other thing is time management because you’re never ever finished working when you have your own business. So start small, prioritize, maybe write down a to-do list and cross out completed tasks so that at the end of the day you know what you've accomplished. You need to have a proper end to the day because otherwise, you just spend days not really sleeping very much because you feel like you still have so much to do, and it just ties you down. It also doesn't allow you to be efficient the next day or so since you’re sleep-deprived.

Another thing is patience. I realized you need to hire people and then get them to help you with things, and it requires a lot of collaboration. Sometimes when others are having a bad day, it’s the time to keep your emotions to yourself and be nice and understanding to everyone. Perhaps this is more prevalent in Asia as well, but you have to approach others as more of a friend before getting them to do anything for you. People skills are also really important, as well as learning to read your market and consumer behavior. A lot of things come with practice.

Don’t neglect your health and wellness either. As I'm in the health and wellness industry, I always have to remember to practice what I preach, find the right balance, get enough rest, and everything. It can be challenging at times, but I promise it’ll get better once it becomes a habit.

What are some personal wellness practices you've incorporated into your weekly or daily routine that you would recommend to CWBS readers?

Wellness is super important; as I said before, get into a routine. It's important to have a structure because otherwise, everything gets too flexible. Always make time for exercise because it helps with your mood, makes you more productive, and helps you sleep better. I schedule a time each day for myself to exercise because when I don’t, my brain just doesn’t stop functioning, and I wouldn't be able to sleep. I spend maybe a small slot of time each week to reflect and plan ahead. I reflect on how I did this week, what I want to achieve next week, and just plan. I’ll take the time to write things down as well so that I can visualize better; jot down both personal and professional goals so that at the end of the week, you go back and check if you’ve achieved everything.

Also, find something to be grateful for. Remind yourself of the things you have, and you’ll find that it can ground you when things aren’t going as planned.

MONEYGIRLS: It’s time to run your own money.

MoneyGirls’ goal is to empower all women to maximize their independence, influence, and leadership by giving them the tools and resources necessary to take control of their financial lives. MoneyGirls aims to carry out this mission through the Monday MoneyDrop, a once-a-week newsletter, the MoneyBag, and the MoneyGirls Strategist Network. Get involved here.

HILMA: Upgrade your medicine cabinet. Natural remedies, formulated without doctors. Use code COLUMBIA for 10% off.

EAT BEHAVE: Low-sugar candy that actually tastes like candy. Use code COLUMBIAU for free shipping.

RYLA WELLNESS: Welcome to Ryla! Our plant-based wellness blends help your immune system do its job, keeping you doing whatever you want. Each of our dried shots contain real organic superfoods and 500mg of Vitamin C. Get 15% off with code CWBS15.

PLANT PRESS: For 15% off Plant Press’ CBD-Based drinks, use code COLUMBIA at checkout.

PARADE: For Seamless, smooth, and comfortable underwear. In colors for every day of the week. Just $9. All in sizes from XS to 3X. Get a free pair here.

VESTIAIRE COLLECTIVE: Buy, sell, and share at the most stylish global marketplace for pre-owned luxury and designer fashion! Get $30 off your first app purchase of $150+ using the code CWBS30. Please download the app here.

CWBS: The Scope

Discussion about this post