I’m excited to introduce you today to Paige Hewlett. I don’t remember how I came across her last fall but I was impressed with all that she was doing as a Mama and as an entrepreneur. I joined her Venture Peek group to get a behind the scenes look at launching a business and have learned a lot from her over the past six months. She’s got a great story, tons of passion, and a keen eye for what makes a business succeed. So let’s sit back and learn something from her today!
Hi Jennifer! I am so excited to talk about all that is life and business – but first, I want to give some back story, before I dive into your questions. In 2014, I had a dream to build a business that supported my family and my dreams for a better world – and in the goal of building this (unicorn) venture, researched, read and chatted to so many incredibly intelligent and active entrepreneurs and dreamers, all of whom were supportive and helpful – but “plot twist” all of that research and networking and dreaming with those who are chasing their own dreams, well, it confused me. It made me change my vision, alter my dreams for my business, as well as my family. How’s that for lame and not inspiring?
I spent some serious time thinking – and regretting my processes, plans and even successes along the way – because I knew in my heart (and in my head) that they weren’t right. This pyramid of growth and success I was building? It may be right for someone else, but it was definitely not right for me, in this season of my life.
As the spring wore on, I distracted myself in gardening, taking care of a sick baby and extreme spring cleaning, but the nagging of the stack of perfectly branded business cards was still there. Use me, they called out!
I’m in the painful stage of totally scrapping all that hard work, and pivoting into a new venture, Found in Kind, that still addresses the core of my goals, but is more focused, more me and more of my dreams. This feeling, it’s the best. So now, onward to your questions –
What made you decide to start Found [Found in Kind]?
I was struggling with the dreams I have as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and my roles as a mom and woman. To put it bluntly, there is a lot more that we can do to make the world a better place, and I want to take a step in that direction every day. Found is about connecting founders with kindred spirits across the globe, no matter their walk of life. As a for purpose company, we are partnering with amazing businesses and organizations to connect female entrepreneurs in their local communities and internationally, in developed and developing countries to harness the power of women making a difference in their families, lives and futures.
How are you balancing Found with your other company and family?
At this point, Found is a dream that is quickly growing legs to live and breathe on its own, but definitely still needs some investment in both time and money. My small agency, Constellation, ETC is still paying the bills and supporting our family, but as Found grows, I’m hoping to transition to 80/20 by later in the year. My family is constantly my number one – and so it often means late nights, early mornings and not nearly as many lunch dates as I’d like. We recently lost our amazing nanny to a job she couldn’t turn down, and so as a stay-at-home mom and primary provider for my family, I am leaning on systems, family and chocolate to keep all cylinders firing.
As a mom, I’ve learned that there is no such thing as balance, so some days I trade an episode of Go, Diego, Go for a few emails getting answered, and others, the emails are skipped in favor of walks, trips to the pool or other kiddo adventures.
What kind of people do you think will benefit the most from Found?
Here’s the thing, as communities, we benefit from economic growth – whether it’s a woman or a man behind that dollar. But beyond that, we know that when women have the opportunity to work, provide for their families and earn a living wage, the health and wellbeing of families and communities goes up. Whether it is in our backyards or across the world, women working and creating an experience that supports the needs of their family is empowering and life changing for everyone that touches them.
What is the biggest business lesson you’ve had so far in creating Found?
Pivot. What is now Found in Kind has had many iterations, even before I knew this is what I wanted. From a small non-profit I ran during college to organizations I’ve worked with since. The dream and the goals have been there, but knowing when to implement and when to dream – it’s imperfect, but allows for errors. When something isn’t working, find a way to pivot and edit. Even when it isn’t the million dollar version, this is how you get from day one to one hundred.
What two things must you have in order to have a productive day?
While it isn’t work related whatsoever, having a few minutes to myself and getting my sweat on makes for a happier mama and a more productive day. Some days that can’t happen, so I focus on drinking plenty of water and not being too attached to my phone/screens. If it’s a 100% mama day, being eyeball to eyeball with my kiddos is the priority.
What blog or podcast do you faithfully read or listen to?
I don’t have any blogs or podcasts that I am faithful to – although I loved Start-Up by Gimlet. If I’m reading, it’s usually The New York Times, if I’m listening, it’s usually a Spotify station or a documentary on Netflix in the background.
Paige Hewlett is an entrepreneurial powerhouse who has started companies since she was 13 and organized a summer day camp for the neighborhood kids. She has two kids and a military husband and lives in Georgia. Paige started Constellation, ETC which is a boutique marketing agency specifically for small and micro businesses. She is now in the process of launching Found – a for purpose company connecting kindred founders from around the world. You can find out more about Paige on PaigeHewlett.com as well as follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
