Episode 61: Lauren Maillian Talks Drive, Entrepreneurship and Reinvention
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In this episode of Beyond the Business Suit I had the opportunity to interview my friend, Lauren Maillian. With titles like former model, winery and vineyard co-founder, investor, best-selling author and TV personality, Lauren knows quite a bit about success, entrepreneurship and reinvention.
Mentioned in This Episode:
- Early indicators that showed she was destined for success
- How she started a vineyard and winery at 19 years old with zero operations or business experience
- How she handled opening a winery and tasting room to the public while being pregnant and in her senior year of college
- How she successfully shifted her personal brand several times
- Lauren's new TV show called “Quit Your Day Job” which will premiere on Oxygen on March 30th and every Wednesday at 10 PM. In the show, she's co-hosting with Randi Zuckerberg (yep, Mark's sister, former Marketing exec at Facebook and best-selling author), Ido Leffler (co-founder of “Yes To”natural skincare line) and Sarah Prevette (serial entrepreneur and cofounder of Sprouter, Betakit and BrandProject)
Lauren's Bio
Lauren Maillian is a former model turned serial entrepreneur; she is the Founder and CEO of LMB Group, a strategic marketing and advisory company, is a Founding Partner at Gen Y Capital Partners, an early stage venture firm focused on investments in mobile and consumer facing technology enabled companies and is the author of the instant bestselling business memoir, The Path Redefined: Getting To the Top On Your Own Terms. Most recently, Lauren has brought her trademark personality and passion for entrepreneurship to television as co-‐star of the new startup focused reality TV show, Quit Your Day Job, on Oxygen (NBCU).
At age 19, Lauren cofounded a boutique winery that quickly became an internationally recognized award-‐winning wine brand, making her the youngest self-‐made winery owner in the country. She served as the Chief Operating Officer of the company from inception through the brand’s acquisition in 2011.
Lauren’s passionate about marrying marketing, branding, strategy and technology. She is known to spearhead the development of communication concepts to help others build, inspire, engage and connect. Lauren is a marketer at heart, who loves to build brands and devise business development strategies with a concentration on the creation and implementation of innovative yet strategic plans that build brand identity and increase revenue. She is a detail-‐oriented strategist with a deep understanding of business operations, management, and formation across various industries. She has a unique ability to turn opportunities into inflection points that help companies gain the traction and market share they need. Lauren has a global perspective and a fresh, yet entrepreneurial, approach to implementation. She is excited by innovative and unique concepts, and has been known to seize rare opportunities and turn them into iconic experiences.
Lauren often speaks about entrepreneurship, female leadership, marketing, branding, business development, startups and early stage venture at various conferences. She has spoken at prestigious institutions including Harvard University, Columbia University, the S.C. Johnson School of Management at Cornell University and the University of Virginia. She is a large supporter of entrepreneurship; she invests in numerous companies and serves on the advisory board of Digital Undivided, a social enterprise that increases the active participation of urban communities, especially women, in the digital space; CoSign, a technology company that allows you to monetize your social media and shareable content; and LIQS, a brand of pre-‐mixed single serve cocktail shots. Lauren judges the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship’s (NFTE) business plan competition and the incoming classes of Start Up Chile, an incubator program in support of entrepreneurship sponsored by the Chilean Government. She is an active advisor to several startups including the Levo League and the Pipeline Fellowship.
Lauren's work has been featured in national media outlets including Forbes, American Express OPEN Forum, Interactive ONE, Sirius XM Radio, 1010 WIN’s, HuffPost LIVE, UPTOWN Magazine, CNBC’s Nightly Business Report, MSNBC, FOX 5, CBS New York, Business Insider, Fast Company, and Black Enterprise. In 2011 she was recognized at The White House by the Kauffman Foundation as an Empact100 Award honoree which lists the top 100 entrepreneurs under 30 and in 2013, Essence Magazine named Lauren a “Shot Caller” to watch in business. In 2014, the New York Urban League’s Young Professionals awarded Lauren the honor of Philanthropist of the Year for her charitable involvement and dedication to giving back, in 2015 Kia Motors and UPTOWN Magazine awarded Lauren for being Inspirationally Crafted for her leadership and fearless entrepreneurial journey and in 2015, Smart CEO Magazine named Lauren as a Smart CEO Brava Award Winner.
Lauren is very involved in various philanthropic organizations that affect youth, poverty, education, and the arts. She serves on the Advisory Board of The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Multicultural Audience Development Initiative (MADI) Committee, as Vice Chair of The Apollo Theater Foundation Young Patrons Steering Committee, The New York Urban League’s Development Committee, is a founding member of the Young Entrepreneur Council, and a Lifetime Member of the Children’s Aid Society. Lauren has a Bachelors of Science, Magna Cum Laude, in International Trade and Marketing from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is a single mom and currently resides in Manhattan, New York with her two children, Jayden and Chloe.
Quotables from the Show:
“I think people go to people who they know get things done and who they know that they can rely on.”
“You've never seen two children more excited to have a conference call or go to a meeting.”
“My daughter's dress up with her friends is not ‘oh I want to be princess and live in a castle' it's ‘I want to be a CEO and I've got to get on a plane to London right now.'”
“When we hear that people, especially women, feel like they're under so much pressure it's because they don't feel like they can reveal the truth of who they are and what they have on their plate without either being criticized or judged…It allows you to be a better employee or a better professional or a better worker bee knowing that you don't have to hide who you are and what you have on your plate.”
The Final Five
- Some of Lauren's personal secret weapons of success: transparency, persistence and drive.
- If I were to ask people who know Lauren to describe her, they would say: forthright, open and vibrant. Life of the board room and the party :)!
- Lauren's morning and night time routines: In the morning she gets her kids ready for school, has some Greek yogurt and goes to the gym. Her night time routine includes using the “do not disturb” function of her phone to help her give her mind a rest. Then she thinks, writes or does something “mindless” like reading a gossip magazine to decompress.
- How Lauren “integrates” her life, family and career: there's no rhyme or reason to it, but her kids have always been exposed to what she does and they also watch Lauren work.
- What Lauren's favorite power outfit: her new favorite is a structured jumpsuit — they make her feel like Wonder Woman.
BONUS: How you can connect with Lauren:
Instagram: @laurenmaillian
Twitter: @laurenmaillian
Snapchat: LaurenMaillian
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