18歲女學(xué)生CEO創(chuàng)業(yè)記
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18歲女學(xué)生CEO創(chuàng)業(yè)記
The CEO is going to be late for class.
這位首席執(zhí)行官上課要遲到了，
18歲女學(xué)生CEO創(chuàng)業(yè)記
。Megan Grassell founded her teen-targeted underwear company, Yellowberry, at 17 and now, as a high-school senior, she is trying to juggle a very full schedule of classes, extracurricular activities, and running a burgeoning business. "To say it's taking over my life is a very small way to put it," Grassell laughed during an interview with Fortune. "But I love it."梅根格拉塞17歲時(shí)創(chuàng)立了一家名叫Yellowberry的少女內(nèi)衣公司。她現(xiàn)在是一名高中生，課程繁忙，課外活動(dòng)豐富，同時(shí)還要運(yùn)營一家快速成長的企業(yè)，忙得不亦樂乎。在接受《財(cái)富》(Fortune)采訪時(shí)，格拉塞笑著說：“這種忙碌的狀態(tài)占據(jù)了我的整個(gè)生活，但我很喜歡。”
It was during a trip to the mall with Mary Margaret, her younger sister, that inspiration struck: "I was shopping for bras at the mall with my mom and little sister, and we went to a bunch of different stores looking for a good first bra for Mary Margaret, but there was nothing. There were jogging bras or these very sexual padded, push-up bras. I kept wondering, where is the cute little bra in fun colors? I realized that it just didn't exist. About a week later it hit me: If no one else is going to do it, I'm going to do it. I'm going to make bras for girls."有一次，梅根與妹妹瑪麗·瑪格麗特一起逛商場，萌生了創(chuàng)辦公司的想法。她說：“我跟我媽媽和妹妹在商場買內(nèi)衣，妹妹正在發(fā)育階段，我們想為她購買她人生中的第一件內(nèi)衣，但是找了很多家店都沒有找到。有些適合慢跑的運(yùn)動(dòng)內(nèi)衣或是非常性感的帶襯墊的托舉式內(nèi)衣，我就納悶，怎么找不到色彩繽紛的可愛的少女內(nèi)衣?然后我意識(shí)到，市面上根本就沒有這樣的內(nèi)衣。一個(gè)星期后我突然想到，既然別人不生產(chǎn)這種內(nèi)衣，那就讓我來吧。我要為少女們制造內(nèi)衣。”
To fund her startup, Grassell raided her savings: "I worked every summer since sixth or seventh grade. First pumping gas and then I bussed tables and waitressed at a place called Nora's, which is a fantastic restaurant. I saved all of that and used it to get my product to the prototyping phase."創(chuàng)辦公司需要資金，格拉塞花光了自己所有的積蓄：“從六、七年級(jí)開始，我每年暑假都去打工。最開始是在加油站加油，后來在一家叫 Nora's的餐廳當(dāng)服務(wù)員，這家餐廳很棒。我把賺到的錢都存下來了，用這些錢使我的產(chǎn)品進(jìn)入原型設(shè)計(jì)階段。”
While Grassell throws around words like "prototyping" now, actually developing prototypes for her bras presented a steep learning curve for the teen. "Going into this process, I had no experience. I don't even know how to sew! If I get a hole in my jeans, I'm out of luck, because I don't know how to fix it," said Grassell. "There are a lot of things that have to come together in order for a bra to be made. Sourcing the fabric was a challenge, finding out where to produce and who to work with. I didn't know about quantities or anything. I had to learn all of that."像“原型設(shè)計(jì)”這樣的術(shù)語格拉塞似乎是信手拈來，但實(shí)際開發(fā)內(nèi)衣原型對這個(gè)高中生而言是個(gè)不小的挑戰(zhàn)，她需要快速學(xué)習(xí)很多東西。格拉塞說：“進(jìn)入這個(gè)過程中，我沒有任何經(jīng)驗(yàn)，我甚至不會(huì)縫東西!如果我的牛仔褲破了一個(gè)洞，我只能自認(rèn)倒霉，因?yàn)槲也恢酪趺葱扪a(bǔ)。制作一件內(nèi)衣涉及許多方面，采購面料是一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)，此外還要尋找生產(chǎn)地點(diǎn)與合作伙伴。我對數(shù)量也沒概念，一切都得從頭開始學(xué)習(xí)。”
To move from prototype to production, Grassell turned to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. "The original goal was $25,000," said Grassell, "And I raised almost $42,000, which was pretty exciting." It was also one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns ever for an underwear or lingerie startup, ever.
為了從原型設(shè)計(jì)階段轉(zhuǎn)向生產(chǎn)階段，格拉塞求助于眾籌網(wǎng)站Kickstarter。格拉塞說：“我本來計(jì)劃籌集25,000美元，結(jié)果共籌集了42,000美元，非常令人興奮。”這也是Kickstarter有史以來為內(nèi)衣初創(chuàng)公司開展的最成功的籌資項(xiàng)目之一。
With the Kickstarter campaign completed, Grassell found a production facility through a contact in her hometown of Jackson Hole, Wyo. The factory, which is in Los Angeles -- and was vetted by her mom who was in California during one of Mary Margaret's soccer games -- has a low minimum order amount, which is good for a startup, but can also grow to meet increasing demand as necessary, which Grassell thinks is important. "If I get a phone call asking for a huge order, I will make that happen," she said.
Kickstarter籌資項(xiàng)目完成后，格拉塞通過家鄉(xiāng)懷俄明州杰克遜城的一位聯(lián)系人找到了一個(gè)生產(chǎn)工廠。工廠位于洛杉磯，梅根的媽媽在加州觀看妹妹瑪麗的足球比賽時(shí)順道去考察了這家工廠。這家工廠的最低訂單額很低，很適合初創(chuàng)企業(yè)，但在必要時(shí)也可以增加產(chǎn)量滿足需求，格拉塞認(rèn)為這一點(diǎn)很重要，
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《18歲女學(xué)生CEO創(chuàng)業(yè)記》(http://www.ishadingyu.com)。她說：“如果我接到一個(gè)電話，對方要下一個(gè)巨額訂單，我也能夠完成。”That can-do attitude is what people expect from a CEO, but not necessarily from a teenaged girl. Grassell admits that her age has been a challenge in doing business. "One of the biggest problems I had getting started was getting people to take me and my ideas seriously. I hope now they can see that I'm serious and that this is happening," said Grassell, who comes across as a hybrid businesswoman: Half Rookie magazine editor savant TaviGevinson, half Spanx founder Sara Blakely. "I have a vision for the company. I know how I want it to grow, and I can't wait to see how it becomes established."人們認(rèn)為這種什么都能做的態(tài)度正是首席執(zhí)行官的品質(zhì)，但十幾歲的女孩不一定具備這種品質(zhì)。格拉塞承認(rèn)，她的年齡對她的生意構(gòu)成了挑戰(zhàn)。她說：“創(chuàng)辦公司之初我遇到的最大的困難是，別人都認(rèn)為我是小孩，不把我的想法當(dāng)回事。我希望他們現(xiàn)在能看到，我是認(rèn)真的，我的想法正在成為現(xiàn)實(shí)。”格拉塞給人的印象像是一個(gè)混合型女商人：一半像Rookie雜志的主編泰薇?蓋文森，另一半像塑身內(nèi)衣公司Spanx創(chuàng)始人薩拉?布萊克利。“我對公司設(shè)有愿景，我知道應(yīng)該如何促進(jìn)它的成長，我迫不及待地想看到公司成熟起來。”
Yellowberry is already on the market. At the company's polished online shop, customers can choose between four styles, including "Bug Bite" and "Tiny Tetons," names in line with the company's motto: "From the bunny hills to the Tetons, we have you covered." Yellowberry's brightly colored bras are made from a cotton-spandex blend that is meant to provide a soft, comfortable transition between children's undershirts and more adult bras. Needless to say there is nary an underwire in site. The bras are meant to give growing girls an option in the underwear market. "Yellowberry gives girls the idea that they don't have to grow up so quickly," Grassell said. "If they want to wear other bras, they can, we're not saying what's appropriate or not, but we want them to have another option."Yellowberry的產(chǎn)品現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)上市銷售。這家公司精美的網(wǎng)店提供四種風(fēng)格的產(chǎn)品供客戶選擇，包括“小荷露角”(Bug Bite)和“小特頓山”(Tiny Tetons)，這些名稱契合公司的.標(biāo)語“從小到大，一路有我。”Yellowberry顏色鮮艷的內(nèi)衣使用棉氨綸混合面料制成，柔軟舒適，是從兒童內(nèi)衣到成人內(nèi)衣之間的過渡產(chǎn)品。當(dāng)然，這些內(nèi)衣中沒有鋼圈。這類內(nèi)衣產(chǎn)品是為了在內(nèi)衣市場中為成長中的女孩提供一項(xiàng)選擇。格拉塞說：“Yellowberry 向女孩們宣傳一種理念，就是她們沒必要那么快長大。她們可以選擇穿其他內(nèi)衣，我們并沒有說哪種合適，哪種不合適，我們只是希望她們有另一種選擇。”
While launching and running a one-woman company ("My mom has been helping me recently," she noted) and bringing a new product to market is challenging for anyone, Grassell has more on her plate than the average CEO. "The biggest challenge is that I'm still a full-time student, so the timing aspect has been really hard," said Grassell. "I'm excited to be finished with my senior year in a few weeks so that I can truly work full time." Grassell may end up deferring college -- she's been accepted at Middlebury College -- for a year to focus on Yellowberry.
一個(gè)人創(chuàng)辦并運(yùn)行一家公司(她媽媽最近也在幫忙)并為市場帶來一種新產(chǎn)品，這對任何人而言都具有挑戰(zhàn)性，格拉塞要處理的事情比一般的首席執(zhí)行官多得多。格拉塞說：“最大的挑戰(zhàn)在于，我現(xiàn)在仍然是一個(gè)全日制學(xué)生，所以很難安排時(shí)間。我很高興再過幾個(gè)星期，我就高中畢業(yè)了，到時(shí)我可以全身心投入到工作中。”格拉塞可能會(huì)推遲一年上大學(xué)【她已經(jīng)被米德爾伯里學(xué)院(Middlebury College)錄取】，以便專注于Yellowberry的運(yùn)營。
While Grassell may study business when she gets to college, she has already managed to do something that most MBAs dream of: She identified an unfulfilled niche in the marketplace and designed a specifically targeted product to fulfill the demand. As it turns out, her comfortable, well-designed cute products may disrupt the teen lingerie world.
格拉塞進(jìn)入大學(xué)后可能會(huì)學(xué)習(xí)商科，不過她已經(jīng)成功實(shí)現(xiàn)了大多數(shù)MBA畢業(yè)生們的夢想：她發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)未得到滿足的利基市場，設(shè)計(jì)了具有針對性的產(chǎn)品來滿足市場需求。事實(shí)證明，她的公司生產(chǎn)的可愛舒適、設(shè)計(jì)精美的產(chǎn)品可能會(huì)在少女內(nèi)衣市場掀起一場風(fēng)暴。
It appears that there is a lot of demand for wholesome, age-appropriate, fun bras for tweens and teens. At the time of this article, Grassell's product is completely sold out ("It's a very good problem to have," she said) and she is working to fill back orders as quickly as possible.
看來，少女們對健康舒適、充滿趣味且適合少女年齡段的內(nèi)衣有很大需求。在寫這篇文章的時(shí)候，格拉塞的產(chǎn)品已經(jīng)售罄(她說：“遇到這種問題很讓人高興”)，她正在全力處理訂單需求。
After calculus, of course.
當(dāng)然，她得先要去學(xué)校上完微積分課。
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