Jessica Jesse:

The line that I always use is, "I too have been there." You want to compare notes because the journey is not easy.

Frederick Royall III:

You've expanded the BuDhaGirl brand from bangles into other jewelry and handbags. And more recently, you've entered the beverage industry with sparkling wines and tea. What are the key factors you consider when planning a business expansion?

Jessica Jesse:

Their basic question is why, how, and with whom are you going to do it? Sometimes I call it the "two phone call" solution, where the expansion is going to happen, even though they're not adjacent categories, fairly easily. You're not having to reinvent the wheel for your company.

Frederick Royall III:

How do you identify opportunities to diversify and expand?

Jessica Jesse:

We were only speaking to a fashion audience. And so we said, how do we reach a whole other demographic and by what product categories? So we started to think, you know, is it sparkling wine? It's the ritual of celebration. That fit in with BuDhaGirl, with our core message of daily ritual. The same with our teas. They develop the dialogue of ritual for us. So those product categories are also going back to our core value.

Frederick Royall III:

Along your growth journey, why has it been so important to connect with like-minded founders?

Jessica Jesse:

That's super important. The line that I always use is, "I too have been there." You want to compare notes, because the journey is not easy. Sometimes you question yourself, am I doing the right thing? And of course, one of the things I understood as we began to scale significantly, you're responsible for this. You're responsible for the continued well-being, certainly of the company, but of the people that are the culture of the company. And I think whether it's through conferences, you know, J.P. Morgan has been invaluable in connections, that you have a sense that you're not alone.

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