How This Founder Used Her Corporate Experience to Disrupt the Fashion Industry and Is Helping Women Become More Confident - Sali Christeson, Founder of Argent

Sali Christeson is the CEO and founder of Argent, a brand
revolutionizing women’s workwear.


Sali always had aspirations of entrepreneurship but chose to gain
more experience before pursuing her own venture. Beginning her
career in finance and banking, she later transitioned to the tech
industry at CISCO. Frustrated by the lack of functional workwear
options for women, she toyed with the idea of starting her own
company. However, it wasn't until a few years later when she came
across a study highlighting the judgment women face based on
their appearance that she decided to take action. With everything
aligning, Sali finally leaped and founded Argent.


Since 2016, Sali and Argent have been leading the workwear
revolution, offering functional, high-quality, and unique pieces
designed to empower women in the workplace. Their mission is to
arm working women with confidence through their clothing.


In our episode together, we talk about how Sali pivoted from her
corporate career to becoming a fashion entrepreneur with no
design experience, the steps she took to fund the idea, and her
thoughts on how to approach co-founders & hiring when you’re
building a team. She also shares the unconventional approach she
took to launch the brand, how networking has been crucial to her
success and best practices there, and how she navigated the brand
during the pandemic when offices were closed and the brand nearly
went to zero (which was a crazy story). We also chat about
building your confidence, how to set boundaries at work, and so
much more. 


In this episode, we’ll talk to Sali about:


* Lessons gained from up in an immigrant entrepreneurial family.
[02:53]


* Sali's pursuit of traditional academics and early career
journey. [05:12]


* Working at Cisco and gaining confidence. [09:07]


* How Sali learned to navigate workplace politics. [12:13]


* The importance of setting boundaries. [16:02]


* Being mindful of when you need to rest. [19:31]


* How the idea for Argent came about. [22:37]


* Sali's initial steps in leaving her full-time job and taking
the leap. [27:07]


* The importance of trusting your gut. [31:24]


* Slowing down the hiring process. [34:07]


* The fundraising process during the early days of Argent.
[38:02]


* Advice on building network and authentic relationships. [41:48]


* The societal construct in the corporate industry. [33:57]


* The process of Argent’s launch event. [48:30]


* How Sali navigated during the COVID-19 Pandemic. [51:03]


* Going viral and how they generated a year's worth in just one
day. [53:21]


* How the COVID-19 Pandemic accelerated product demand. [54:38]


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Follow Sali: 


* Website: https://argentwork.com/


* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/argent/


* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salichristeson/


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