How This Accidental Entrepreneur Solved Her Own Problem & Built a Multi-Million Dollar Baby Brand Along the Way with Monica Royer, Founder of Monica + Andy

Monica Royer is the founder and CEO of Monica + Andy, an organic
baby clothing and essentials brand. 


Monica had no intention of becoming an entrepreneur, but after
the birth of her daughter, she struggled to find a brand that
offered safe, organic clothing and an easy shopping experience
for parents. Monica wanted complete confidence that what touched
her baby’s skin was the safest fabric available. Inspired by her
brother Andy Dunn's success with Bonobos, she saw the potential
of direct-to-consumer business models to disrupt and decided to
launch her business in 2014. Fast forward to today, Monica has
raised millions of VC funding for her company which is now
considered one of the country's most celebrated organic
children's clothing brands. The company also recently announced a
partnership with Walmart and launched M+A by Monica + Andy, which
is in 1100+ stores throughout the country.  


In this week’s episode, Monica talks about her windy journey
leaving her career in pharmaceuticals and starting the business,
and how despite having an idea, it took her a few years to bring
everything to life. She discusses why managing her psychology was
the hardest but most important part of running her business and
shares the biggest learnings & takeaways she gained from
having a front-row seat to her brother's menswear brand, Bonobos.
Monica also delves into why self-awareness is one of the most
critical skills you must have as a founder, the importance of
resting & resetting for long-term success, her journey in
pivoting her business during COVID and so much more.


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


* Managing your psychology in entrepreneurship. [02:38]


* The importance of rest and reset. [05:37]


* Monica’s childhood and upbringing. [09:11]


* Expectations of Monica’s parents as an immigrant family.
[13:19]


* Monica's decade in pharmaceutical industry. [15:51]


* How entrepreneurship found Monica. [20:09]


* Launching the first physical store and online store.
[24:11]


* Monica’s way of keeping in touch with her customers.
[25:37]


* Creating the initial awareness for Monica + Andy. [26:21]


* Monica’s parent’s reaction to her taking the
entrepreneurial leap. [28:11]


* Why building self-awareness is a critical skill. [31:12]


* The real responsibility in business. [33:37]


* Difference of a female and male founder. [37:27]


* Monica's parents boosted her confidence with their
parenting approach.. [38:03]


* Having that “mom guilt” and how Monica handles it. [40:31]


* Challenges and opportunities faced during the COVID-19
Pandemic. [44:39]


* Getting a partnership with Walmart. [47:07]


* Future plans for Monica + Andy. [52:14]


This episode is brought to you by beeya: 


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Follow Monica: 


* Website: https://monicaandandy.com/


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


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