How to Get Over Your Fear of Starting with Natalie Gordon, Founder of Babylist

Natalie Gordon is the CEO and Founder of Babylist, the
fastest-growing universal baby registry in the U.S.


In 2011, after she closed down her first business and did some
consulting projects to make ends meet, Natalie came up with the
idea for Babylist after becoming frustrated with the options
available for baby registries at the time. What started as a
side-project that launched two weeks before her first son was
born, has become a multimillion-dollar empire that just keeps
growing. 


Over the past 10 years with relatively little VC funding, Natalie
has grown Babylist into the third largest baby registry service
online. More than half of US parents registered with Babylist in
2020, creating 1.2 million registries last year alone. The
company has doubled its revenue each year for the past three
years and is on track to make $250 million in revenue this year.


We’ll talk to Natalie about how her “failure” with her first
business set her up for success with Babylist, how she balanced
new motherhood with growing a new company, why you shouldn’t
compare yourself to others, steps she took to scale her company
without significant VC funding, and so much more.


In this episode, we talk to Natalie about:


* Why being scared is no reason to wait: the tips and tools
Natalie uses to overcome her fear. [2:55]


* What it was like growing up in Canada as a math geek and how
Natalie moved into the world of computer science. [6:17]


* How Natalie made the leap from a secure job to chasing her
dreams. [7:55]


* Why Natalie’s first startup failed and the lessons learned.
[10:01]


* The product-market fit and why this is crucial to every
business. [14:02]


* Why Natalie chose to found Babylist: filling a niche she
identified. [15:51]


* The yardsticks Natalie selected to define whether or not she
continued to grow Babylist, or move on. [26:06]


* Creating brand awareness: the different phases Babylist went
through. [27:09]


* What drove Natalie to join the accelerator program, 500
startups. [29:35]


* How to tell when it’s time to hire a team. [31:29]


* The lesson Natalie has had to learn over and over throughout
her career. [34:04]


* Why raising money is less important than an investor who aligns
with the company values. [35:28]


* Facing the COVID-19 pandemic: how Babylist thrived rather than
just survived. [38:38]


* Handling external stressors and how Natalie guided her company
through the pandemic with transparency. [43:19]


* Why an uncomfortable level of focus helped Natalie steer
Babylist in the right direction. [44:59]


* Saying “not yet” to every great idea: the importance of focus
and good company culture in attracting the right kind of
employee. [46:09]


* Advice from Natalie to her audience: don’t compare yourself to
others. [50:15]


* How Natalie handles rejection. [52:12]


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Follow Natalie:


* Babylist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/babylist/ 


* Babylist Website: https://www.babylist.com/


Follow Yasmin:


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


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