By the way, the name Braincandy means “smart, sweet, fun.”
What did you do in your previous life?
I worked at Microsoft for 10 years and did fun things like managing and developing Microsoft’s television and print “image” campaign with a budget of over 100 million dollars. During my last four years at Microsoft I was the group manager of marketing and communications for the Microsoft TV division.
Before Microsoft, I spent many years in Los Angeles working on independent and studio film projects. I got to work with such great filmmakers as Lawrence Kasdan and Roger Corman, among others.
I also worked at the Walt Disney Company for several years, creating and producing media for their theme parks.
Do you think being an entrepreneur makes it easier or harder to balance your work and family responsibilities? Why?
As one of my entrepreneur mentors has told me from day one, the best thing about being an entrepreneur means you get to pick whatever 60 hours a week you want to work! Seriously, what makes it easier is that I’m much more focused and efficient at doing both—I have to be. Because my work day is shorter in the daylight hours, I have to cram more into those hours. Because we’re a small company there are far fewer distractions. And as I’m doing now, it’s 8pm and I’ve just put my kids to bed and am diving back into work for a couple of hours. I’m not sure it’s balanced but it works.
What has been the most challenging part about starting your own company?
The most challenging piece of starting the business is the uncertainty. We have an enormous amount of confidence and passion in what we do but not knowing whether we’ll be successful, whether consumers will embrace our products, whether kids will love them as much as we enjoy making them, serves for a roller coaster ride like no other. When I was a freelance filmmaker in Los Angeles my life was vague and I lived paycheck to paycheck but I didn’t have a family to support. Because I work with my husband who is the other principal in the business, we’re both completely invested both with our time and money. That means that we share successes but are miserably intertwined with our failures as well.
What has surprised you in this process of running your own business?
What has surprised me is how well my husband and I have been able to sustain together while we raise a family and start a business. Our skill sets are complimentary in both and are not competitive, which is one of the success factors. It does become very intense at times—especially when we’re both under deadline and stressed. That’s usually where conflict exists but we’re able to work through it and move forward together.
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