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Raegan Moya-Jones head and shoulder portrait

Raegan Moya-Jones, founder and former CEO of global baby brand aden + anais, discusses her new book ‘What It Takes’, an empowering depiction of female entrepreneurship against the odds.

 

Laura Turner: You released a new book in May titled ‘What It Takes’. Can you outline what it’s about?

Raegan Moya-Jones: In the book I share my entrepreneurial journey. From starting my business at my kitchen table to buying my co-founder out in the midst of a health scare; and from growing the company and selling the majority share of my business to ultimately leaving the company I worked so hard to build.

The book is part memoir and part commentary on what women face as entrepreneurs and in business. To that end, I hope that women will read the book and be inspired to either start their own businesses or make the changes in their careers that they may have been hesitant to do. I firmly believe that if I can do it, anyone can do it. I hope my book conveys that and inspires others to make their own leap.

LT: As you mention, female entrepreneurship is a key topic of the book. What is your personal experience as a woman in business?

RM-J: When I started out as a corporate cog I was a fairly ambitious and outspoken young woman who worked hard to be successful and progress my career. But no matter how successful I was at my job, I kept feeling as though I was being held back. I can’t say for certain that it was a gender thing. But, during my corporate career, all but one of my managers were men. It seemed they didn’t appreciate being questioned by someone junior to them, much less a woman.

It was the frustration of being told that I was where I needed to be and that I was not cut out for more senior roles that ultimately led me to start my own business. I knew I was capable of more. That if I worked in an environment where I could stretch my limits and grow, I would be successful.

I wish I could say that things are now different for women in the entrepreneurial world. Although I do think the situation has improved over the last two decades, we still face hurdles that men don’t. When it comes to funding, when it comes to being taken seriously and when it comes to securing investors.

 

What it takes book cover

 

LT: What would you highlight as your proudest career achievements?

RM-J: Getting to a million dollars in revenue whilst I was still working my full-time day job was a pretty great moment. Also, winning an EY Entrepreneur of The Year award in 2014 was definitely a highlight.

Probably my proudest achievement was building a fabulous culture at aden + anais, one where people constantly told me it was the best job they had ever had and they loved getting out of bed each day to come to the office. I cared deeply about the people who worked at aden + anais so getting that feedback was extremely meaningful to me.

LT: What are the biggest challenges you’ve encountered in business?

RM-J: Hands down, it was working capital. From the beginning aden + anais was like a rocket ship. The accelerated pace meant that there was high demand for our product, but it also made it hard to keep funding the ever-larger orders of inventory required to meet the demand and the infrastructure that we needed to put in place to support it. For the first couple of years that we were on the market a large majority of my time as owner and CEO was spent trying to secure funding to keep the business going.

On a more personal level, another huge challenge was when my co-founder and I split. It was painful. We had been very close friends when we started the business and it was an ugly split, both for the business and personally. So, while working capital was a long-term challenge that I dealt with for years, the sudden departure of my business partner and close friend was the most painful chapter of aden + anais’ early years.

LT: What would you list as the most important lessons you’ve learnt in business?

RM-J: Listen to your intuition. There are moments when I’ve listened to my intuition – like when I started the company, I intuitively knew that this would be a big idea and there was only so much time before someone else had the same idea and acted on it. On the other hand, when I sold the majority share of my business, I had an intuitive feeling that it was the wrong move; that I was selling to the wrong people. However, we were so deep into the sales process that I chose not to listen to that particular inkling and I have regretted it ever since.

LT: What inspires and motives you?

RM-J: I’ve always loved the idea of taking something basic that everyone takes for granted, or doesn’t think twice about, and remaking it into something completely new and different. In business they refer to it as category disruption. That idea has been the basis of both of my companies.

It also goes without saying that I’m motivated by the idea of providing financial security for my family. I hope, by example, to inspire my four girls to work hard so they can do what they love and love what they do.

LT: What do you feel are your key strengths as an entrepreneur?

RM-J: Above all, I never give up. I never take “no” for an answer and I keep moving forward no matter what. In any entrepreneurial journey there will be hundreds of setbacks. When you decide to start your business it’s incredibly important that you find the strength to keep trying; no matter how many times you hear the word “no” or “it can’t be done.”

I should mention part of my ability to keep going was because I absolutely believed in the idea and the business. From the very beginning I believed very deeply that it could be a million-dollar company. That clear vision kept me going, even when things seemed impossible.

And finally, early on, I made peace with failure. I knew that in a long-term venture that small failures would be inevitable. I embraced it, and I avoided making it mean anything about me as a person. If we failed, it was because the idea didn’t work and we needed to try a different approach. It wasn’t because I or anyone else involved was a failure themselves.

On a broader scale I internalised very early on the fact that statistically there was a much greater chance of the business failing than there was of it becoming a multi-million-dollar success. I decided that I would rather try and fail than give up too soon because of the fear of failing. As soon as I did that the fear went away. I effectively gave myself the OK to fail. This allowed me to take more risks and not second guess every decision I made.

LT: Do you have any business mentors?

RM-J: I definitely had advisors during my entrepreneurial journey, but never one person who has championed my career. My first private equity investors, Seidler Equity Partners, were the most impactful. They helped me grow my business. Helped me understand how a $15 million dollar company operates differently from a $50 million dollar company. They helped me become a better CEO. Without their guidance and input I don’t think we could have grown aden + anais into what it was in 2013 when I sold the business.

LT: ‘What It Takes’ isn’t your first book, you also published ‘Swaddle Love’ back in 2010. Do you have plans for any more books?

RM-J: No, ‘What It Takes’ took me three years to write – and I had help. I’m looking forward to having a bit of a break from all things publishing for a while.

LT: What’s next for you in terms of career goals?

RM-J: At the moment I’m focused on building Saint Luna Spirits, a premium moonshine brand I created with my co-founder, David. I’m excited about introducing Saint Luna to the American and eventually international markets. By this time next year our goal is to have Saint Luna offered at five-star bars and restaurants and featuring on menus in the coolest cocktail bars – a first for moonshine.

So far so good and we’ve only been at it for a couple of months. My intuition is most definitely telling me we are on to something, so stay tuned.

 

 

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