#SGGlobal 2019 Speaker Feature: Q+A with Anjelika Temple
The Global Conference is finally here! Check out this Q+A with Anjelika Temple, Chief Creative Officer + Founding Partner of Brit + Co, and don’t miss her on the Storytelling Stage (today!) at #SGGlobal.
Where are you from originally and where do you live now?
I moved around a bit! Born in Jersey, grew up in Connecticut until I was 10, then Salt Lake City until 16, then just outside Philadelphia for the last two years of high school. I stayed east for college and went to Middlebury in Vermont, then lived in NY for a solid run before moving to San Francisco 8 years ago. And just three months ago I moved just north of SF to Mill Valley.
In a sentence, what does Brit + Co do?
Brit + Co is a new media and commerce company that creates editorial, video, and social content, products, and events, all with the mission to encourage women in their 20s and 30s to live more creatively and take action in every aspect of their lives.
What is your mission?
The root of our mission is creativity, and the idea that we believe everyone is creative. From the start, Brit + Co’s goal has been to help women unlock that creativity and express their unique point of view with the world. As we’ve grown and evolved, the mission has too. Now the roots remain in creativity, but have extended to be all about encouraging women to pursue their passions and chase their dreams, no matter how big or small they might be.
We believe courage, curiosity, creativity, and confidence are contagious. And we believe that the more we encourage these in our audience of women, the more empowered they’ll feel to be their best selves… and the better the world will be.
What trends are you seeing in media right now?
It seems like we’re in a moment of people desperately wanting to get offline and unplug, more than we’ve seen in several years. It makes sense — we’re all so seamlessly connected to our digital selves and presences that it can be hard to find an easy way to disconnect. Because of this, many media companies (ourselves included, from the start!) are working hard to develop real-life communities and physical experiences and events to connect more authentically with readers and each other. People value knowing that real people they can relate to are the ones writing the stories they consume, creating the products they swoon over, and so on.
What moment are you most proud of in your career?
That’s an easy one. The minute I said, “Yes Brit, I’ll quit my job and start this company with you.” That was a major turning point in my life — it feels like all my previous experiences and goals that sometimes felt roving and unconventional all led to this spark of a moment.
What has been your biggest challenge as a founder?
There have been moments along the way where, due to our own newness in the industry and relative lack of experience, we didn’t trust our gut instincts. It’s an easy trap to fall into when you’re just starting out, and trying to absorb outside mentorship, advice, and some unsolicited (but then taken-very-seriously) opinions. Seven years later I can confidently say that I’ve learned from all of those experiences in valuable ways, and I can be even more confident in trusting my gut.
What’s one thing you wish you’d done differently?
This is a pretty tactical answer, but I wish we’d started working with creative freelancers way earlier on than we did. We’ve always worked with freelance writers on the editorial side, but not so much on the design, video, and photography side. In the last year we’ve worked to build up our freelance network and it’s been SO amazing and inspiring to see our work flourish with many different creatives working on it. The more people you work with to help bring your mission and voice to life, the stronger that voice becomes.
How do you encourage diversity within your company?
We try to instill in people that the more inclusive you are in the workplace, the better your work will be. It’s not just about being inclusive for the sake of checking a box. It’s way more important than that. It’s about getting closer to having a full picture of the country, and world, represented at your company. Entrepreneurship, at its core, is about innovation, problem-solving, and creativity — all three of those things can only thrive when a wider variety people have a seat at the table.
What is one question you ask yourself before making a big business decision?
Honestly, what would my 17-year-old self think about the project we’re about to take on, the person we’re about to hire, the move we’re about to make. And then I also think about what my 70-year-old self would think. If young me still thinks I’m running a badass company that inspires women, and older me is waxing poetic about her mid-30s, then it’s a go! I also ask myself if I can describe why we’re doing something, what we hope to get out of it, and how it’s valuable to the business in 1–2 sentences. If the answer is yes, great. If the answer is no, then it means we’re spending too much time convincing ourselves that it’s a good idea.
Do you have any personal or professional goals for the coming year?
Well we moved to the ‘burbs with our toddler and have a second baby girl on the way. I’d say my personal goal is the most typical one in the book: find balance, be extremely present with my family while continuing to push creative boundaries in my career. Don’t get hung up on the to-do list so much that I forget to actually be in the moment, both at home and at work. For Brit + Co, we’ll continue to work our darnedest to act as a resource to the women we believe we can inspire and empower. From launching our first podcast last fall to hosting a series of IRL classes at our San Francisco HQ starting this month, we want to strengthen and support our community and are excited to keep dreaming up new ways to do just that.
What is one piece of advice you’d give to people that are considering making the leap to become founders?
Find mentorship through your peers. It took me a while to realize that there wasn’t one magical mentor for me. Once it hit me that so many of the fellow entrepreneurs, artists, and founders I’ve connected with could be mentors to me, and I to them, I began to have helpful, honest, candid conversations that continue to be insanely valuable. It’s really easy to get caught up in your own do-it-yourself bubble, but you gotta pop out from time to time. Create a support system, because no one should feel like they have to go it alone to be a trailblazer.
The Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator, powered by Techstars is looking for game-changing connectivity, media and entertainment startups for its 2019 class. Apply now for a chance to elevate your company with help from our renowned mentor networks. Class starts this July in Philadelphia!
