RocksBoxBehind every inventive new start-up company, is an equally savvy entrepreneur.
That's where Meaghan Rose, CEO and founder of the jewelry membership site, RocksBox comes in.
We sat down with the chic go-getter to learn more about her background and her booming business.
Here's what we learned:
How did you get started in your career?
I've always wanted to start my own business. When I was a kid I would make up pretend products and make fake commercials for them with my sister. I went to Wharton Business School and after a few years of consulting for large consumer companies, I left to start my own!
What's a typical day like for you?
Typical is not a word in my vocabulary these days! A year ago I was manually packing each box, handwriting the label on every shipment and standing in line at the post office to send each shipment. Today, on any given day I'm running merchandising and marketing, collaborating with designers and bloggers, negotiating with investors, talking to editors and recruiting. The hardest part of each day is deciding what isn't going to get done.
Describe your office.
The RocksBox office is the exact intersection of a fashion company and a start-up. We have the fourth floor of a beautiful old building in the SOMA neighborhood of San Francisco. The office has an open, industrial feel with high ceilings, exposed white brick and floor to ceiling windows with tons of natural light. Half of the space is used for fulfillment (we move over 500 pieces of jewelry through the office each day) and the other half for desks. We have some of our favorite old Vogue covers framed on the wall, along with notes and pictures from our members. We also carved out one area as a showroom to show off our favorite designer pieces.
Describe your office style
I like to dress for how I feel. Sometime that's jeans and a tank top, and sometimes I dress it up a little. Regardless, I almost always wear either a blazer, my denim jacket or my black leather jacket. I don't know what I would do without those three pieces. Then I let my jewelry pull it all together!
Where do you shop for work clothes?
I don't have a ton of time to shop these days but when I can my go-to is Bloomingdales. I love Helmut Lang and Vince or Diane von Furstenberg and Theory, if I'm looking for something a little more dressed up. I also like to stop by Zara where I can usually find something fun and affordable.
What is the best part of your job?
My customers and my team. I love them. This whole thing used to just be a figment of imagination. Now we have a team of people that have made it their own and that work their butts off every day because they believe in it. And we have passionate customers that invite their friends and send us notes about how much they love RocksBox. It's the most amazing feeling. It's a tough job sometimes, but whenever I think about that I feel such a sense of gratitude and inspiration.
What fuels you during the day?
Walking is hugely energizing for me. I like to get outside and walk whenever I can. I walk to all of my meetings and try to take most of my calls while walking. Sometimes I need to get outside of the office to think through something.
What are your favorite gadgets?
I don't know if these are gadgets but I have a pretty start-up inspired life these days. I use a dozen different start-ups to make my life easier: Instacart, Taskrabbit and Lyft, to name a few. I even started using something called Outbox so I never have to check my mail again! I can't imagine life without them now.
What are your beauty must-haves?
Oil of Olay moisturizer, Chanel noir eye liner (it's the only kind I've ever found that doesn't leave dark circles under my eyes), Benefit mascara and Dior lipstick. It's taken me years to find my favorites, so I rarely stray!