Name: Michelle Madhok
Age: 41 (But in my head, I’m still 27…)
Job Title and Description: CEO and Founder of SHEFINDS MEDIA; Author of Wear This Now: Your Style Solution for Every Season and Any Occasion.
College/Major: UC Berkeley/ Mass Communications (Undergraduate); Northwestern University MS IMC Medill School of Journalism (Graduate)
Websites: shefinds.com, momfinds.com and michellemadhok.com
Twitter Handle: @michellemadhok
What does your current job entail? Is there such a thing as a typical day?
Michelle Madhok: Every day I wake up and have the same focus since I started the company: how do I make money and how do I get people to come to the site? But now, I have people helping me solve the problem.
It’s a lot of talking to people about potential deal making as well as talking to the staffers about what they are doing and how they are going to grow the business. I basically consider myself a coach and a problem solver. I like people to have a lot of autonomy and to use their innate strengths. I try not to micromanage as much as possible. I try to hire smart people and then let them decide how best to get their job done. People are allowed to take risks and make adjustments on the fly.
What is the best part of your job?
MM: Owning my own time and getting to create the kind of company I want to work for.
What was your first entry-level job in your field and how did you get it?
MM: CBS came to Northwestern to recruit students to the company’s summer internship program in NYC and I was prepared enough to be selected. After my summer there, they offered me a full-time job in the marketing department. When I arrived, my new boss asked me, “Do you do Internet?” I replied, “I have an AOL account.” With that, they put me in charge of cbs.com. It was 1995. No one liked “new media.” It wasn’t the cool place to work in the company.
Then the Internet took off and the department ballooned to 70 people. I ran the sites for everything from the soap operas, to Everybody Loves Raymond to the Late Show with David Letterman.
What is one thing you wish you knew about your industry when you first started out that you know now?
MM: I would have been more understanding of other people’s positions. I realize now that I didn’t always know the whole story. Think about how you can help other people—because you need allies to get things done. And read a lot of books about how to manage people. One of my favorites is First, Break All the Rules.
Congratulations on SHEfinds Media—the company is such a success! How did you come up with the idea?
MM: When I worked at AOL in Virginia, I discovered that the nearby outlets had great designer items that no one was buying! I was always a competitive shopper, so I would take my finds and sell them to co-workers and friends or on eBay. I thought, “There’s something here about people who have neither the time nor the know-how to search out the latest trends and find them at a good price.” That’s when I started thinking I want to do content and commerce [because] that’s the future of things. I went to the Head of Shopping at AOL and said I have this idea and he did not really want to commit to it. After a few more rejections, I went home and I started my own little website.
What is one thing about the daily life of a CEO/Editor in Chief that would surprise Her Campus readers?
MM: The CEO does not have all the answers.
Who is one person who changed your professional life for the better?
MM: Heather Perram Frank, who is now at USA Weekend. [She] was my colleague at AOL and taught me about quiet diplomacy. I used to come in guns blazing to get my way, but she taught me to ask myself, “Do I want to be right or do I want to get what I want?”
What is one mistake you made along the way and what did you learn from it?
MM: Get rid of backstabbers and pot stirrers as soon as you discover them in your business. Good people who want the business to grow don’t waste time bad-mouthing their boss and colleagues.
Where do you hope to see SHEfinds Media in 10 years?
MM: In my industry, it’s impossible to know what technology will be available at that time. I only aim to have a larger audience and be more loved by women who shop online.
What do you look for when considering hiring someone?
MM: Intellectual curiosity and flexibility. We are a small team so everyone contributes to every department, wears many hats and pitches in where needed.
What advice would you give to a 20-something with similar aspirations?
MM: Work for a company in the industry you want to go into before you launch your own business. This way you can make your contacts, gain knowledge and give yourself a better launching pad before going out on your own.