The Lola is a brand that solves some of the issues that many womxn face in entrepreneurship. That issue is oftentimes a lack of resources. Whether it be the lack of access to education, venture capital, mentorship, or a community of potential customers, The Lola brand solves that problem for its members. The Lola is an organization founded by womxn, for womxn and with womxn’s needs at the forefront of everything it does. Hindsight is 20/20.
Meet The Founders Of The Lola: Martine and Eileen
Martine: Specialist in building brands aimed at womxn, was born and raised in the UK, moved to Atlanta via NY in 2009. Extensive background in creating, building, growing and monetizing global brands. She has lead and united teams to create and deliver products, content and multi-platform campaigns in the US and across Europe for Fortune 500 companies, Estee Lauder (Bumble and Bumble.) and Warner Media (Cartoon Network, TNT and TBS) driving revenue and managing both small and big budgets, up to $30MM+ annually. After almost 20 years working for big brands and global companies
Eileen: Born and raised in NY Started career as a management consultant at Accenture. After traveling for six years and working with Fortune 500 clients, I left corporate and started Venture for America, a national nonprofit and fellowship program for recent grads to launch their careers as entrepreneurs. As COO over its first 6 years, I grew the company to 35+ employees, 800+ Fellows across 18 cities with an $8MM budget. The company is alive and well today and continues to support aspiring entrepreneurs. I continued to observe challenges womxn face in both corporate and the startup world, which increased my desire to create a space for womxn to support and inspire each other.
“The name The Lola is inspired by my daughter and the next generation of womxn she represents”
Martine
Q: What is one piece of advice you have for other women wanting to take a leap and start a business of their own?
One piece of advice we have for womxn who want to take the leap into entrepreneurship is to do you research. Half of creating a successful business is one’s mindset. You don’t have to be like the Good Ole Boys on Wall Street to dominate in the niche you’re into. The money, community, education, and customer base you need to start is a click away. So buckle up, utilize your technology and just go for it. It’ll be worth it in the long run.
I realized the traditional corporate environment no longer fit my life. Ready to make a change, inspired by the social climate, and with the foundation of building female forward brands across media, television, beauty, retail and interior design, I set out to create a meaningful space and community for professional womxn through The Lola.
Martine
How did The Lola come to be?
The Lola came to be for the duo based on two things. Lifestyle changes and a lack of co-working spaces that catered to womxn. For Martine, the need was discovered that the traditional corporate environment no longer fit her life as a working mom of two. Most important, she recognized that if that corporate environment wasn’t working for her then it wasn’t working for other womxn as well. For Eileen, the move to open the Lola was driven by her background in supporting womxn’s entrepreneurship and startup programs. By founding the Lola, the duo created a safe, inclusive work space for womxn to develop their business ideas and develop a supportive community. Martine and Eileen came together to build The Lola out of their shared desire to support and empower womxn. They believe womxn are vastly underserved and under-supported, yet remain driven, ambitious and hungry to find and re-define their success.
Have you always had desires to become an entrepreneur?
Martine: I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs so was able to see first hand the ups and downs of owning and running your own business. My dad’s advice was 1. Never start your own business 2. Don’t start it with someone else. I went the corporate route for 20 years but the pull of entrepreneurship was always in the background and the advice to not start a business with someone else, well I guess times have changed and women work and collaborate in different ways to men – so having a partner made sense for me.
Eileen: Definitely, no. As a first generation immigrant, my parents stressed stability and wanted me to become a doctor, lawyer or other known successful path. When I left my consulting job, my mom was pretty devastated. After starting my first company in 2011, I knew I’d never go back to corporate America. I want to make a big impact by building things from the ground up and creating solutions to problems that will improve lives.
Q: What is the biggest challenge you have faced as an entrepreneur?
Raising capital to launch our first location was challenging. We struggled to find investors to support the business at its early stage and a concept that’s very new to Atlanta. Stats continue to work against female founders when it comes to starting companies and raising money, and it always takes longer and more of your time than you think it will. It has also been challenging to adapt our space and programming through this pandemic. For several months, like many businesses, we were unable to open our doors and provide the space that Lola members eagerly seek. We were able to maintain our sense of community through virtual engagements, like events and member chats.
Q: What is one thing you would do differently, if you could go back in time and give yourself advice?
Martine: I would say invest in the time to really understand who you are as a person, what you value and what makes you tick. Until we get clear on that we end up chasing the wrong things for the wrong reasons. We often waste a lot of energy chasing other people’s hopes, dreams and expectations. I would also say don’t get hung up on making the perfect decision.
Q: What is one thing that keeps you up at night?
Martine: The responsibility that comes with owning your own business. It’s all on you. If you don’t do it, it doesn’t get done, no one will care as much as you do. That is both good and bad. You get to focus on the things you believe matter and truly move the needle for the business and the community. However, that list can get long, fast. You need to make sure it doesn’t become the only thing in your life, so you have to learn to draw the line between “shoulds” and “musts”, and that’s hard.
Eileen: About how we can continue to reach more womxn and make a bigger impact. There’s so much we can do and often spreading the word is hard to do when it’s a 3 person team. Oh, and whether or not I forgot to do something for my daughter’s school, if our dog ate her meds and meal planning for our family.
Q: Who is one girl boss in which you look up to, and why?
Martine: Oh gosh, that is a hard question, there are so many and I keep coming across new ones all the time. Lately, i’ve been in awe of all of the Black womxn and activists who have been working tirelessly for freedom and democracy since Isabel de Olvera, the first black woman to arrive in North America, came here in 1600. I just finished reading A Black Woman’s History of The United States by Diana Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross. Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks are the more famous names in history but this book uncovers so many more unsung heroes.
They are so inspiring to me because the risks they took (and still take) to stand up for their rights and others we’re so incredibly high, rarely rewarding and often deadly. It really shines a new light on what the fight for womxn’s rights and democracy truly looks like.
Eileen: Michelle Obama (or just ‘Michelle’ as Martine and I refer to her) and Oprah always are at the top. Through learning and listening about the long history of racial injustice this country was built on, Angela Davis continues to come up as a badass activist in her time. We’re in a historical moment that hopefully will impact and change history as well as bring to light even more role models and womxn we can be grateful for, look up to and support.
