lively forbes summit transcript

Everyone
I was just saying to Blake,
I live in New York City and sometimes New York is a tough city to live in and
I'm like I love you New York on a day to day today like today I'm like I'm
this,
this is why we live here um but I am so excited to be here,
um,
with all of you today and and Blake with you as well
and this is a really fitting conversation to open our summit.
This is the 10th anniversary
of our Power Women summit as Jessica mentioned,
and what's been really extraordinary is when
I started the summit 10 years ago,
most of the women that we talked to,
their success really was relegated to one industry,
the industry they grew up in,
the industry in which they launched their career.
Right now fast forward a decade later and there's a dynamic of
this multi-hyphenate career in which women
are really charting unconventional career paths,
but it also I think is yielding a power and
an influence and a creativity that is really remarkable in
terms of the opportunities it has for all of us
so like you were someone who exemplifies that multi-hyphenate actress,
producer,
director,
now,
now a businesswoman,
can you talk a little bit about
how you think of that dynamic as it relates
to your career.
Career and of course to your latest venture which by the way I'm
happily consuming as all of you will have the
chance to um very shortly as well to try it
um
well I mean I just like to create
um so whether that's um
baking or uh storytelling or businesses or humans
I just really like creating and I think that
like there's something in women that is incredibly creative.
Are my earrings making this crazy loud sound?
They are because they're.
They're amazing,
but I feel like I should take one of that's like I can I can hold on to it if you want.
It was a little comforting because I'm,
I'm actually really shy and they were like jingling in the elevator and I was like,
oh this is fun,
but I don't think it's one if you I think I know they're harder to get off.
I'll,
yeah,
I'm sorry.
Don't let me forget these.
They're not mine.
None of these are mine.
Thank you,
Lorraine Schwartz,
um,
or they can,
I can act like I forgot them and then pocket them
anyway,
I'm also a criminal,
um.
But no,
I just,
I,
I,
I,
I love creating,
um,
and I think that um as women you're not often given
um authorship yet women represent 85% of um people making,
um,
purchases in homes across all categories,
um,
yet the majority of things that we're buying are created by men.
Um,
and that goes into storytelling that goes
into filmmaking that goes into everything,
so I think that it's,
um,
uh,
and I like a lot of stories told by men and products made by men,
but it's just not,
um,
equitable,
but it's also not,
um.
Logical you know it makes sense that we would
be creating things that that we wanna consume,
whether that be physical products or um stories narratives
um
so yeah and uh it's it's nice to have the opportunity to do so
and it's also nice to be able to
um create that opportunity for others because I've had.
Um,
women and men help pave that path for me,
um,
and it's nice,
it's not just incumbent upon women to pave that path for other women,
but it's incumbent upon men to help create those opportunities,
um,
and I think that that's really important that it's,





it's not always like women for women,
it's,
it's everyone for everyone you know.
I,
I love when you talk about this concept of authorship because it implies this
sense of control and this uh ability to shape and influence
things from multiple dimensions which I think is is so important,
particularly as women when
when we're often in in more of these
one dimensional roles that was the dynamic you took from what people see
as more creative endeavor as it relates to at least the entertainment industry.
And you took that now in terms of your launch with Betty Buzz you talked
very specifically and we see a lot of people within the entertainment arena do this.
You didn't just want to slap your name on something um you
wanted to really make sure it was a product that was different
and that reflected you and that
you were proud of
how has this concept of authorship been a through line in
terms of how you think about endeavors outside of entertainment?
Well I mean I think you have to be creative even in business and just to like
get your product out there to um have people support you um
you you have to they they really do go hand in hand
um so the idea of authorship just comes down to conviction and quality
to me so it has to be something that I really believe in.
Um,
and it,
because
it's just so much work,
it's so much work to start a business,
um,
you know,
uh,
that you have to really believe in it,
and then you also have to be able to stand
behind it when people tell you no or when if you're
the only thing that you have to rely on once it goes to partners or.
Retailers or consumers or audiences is it being good quality
so um for me it's most important to take the time
to make sure it's the best it can possibly be because
it doesn't matter I mean I acknowledge I have a massive unfair advantage
by you know having the entertainment industry as sort of this like.
This microphone or this boost that I get to,
you know,
sort of help
promote my businesses with,
um,
but if the product isn't great I can only
sell one bottle um if the product isn't great then
then I have nothing
and uh mm
I think it's important,
especially when it's a start up
um I I think you always learn more from your failures than you
do your successes which is really awful and painful at the time.
Um,
and people tell you that,
but if you actually do learn more,
but there are,
um,
there are growing pains in a startup,
but then there's also,
there are also red flags
and the times and,
and this applies to the filmmaking to everything that the
times where people ignore the red flags and say.
Let's just keep pushing
those are the times where you fail where if you see that something's broken
you have to stop and fix it because once you put it out there
it's so much harder to catch up so I really think it it comes down to quality
and conviction and um that's sometimes hard as a woman because you know.
You question if you're being difficult or if you're
being if you're too in your head um but
if you have a great quality and you believe
in it and you and you listen to your business
and you listen to the red flags and you address the issues
then
you know.
I find that that's when you have success in my experience.
I,
I wanna drill down on what you just talked about in,
in terms of why
this focus on details,
um,
is sometimes,
um,
a little bit different in terms of how the world reads it with women versus men.
You recently released an ad for Betty Buzz which I loved.
um,
we're entering the season of Virgo which in the ad
it says characterized as a season season of ambitious,
hardworking and obsessive personalities and it parodies
your,
uh,
the approach.
Um,
that you've taken in terms of meticulous detail the 17 times you try to,
uh,
uh,
a formula for one of your drinks,
um,
I was embarrassed to say the real number
add an extra 0 to it,
right?
But I think often as women when we talk about being detail oriented
there's labels such as being a perfectionist or high maintenance or can be
seen as difficult versus
something that is ultimately standing up
for what you
believe in.
How do you think about those differences and
the ways in which people are using language
around the very things that you say are
fundamental to business success but so often for women
can be read as a negative reliability.
I think it's about um identifying it within yourself um so there are moments it's just as important to say OK um I believe in uh uh in this,
and that's why I'm standing up for it and that's why I'm
not being difficult and then there are other moments to go like,
am I the asshole in the room?
Like what is happening here,
you know,
and if you were fair with yourself and really checking yourself,
um,
because I find.
It sometimes you can go the other way and be like no I'm following for you
know standing up for what I believe in but then you just end up being difficult
um so it's always important to sort of like
check yourself and I find that like you know it's important to stand up for
what you believe in and it's also important to surround yourself with people who um
feel like they have a voice and um because collaboration
is so important
um
so.
Yeah,
I think it's I think it's about identifying that
and it's also um I think Beyonce really helped us
like all of us Virgos it was just like like see she's a Virgo and she works hard and and
and cares about details and quality like I suddenly like got to reclaim
Virgohood thanks to Beyonce so thank you Beyonce for
all of your gifts you've given the world,
but really for that.
Um,
but I think that's there's just suddenly like joking aside,
there's suddenly like a face to what that looks like when it's,
you know,
when it's done well and respected and so you,
you have to
project the respected version of yourself onto that
and then you,
you live up to that maybe you know it's kind of
I think it's finding those people who you identify with
who are doing it well and and and you know
trying to model that within yourself.
Because it's easier to see other people and admire them than it is to
to see yourself and to do it in practice.
All these things we talk about are so simple,
right,
in terms of when,
when,
when we talk about them,
but in practice
they're the most excruciating challenging things to do with discipline
day in
and day out.





I wanna go back to what you mentioned around this,
this idea of sort of red flags and the,
the difficulty and failure.
That are inevitable part of all of our careers,
um,
and the lessons,
you know,
learned from it.
I'd be curious you
you were an actress you now direct produce you you again
multi-hyphenate career in the entertainment industry
now within the the business arena
where is this stretching you most professionally?
Where is it taking you outside of your comfort zone?
That's an interesting question,
um.
time like I think time is the is the biggest thing because I
care so much about quality I don't wanna do a lot of things
um I wanna do things that I know I have time to do well,
um,
and a lot of that is surrounding yourself in the right
with the right people because um if you have the right people
um
who you value creatively professionally they help you be
the best version of yourself and you have.
Help them be the best version of themselves but also
like the drain of time of working with people who are
life is too short to work with people who are
assholes sorry to like you know for that to be
the word of the day but it is it's like I wanna work with nice people and it doesn't mean
that they that there isn't confrontation that
there aren't challenges that there isn't friction
but like when you work with people where there's a mutual respect.
It frees up so much time emotionally,
practically,
and you're so much more productive.
So for me,
I think if anything the way I choose a job now is um.
Is this going to be
um
worth is
is my time going to be valued and well used
um and the,
the,
the metric which I use to judge that is like am I working with good people who,
who respect me and whom I respect and
that's really very fortunate to be in that position
because I haven't always been in that position.
Um,
and it's why I'm more selective,
but it's why I'm more proud of the work I'm doing
now than I ever have been because of the people that I
that I'm collaborating with.
If people are one of the,
the critical drivers of how you choose projects,
you're someone who has no shortage of opportunities that come to you,
and I think all of us in terms of those time constraints
are trying to balance the demands of different priorities or different directions
that that we think we should take.
How do you know
when there's a force that is pulling you
in a direction that you should follow versus one
that may distract you.
I mean I think I've just done it enough you
know you learn to sort of um when I was younger
in my life and career I would sort of shape myself
to the version of myself that I felt that they wanted
um or when I would show up on a set I knew that they just wanted me to show up and look cute
and stand on a little pink sticker where I'm supposed to go and
say what I'm supposed to say but I also knew that like that.
Wasn't fulfilling for me that I wanted to be
a part of the storytelling that I wanted to be
a part of the narrative whether that be in
the writing and the costume design and creating the character
and sometimes I had directors or or producers or writers who would
welcome that and invite that once they saw that I was able
to offer that and sometimes I would have people who really resented
that because they were like we just hired you to be an actor
yet when I went in the meetings I would just seem like I'm
just there to be the actor and ready to get the gig.
I wouldn't reveal that I actually need to
have authorship in order to feel fulfilled,
so I think that for them sometimes that might
have felt like a rug pole because you're like
you're trying to assert yourself into something that we didn't hire you to do,
um.
And so it was like it was a really strange position
to be in because I felt like I don't wanna just like
be an actor like I wanna you know I wanna I wanna have more authorship
um so I think that um
I think that it's about you know knowing what I want and what I what I need
and representing that from the outset
and if people are into that and want to collaborate.
With me for all I feel like I need to offer and bring to a job,
then those are the people I should collaborate with and
if I see that it's people who are whether this
is in business or acting or whatever it is where
it's people who I can see that feels like that's
stepping on their territory that's not gonna ultimately be a
fulfilling relationship for either one of us so I think
it's about being up front about like knowing what you
actually need versus just like trying to get the job
and then
you know once you're in it sort of revealing the scope of your sort of um.
Needs to be,
you know,
fulfilled with your authentic self,
right,
and in terms of unapologetically versus trying to hide it,
it is,
it is what
makes you great and brings out out your best work,
but it's hard because you feel so replaceable,
you know,
and people tell you all the time,
you know how replaceable.
who you are,
so it's like you know I have to do the thing to get the job,
um,
so it's,
it's a,
it's a,
it's tricky,
you know,
and sometimes you lose the job,
you know,
but like
if
you did it and you weren't fulfilled anyway,
then
it wasn't worth it.
One last question for you,
Blake,
as as we wrap up we've talked about this dynamic of a multi-hyphenate career
and one thing that you which I've loved um that you've
talked about as part of this multi-hyphenate is your family,
and that has been such a defining principle.
You have 3 young daughters,
a defining principle of who you are,
um,
and,
and how it's shaped and informed your career and,
and,
and vice versa.
Can you talk about that exchange in terms of someone who is continuing to
to build on your professional endeavors and
continue to to grow in really dynamic ways








and how you think about in the context of
again this multi-hyphenate as it relates to all aspects of your life
um well my family is the most important thing to me and.
Always have been.
I grew up in a family of 5,
and my mom is the hardest working person I've ever met.
She doesn't take no for an answer,
which is her greatest strength but also her
greatest weakness like there's no boundaries whatsoever,
but
like if someone tells her no she just literally doesn't understand
the word even though the letter the word no in most languages translates quite well.
She doesn't never processed it
um but so I,
I grew up watching a woman be everything be a mom.
You know,
and also be,
you know,
the hardest working
business woman I knew,
um,
so it's important for me for my kids to see
that you don't have to choose one or the other.
I don't need them to choose to be a businesswoman or a mom.
They can be both or neither,
but just for them to see that like
anything is possible.
Um,
so it's really important for me to do that and also
like going back to time because I'm so obsessed with my family
I wanna work on,
um,
I wanna work on things that I really believe in that aren't
just noise that again I'm not just putting my name on something
it's something where I'm really like.
I'm very into product development.
Like if I can't create it
I don't wanna be a part of it just there's so many great things out there,
but it's just like if it already exists,
like why I don't need to add to the carbon footprint like I wanna
create something that um.
That is missing,
um,
and I,
and I love for my kids to see that across all areas and,
and I also think part of creating is like we said like
creating opportunities for others so Peripas we're partnering with Gray America,
um,
helping to,
um,
they
they give micro loans to women living below the poverty line to help them,
um,
grow or expand their business,
um,
they help with like,
um,
saving.
Things and credit building and um and and financial planning
so I think it's it's our responsibility to
no matter what stage of business you're at to sort of um
you know if you're creating to to not just do it for yourself or your family
um but also to do it for others and that's ultimately
how it becomes the most rewarding and it's it's shockingly um.
It doesn't take a lot of time and money
to,
um,
I mean time and money is great
but you you can um you can give other people a leg up in really simple ways
um and so anyway there's organizations like that that I think are
are you know,
awesome.
Did I answer the question?
I don't know.
I give such long winded answers.
No,
no,
not at all.
The last question I panicked and I was like I
need to talk about Green America because they're amazing.
Yeah they really are amazing um
well I could,
I could hear you with I could listen to you to you all day
and and I wanna thank you for for opening the summit because again um
you someone you are someone who is who is really
created this playbook in terms of of building
influence and power within an industry that
you leverage in such powerful and important ways
and ways you then so authentically bring that
to other arenas whether it be new business.
Or uh to to giving back or to
being a great example and a role model for others so we wish you
the the best of luck and and success on on what's ahead.
And I also like Blake Blake was so she was so modest when she said
I can only sell one bottle and then it has to take care of it.
How many bottles of these uh we,
OK,
I'm really proud of this.
I should have had this instead of 4 million bottles since launch,
which is less than a year ago,
which.
Thank you,
but I,
I mean the product is really good like
we just worked really hard on making the product
good and sustainable and it's like just real
fruit and good ingredients like that's your authorship.
It is and it's all those bubbles,
the bubbles,
the bubbles bubbles are key.
I need more bubbles in life I feel like everyone needs more bubbles,
um.
Um,
now this is awkward.
Do I like see myself out?
Do,
do we walk out together?
We we'll see each other out.
I was sad that you're putting your earrings back on because I'm not gonna lie,
I might have,
um,
I know,
I feel like we just like like swipe them on the
table because we're on camera so people would have seen it.
Um,
well,
I'm,
I'm happy to like hold on to any jewelry,
um,
whenever you need me to.