… Scaling your business means that there’s no end to what you can learn and benefit from other leaders. Hearing and absorbing their stories and experience will bend time for you. I’m on this journey with you and trying to listen more and talk less! People have done amazing things. Be humbled and curious. Know that listening to folks’ experiences and putting yourself in their shoes is often a better way to learn than getting advice about your situation from them or the inverse. No one can absorb the nuances of your circumstances — only you can. But, you can borrow some gray hair by listening. It’s healthy for them to share, too! This is how we grow together!
Startups usually start with a small cohort of close colleagues. But what happens when you add a bunch of new people into this close cohort? How do you maintain the company culture? In addition, what is needed to successfully scale a business to increase market share or to increase offerings? How can a small startup grow successfully to a midsize and then large company? To address these questions, we are talking to successful business leaders who can share stories and insights from their experiences about the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Christina Bellman.
Founder & CEO of LEVO, Christina Bellman is an inventor and business leader in the consumer space. Her education and background is in the finance industry, but a lightbulb moment changed the course of her career. She has broken barriers self-funding and scaling a capital-efficient hardware startup in creating a countertop applicance that radically simplifies the herbal infusion of oils and butter. Today, she has fostered a massive community of “Infusiasts” — over 150,000 customers — who are making culinary and wellness-oriented infused products, at home. This community is the driving force of LĒVO, with infusiasts swapping tips, tricks and recipes every day through social media, meet ups and private groups. Bellman created the category of oil infusers and is one of the radical innovators in the small appliance category.
Thank you for joining us in this interview series. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
NYU Stern was my first choice school, so when that envelope and some scholarship money arrived in the mail I was ecstatic. Two out of my 4 years at Stern were spent abroad, and I left with 3 degrees: Finance, International Business, and Philosophy. I am a proud alum and extremely grateful for the experience.
When it came time for the infamous job recruiting that Stern revolves around, I felt a deep identity crisis brewing. I was feeling called to this crazy LEVO idea and to entrepreneurship in general. At the time, I simply could not see my way to it without first establishing some savings and having some professional experience. I ended up with roles in investment banking and consulting, primarily at IBM, before finally taking the leap to go full time on LEVO. I was lucky to have a series of mentors along the way who encouraged me to go for it. It goes without saying that there were also plenty of voices saying, “You’re nuts!”
You’ve had a remarkable career journey. Can you highlight a key decision in your career that helped you get to where you are today?
For me and surely others who leave the comfort of salaried work, the decision to quit my job was an incredible turning point and arduous mental exercise. I used every sick day and vacation day, dragging it out as long as possible. I made a promise to myself that, once I had self-funded some predetermined milestones and had some (I believe exactly 5) interested investors, employees, and other stakeholders on the books, I would do it. I’ll never forget the phone calls to my managers and mentors at the time letting them know about my decision to change my entire career. I ended up flying from CO to PA to spend a weekend with one of those managers and — after recovering from the shock of just how far along I already had the project — we flipped through the LEVO deck together. Watching him make edits and suggestions minutes later, adding in his wisdom and decades of business expertise, was extremely touching. It was a shocking and profound experience that was very intentional, so I’d say that was The Pivotal Moment if there was one.
What’s the most impactful initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?
LEVO has shed many skins over the years and endured hardships that crush most hardware companies. One initiative that I cannot take full credit for, as it took an army of people I love very much, was when we hand built about 2K units by hand in CO. I had found a better factory partner in Asia — one that aligned with our team’s values including its carbon footprint mission, amazing labor practices, and very supportive leadership, but that meant transitioning from our previous factory. This is never easy. With the help of mentors, neighbors, and friends and even some family, we ended up shipping all the leftover parts or partially assembled units to HQ and building our own assembly line. It took about 2 months, 2600 square feet of warehouse space, some questionably legal parking for the 18 wheelers, and a whole lot of love. At the time, we were absolutely exhausted. Today, we still are amazed at ourselves thinking “how did we do that?!” and get some real cathartic laughs out of it. At one point, we were staring with satisfaction at all the boxes we had finished when we realized we had forgotten to slip some of the collateral back in the box. We went back through to reopen and repackage every single one of them. You can’t imagine the feelings at every one of those moments! This was also one of the first experiences that I had to trust the team without being there to manage — I was flying to Asia, working 24/7 with our new factory and had to leave the team on the scene. It was a beautiful moment in trust and something that can be rare to experience as a founder! A final moment I will never forget was loading everything on the last truck. I threw all of my “Founder burnout” and emotions from the years of launching LEVO into loading that truck. I was covered in bruises on my arms and legs the next day from giving it my all, but I probably slept better that night than I had since starting the company.
Sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a mistake you’ve made and the lesson you took away from it?
I am making mistakes and learning from them everyday, but can probably be more succinct and helpful about the ones I learned early on and have been sitting on for some time. One of the first impactful lessons that I learned the hard way was some version of the “square peg, round hole” saying. Before starting the company, I spent years marinating on the idea and brainstorming how to make it real. In the process, I burned through quite a few connections from being a bit too incessant about it and in some cases (without realizing) being far too pushy for people around me to join in and work on it. Deep down, I think I was nervous about the whole endeavor and seeking some validation and company in the intimidating launch process. I’ve learned that needing validation can lead you astray or fray other aspects of your life. In the earliest days of LEVO, I could barely take action without several expert opinions. I have definitely worked against myself in this way to some extent and also not gone with my gut (THE MOST IMPORTANT, albeit cliche thing) at various times from this. Each minute that passes, I think I grow stronger as an individual, and I have LEVO to thank for that.
How has mentorship played a role in your career, whether receiving mentorship or offering it to others?
Perfectly timed question! Ha! Mentorship can be a blessing and a curse. It was easy to be too dependent on mentorship. . I could cry thinking about the amazing acts of generosity that mentors have provided, but at the same time I *facepalm* at the thought of some times where I took an expert’s advice over my gut and was left in a situation that was not aligned with my beliefs or what I was prepared for. There’s a balance here, and I’m an example of someone who has gone too far because of a need for validation. I find that lately I’ve been needing to prove things to myself instead of looking externally, and that’s been helpful. As an entrepreneur, I think it’s important to feel safe in your own hands.
Developing your leadership style takes time and practice. Who do you model your leadership style after? What are some key character traits you try to emulate?
This is a tough question for me, and most founders. And I’m constantly studying other leadership styles and reevaluating my leadership style. My goal is to quilt a whole bunch of inspiring archetypes together and build my leadership style feature-by-feature. My go-to is simply transferring enthusiasm about what we’re doing, which is a classic tactic in Sales. It’s my most authentic mode, for sure. I’ve tried some more structured methods and failed at adherence, so I will keep trying things on until I feel like I’m in a perfectly tailored suit for work everyday! Impact is a very important piece of the puzzle for me in all this, so I look forward to hopefully making other leaders and authors proud by putting their great experience and research to work, bit by bit and in my own way. Check in with me, in a few years!
Thank you for sharing that with us. Let’s talk about scaling a business from a small startup to a midsize and then large company. Based on your experience, can you share with our readers the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business”? Please give a story or example for each.
- Stay true to your roots.
As we go into scale tactics, the origin is fine story is more important than ever.
2. Wear your mistakes like a badge, not dead weight.
If you’re thinking about scale, it means you have weathered and survived a TON! Congratulations! Find a coach or entrepreneurial group to support you and make sure you invest in getting your head screwed on straight. There may be some things you need to let go on to avoid the pitfalls of irrational behaviors like Sunk Cost Fallacy.
3. Find the pros who are on the cutting edge strategy and tech.
A bittersweet aspect of growth is that what worked even several years ago might not work today. There are a lot of new normals that need to be acknowledged, but most of them are tactical. I think a healthy combination of seasoned business leaders who know all the adages about life and business that will never change (e.g., human behavior) mixed with the cutting edge typically younger professionals on the technical / tactical side are needed. Expect turnover in your business with people who do not want to grow personally at the same rate as your business. It can be really painful or it can be awe-inspiring for all involved, but brace yourself because change is the way! Be mindful of what’s something that needs to be cutting edge or what’s something you can learn from case studies or experience.
4. Have excellent customer service.
Your customers got you here; make them happy and serve them. Often, it’s just a timely response that they desire most. Chat with them and give them a friend in your brand. Give them community and love in this increasingly digital world. Appreciate them and be curious about them, so that you can speak to them. Don’t lose that!
5. Remove your ego and listen.
Scaling your business means that there’s no end to what you can learn and benefit from other leaders. Hearing and absorbing their stories and experience will bend time for you. I’m on this journey with you and trying to listen more and talk less! People have done amazing things. Be humbled and curious. Know that listening to folks’ experiences and putting yourself in their shoes is often a better way to learn than getting advice about your situation from them or the inverse. No one can absorb the nuances of your circumstances — only you can. But, you can borrow some gray hair by listening. It’s healthy for them to share, too! This is how we grow together!
Can you share a few of the mistakes that companies make when they try to scale a business? What would you suggest to address those errors?
Some of the most painful failures (since failing doesn’t necessarily need to be painful) I’ve witnessed are when Founders or leaders let their ego get in the way. Whether that’s reveling in perception when the highs are high or denying support when the lows are low, I think letting your feet off the ground (so to speak) is one of the greatest mistakes that can be made.
Another mistake might be underselling or undercapitalization of your business. Don’t ask me how I know! One of the uses of capital that’s often forgotten or not buffered in financial forecasts is TEAM. You cannot count on your first picks being the right picks, and that will burn cash (early in your career, especially). I’d advise raising sufficient working capital to weather hits to your burn rate, such as severance and recruiters from time-to-time, so that you never (as Jim Collins says) have “the wrong people on the bus” for too long. I was a conservative planner in most areas, but this is one that I’ve learned not to underestimate!
Scaling includes bringing new people into the organization. How can a company preserve its company culture and ethos when new people are brought in?
It’s a great question. One document I like to keep alive and generally find a way to show it to all employees at the right moment is LEVO’s original business plan. I can say with confidence that the periods of time where we are aligned with the concepts of that document, we are more efficient and successful. When we lose our way or stray from the vision, the company gets sick in performance and culture. At the end of the day, I think people need to respect the leadership and have some connection to the inception of the company no matter when they join.
In my work, I focus on helping companies to simplify the process of creating documentation of their workflow, so I am particularly passionate about this question. Many times, a key aspect of scaling your business is scaling your team’s knowledge and internal procedures. What tools or techniques have helped your teams be successful at scaling internally?
If you had asked me 2–3 years ago, I would have told you that the Golden Book we have internally filled with detailed SoPs and interlinking was the answer. Lately, I’ve gone back to some more elementary school techniques like quizzing new employees or asking questions on the spot or asking for a demo before they go live with a new task. I find that critical thinking can easily get lost in our digital world where everything is “Googlable” and everyone (including me, most time) is multitasking. Getting folks to truly understand the task they’re on and think critically through it is as important as getting it done. We let work quality on things like customer service easily slip through the cracks when we’re all documentation and there’s no human trial and error element for learning.
What software or tools do you recommend to help onboard new hires?
I think the benefits aspect of onboarding is the most important to people and the most complex, so having this clean and easy for folks is really important. I’ve used Zenefits since the very beginning of LEVO and we’ve had no complaints here! We have a light Employee Handbook, but try to keep a culture of asking questions and adapting to our current team members.
Because of your role, you are a person of significant influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your ideas can trigger.
Great question! Very utilitarian, which I love! There are so, so many things that I’m passionate about and feel that I could impact. In particular, I think doing good for children and animals inspires empathy and has such an immensely positive impact on the adults who contribute to movements around them. A dream of mine is building playgrounds for kids in areas that would not otherwise have them, similar to Habitat for Humanity.
Another movement would be one around some time being present with people, sans devices! Inspiring discussions that are not limited to a specific character count is paramount!!!
The single movement that I think is very touching and actionable for us all is effective charity. When you think more holistically about your impact and contributions, you realize you can do SO MUCH with your resources. Even if that is just your time. I highly encourage folks to think about this concept and “be the change” as it pertains to their time.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Please stay in touch on LEVO’s newsletter and also check out flipstuff.com!
This was truly meaningful! Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise!
Christina Bellman Of LEVO On 5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Scale Your Business was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.