"Connectd didn't just connect me to advisors — it connected me to a support system that has been absolutely invaluable to me as a founder."
How did you come across Connectd?
The way that I came across Connectd was actually San Francisco Tech Week. I had so many different events that I had RSVP'd for, and I didn't know which ones I'd be able to make, so I had tried to go back into the ones that I missed and that's how I found it. I got to the website and I was like, is this real? You can really find people that will help you with your business. It was exactly what I needed.
When I met Roei, I was basically getting teary-eyed telling him that it's just been me — trying to figure out what to do with the brand while still having my full-time job and all of that. The business didn't make enough money to take over my corporate salary. So coming across Connectd and having advisors that are willing to commit time to supporting a vision, with the shared understanding that if everything goes well and we love working together there might be a permanent advisory role — just knowing that they were willing to jump in with me onto a vision that I had, that they believed in it and wanted to see it succeed and be a part of that. There's nothing that I needed more than to have that kind of support, their encouragement, their expertise, and them coming from industries that are exactly what I need.
What were you hoping to unlock with advisory support?
I have three advisors from Connectd. One is helping me with financials — he focuses on capital efficiency, which is exactly what I need when it comes to investors. He's been able to take the rudimentary financials that I'd put together and turn them into something that actually makes sense, and show me where major changes need to happen in order for investors to feel like the margins are high enough. That's been invaluable to me.
Another advisor has been able to look at my go-to-market strategy from a marketing perspective and really help me understand the order in which to roll out into different markets — accounting for language differences and things like that. It's brought so much wisdom that just makes me feel smarter when I'm talking to investors about what the future vision could be for the business.
And then my third advisor has really been able to look at the things I've been trying to do and help from both a product development perspective and on the technology side — including patent reviews. She recognised that the problem I'm solving with the technology we just launched is literally the number one problem to solve in lashes, and to have her come in and say, "I'm backing this up and I think everything you're working on is the right focus" — between the three of them, all of them are equally valuable to me. When I met Roei, I couldn't help but start crying. I can't even tell you how valuable it is to have these people. I have a future vision and goal of getting them involved in equity and making them a more permanent part of the business.
What were you struggling with before joining Connectd?
My biggest challenges were doing everything by myself and thinking about things alone. Thankfully I'm married to a very smart person who has been my brain partner, but neither one of us has financial forecasting expertise. So having somebody who naturally does that support you in that area — life is so much easier.
One really helpful thing you have in your system is these indicators showing where roles have been filled, which helped me identify what I was missing. For instance, I know that I still don't have someone in a sales capacity other than myself. There's a B2B focus that we want for the business, so I'm going to need someone in that role. It was really helpful to be able to see those gaps — finance, operations, product development — and have expertise coming in from major beauty brands.
Why Connectd?
It felt like the right place because I needed advisors, and to be matched with ones that have the right background without having to hunt for them on my own — I'm already strapped for time, so that was very valuable to me. The model made sense to me. I appreciated that all the advisors were willing to sign NDAs from the very beginning. And then once I started talking to them and realised they actually knew what they were talking about and could genuinely help me, the longer I was around them and the more I worked with them, the more I trusted the process.
What advice would you offer to another founder in your shoes?
Connectd didn't just connect me to advisors — it connected me to a support system that has been absolutely invaluable to me as a founder. Sign up as soon as you can — I mean it. Get in there, talk to your account executive, start looking at different profiles, and get clear on the needs that you have. The faster you know what you need, the faster you can find the right advisor.
