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Jessica Alba: How do you guys know each other?
We quickly reconnected at Harvard as undergrads and became fast friends.
Katie Johnson: We met each other in the dining hall eating Otis Spunkmeyer cookies, of all things!
CG: After college, we both moved to New York City.
I was working in finance and she was in the fitness industry, at Physique57.
We wanted to start something, and active wear was on our minds.
At the time it was all about Lululemon, but we knew about these other players with smaller distribution.
KJ: Before her time in finance, Caroline worked in fashion at Intermix and Yves Saint Laurent.
I was also in finance before working as a trainer at Physique57.
With our combined backgrounds of fitness, finance and fashion, we were really interested in the high-end market.
Soulcycle was becoming huge and Physique had locations across the country.
The growth of this studio market was something we really wanted to go after.
Within 6 months we went from 5 apparel vendors to 10 to 20.
We now have relationships with 72 vendors and carry 35 to 45 brands on our site.
JA: When I started working out, there was more athletic-driven, tomboy aesthetic.
Now there’s now a sex appeal to being fit.
[laughs] It’s not acceptable.
KJ: I think there’s also this new woman that’s emerged.
She’s doing things on her own, creating her own life for herself.
She’s powerful and that’s sexy.
We have a go at show that in our images.
CG: All of our models are fitness professionals and athletes who have inspired us.
They have such gorgeous, athletic bodies.
I think that’s been a game-changer for us.
Real women want to see real women who incorporate wellness into their life, as opposed to stick-figure models.
JA: I like that.
I think that’s a woman’s touch.
I was slim and athletic and I would still get a crazy muffin top from athletic drawstring pants.
One gal’s a surfer who wants pants that she can wear to yoga and in the water.
Another is a designer that has a fashion sensibility that she wants to bring to her dance cardio line.
CG: We also wear-test everything.
Everything is there to perform, whether it’s for yoga or spinning.
JA: When you were kids, what did you want to be when you grew up?
KJ: A ballerina!
We both were serious ballerinas and were on the professional track.
We both suffered career-ending injuries at 18.
I joined the company at 16 and that’s when your career starts taking off.
CG: We had to keep going and figure something else out.
Fortunately, we had education to fall back on.
For both us, it was a very difficult time.
But everything happens for a reason and we both have fabulous, supportive families.
JA: Did you guys come out of Harvard with an entrepreneurial spirit?
CG: I knew I wanted to do something in fashion, but I didn’t know how.
With our generation, there are all these people quitting their corporate jobs and trying something new.
We definitely had that personality–to make something happen.
KJ: Whereas today I think college graduates ask, What can I start?
when we graduated we thought, What can we do to build a foundation?
Finance was that foundation.
But having been a dancer, I was used to stretching my boundaries and thinking outside the box.
That creativity isn’t really fostered in the corporate world.
I was dying for that after just a few short months.
I actually took a sabbatical and started dancing and found fitness along the way.
But at the time, Facebook was the only startup we knew about.
We assembled a team, built a product in 24 hours, and ended up winning a prize.
We were like, Oh.
This is what a startup is like.
Let’s keep doing this!
JA:I think a lot of women want to be entrepreneurial, they just don’t know how.
They’re going to have to be in a room and hear people say no.
How do you finally take that leap?
CG: You have to be independent and can’t compare yourself to others.
It’s a lonely career, especially to begin with.
But no one can take it away from you, that’s the thing that stands out.
That’s what kept us going.
KJ: You have to have courage and optimism to start something on your own.
Starting a business is a lot like falling in love.
I learned from my family that the biggest risks reap the biggest rewards.
JA: That comparison is so true!
And you go through similar growing pains as in a relationship.
Then it starts to feed itself.
Every accomplishment reinforces the next risk that you take.
That will keep us in good stead going forward.
JA: Switching gears: What’s your #bosslady breakfast?
What gets you going in the morning?
What’s your routine?
KJ: I know what it used to be: two Advil and a cup of coffee!
Now it’s changed drastically–a cup of green tea and a banana.
But Caroline is a lot healthier than I am.
She’ll walk you through her kombucha-steeped life…[laughs]
CG: I work out.
That’s my time to myself.
Sweat it out and put everything else that’s going on that day aside.
Then I have a breakfast with protein of some sort.
Having my morning routine keeps me centered and grounded.
JA: Are you a toast and poached eggs girl?
KJ: I have to put my two cents in on this one!
Caroline buys these hardboiled eggs from Trader Joe’s, which are quite brilliant.
They’re pre-peeled in a bag.
Then she puts them in a Dixie cup and pours Cholula on them.
And that’s her breakfast.
We know Caroline’s in the office when it smells like eggs and hot sauce!
JA: Who do you look up to?
What mentor or entrepreneur?
She stepped down a few months ago and now is in private equity.
She’s been such a cheerleader and a source of strength.
She knows how to take a small business and attach a jetpack to it to grow it like crazy.
She teaches us to have the confidence to believe in our passion.
Another is [fashion entrepreneur] Christine Beauchamp.
They’re very inspiring.
For more from Jessica and her #LetsBeHonest column,click here.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jessica Alba
