Lisa Sugar, Co-Founder of POPSUGAR

For my next interview in the Tiny CEO Series, I spoke with Lisa Sugar, Co-Founder of POPSUGAR and now a partner at Sugar Capital, a venture capital firm.

What is POPSUGAR?

POPSUGAR is a digital media company. It's a way for people to learn about everything that they're interested in, whether it’s fashion, beauty or parenting. A lot of entertainment news. People come to the website to learn whatever it is they're interested in. And then beyond that, it also became a place that had licensing deals. So there was a fashion line, a beauty line, and a wellness line that you can buy now in Walmart and other stores. We also had events in person because we wanted to bring the community together.

What was your favorite part of your job at POPSUGAR?

My favorite part was that every day was different and every year was very different. So as the company grew, and as the news came out every day, and as you were figuring out ways we wanted the company to grow, I didn't know what I was going to come into every morning, which made it very fun and also made it a really great learning environment. We had to react to everything that was happening every day. Some days were better than others, and some days were busier than others, but I think that that was the best part. I really got to learn so much by having a job that changed so much over 15 years.

What was the hardest part of your job at POPSUGAR?

The hardest part that a lot of people don't talk about when you run a company is actually how important it is to run a profitable company. It's so much fun to talk about all the fun things we get to do, like interviewing celebrities or trying beauty products, but actually learning how to make money to pay everybody and run an efficient company is a big challenge. And it's something that really needs to be looked at from the beginning, when you're putting a plan together to to launch a company.

What is some advice you have for young girls like me?

You're already doing an amazing job. You are reaching out to people, and that is a huge, brave thing to do to ask people for their time. I think a lot of founders love talking to potential new founders. And one of the big things is learning on the job. You're not going to learn if you don't ask questions and ask to learn from others. So I think really being able to to be brave and have the courage to to ask is really important.

Since you left POPSUGAR, you became a partner at Sugar Capital, a venture capital firm. What is a venture capital firm?

We invest in other founders. We're investing in people who are starting companies, hopefully to help solve a problem that's out there in the world. And whether it's creating technology or a consumer brand, we're looking for founders who are building what we like for the future. We invest in those founders.

What is your book, Power Your Happy: Work Hard, Play Nice, and Build Your Dream Life, about?

It is a book about the origin story of POPSUGAR, and how long and how hard we worked to create POPSUGAR, but how that could translate for anybody who's trying to figure out whether they want to start a company, or just change jobs and careers. It’s about you learning what your passions are, and figuring out how to make that your everyday job.

What is your favorite category to blog about?

I currently really love the beauty and wellness space. I love learning about things we can do to stay healthier, and to feel better inside and out.

What is your favorite book?

That's so hard. Let's see. Well, I can give you a couple. I used to love a book which I haven't read in a while, but now I want to reread it. It’s called Valley of The Dolls, which I felt was an original sort of “girls trying to make it in the world's Hollywood” type of story. Now I love an author called Taylor Jenkins Reid, who we've written about a bunch on POPSUGAR, and one of my favorite books that she wrote is called The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. And then I'd say, one of my other favorite books is written by Bob Iger, who has been running the Walt Disney Company. He wrote a book called Ride of a Lifetime, and I think that is an incredible book for people who are learning how to build businesses and build great cultures in their company. So that's a really good one that I would recommend as well.