WHO SHE IS
Heather Natsch, Founder & President, InteriorCrowd
WHERE SHE IS
San Francisco, CA
SUCCESS STORY
Working with a great team and great partner (my husband) to build, grow, and sell two companies. My husband and I are now working on separate businesses, but we still rely on one another for support and guidance.
WORK SCHEDULE:
M-F 8am – 5:30pm, then again after the kids are in bed
KIDS
Two little ones, ages 4 and 6
SANITY VICE
I keep my sanity by working out — and, a glass of wine in the evening 🙂
RECENT SMART READ
I just finished Siblings Without Rivalry by Elaine Maslich. When I have the patience to actually stop and think during a meltdown/fight between my kids, it has been really helpful.
FAVORITE WEEKNIGHT DINNER
I’m a huge fan of the slow cooker! Probably embarrassing to admit this, but I often just put in frozen chicken breasts with pre-made marinade. Voila!
FAVORITE MAGAZINES
The Week
FAVORITE TV SHOW
House of Cards, Homeland
GO-TO TECH:
Todoist helps me keep track of everything! I love it! We also use Google calendar extensively. We have different calendars for each of the kids, which we all share.
BEST TIME-MANAGEMENT TIP
Pack school lunches the night before.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE TO DO WITH YOUR CHILDREN WHEN YOU AREN’T WORKING?
Go to the zoo! It is our favorite place to go! I also love to play board games and read together.
BETTER WAY TO SAY WORK-LIFE BALANCE?
Goodness, this is a hard one! Our lives are so multifaceted, I feel like work-life balance doesn’t quite encompass it all. We try to make time each day for family time, each week for couple time, and each month for personal time. It ebbs and flows, but that is how we try to think about it.
1. Tell us about your working mom journey. What are you doing now and how did you get here?
I am currently building a new company in the interior design space called InteriorCrowd. It’s a super fun and engaging platform that connects people who have home design/decor needs with a network of interior designers — a service that hasn’t traditionally existed outside the luxury space. But we want to change that so we made it more affordable and accessible.
I started this journey as a new homeowner who needed help with her space; I was frustrated by the traditional experience, and as an entrepreneur I wanted to make it better. I just kept noodling on the idea, and I could not let go of it – so I decided to go for it!
2. You’ve started and run several companies. What do you notice about the environment for women entrepreneurs today that is different from when you started your first company?
In general, there is significantly more interest in entrepreneurship today than there was 15 years ago. When I was at Haas at Berkeley for my MBA, the school had an ‘accelerator’ in the basement for people starting companies; hard to call it an accelerator, as it was just a few rooms without any windows in the bottom of a dorm building. Today, Berkeley has SkyDeck, which is this amazing penthouse venue with tons of resources and support, and companies apply to be involved. For women specifically I see lots of conversation, press, and media coverage about female entrepreneurship, which is great. Substantively, though, I do not feel that much has changed in terms of how to grow a business.
3. Your team is growing. How do you measure for success when managing a team that largely works remotely? What infrastructure do you put in place?
It is really important to me to build a culture that supports flexibility. As a mom, it is important for me personally, and I want to support that for others. As our team has grown, we are spending more and more time in the office together, but we all work from home at least one day a week. We use a combination of collaboration tools as well as Skype to keep in touch when we are not all in the same place.
4. Can we get a little free design consulting? What are the color trends for fall and winter? 🙂
On the design front, there has been a shift away from the designing specifically to just one style (e.g., modern, traditional, etc). Consumers do not cleanly fall into one style; it has become more about curation and making a unique statement. For color specifically this year’s hottest color is marsala (a rich red-brown color), followed by indigo and grey. Gold is still big this year on its own or mixed with other metals (silver, wrought iron, or copper). Get inspired by our designers! http://www.interiorcrowd.com/blog/category/get-ideas/
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Special Offer
InteriorCrowd is generously offering $100 off the $299 regular price for a one-room design consultation (receive multiple concepts, pick a designer and work within your budget). Use promocode maybrooks at checkout! Go! >>
