By Casmin Wisner
“…carve out time on your calendar at least once a week to do something you love, and find a way to hold yourself accountable…”
I had the pleasure of interviewing Vanessa Youshaei who is the founder and CEO of Petite Ave, a one-stop shopping destination for women under 5’5’’. Prior to starting Petite Ave, she worked at Google for over three years in sales, marketing, and program management. She’s a graduate of Emory University with degrees in marketing and finance. Her claim to fame is having every vowel in her last name.
Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I remember shopping and finding that although the clothing was cute, it was all way too long on me. Finally, my mom suggested that I try shopping in the petite section. That was a huge turning point for me. Standing at just 5’0’’, the clothing in the petite section fit me like a glove. However, I found the selection to be very limited, and it usually didn’t have many trendy options. Because of this, I spent most of my adult life getting things tailored, wearing clothing that was too big, and shopping in the kid’s section. After doing research and finding that almost 40% of women in the US are under 5’5’’, I was determined to do something about it.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your company?
I love working directly with customers and helping them find clothing that makes them feel confident in their own skin. One woman was struggling because nothing in her closet fit after giving birth, and she was frustrated with shopping on her own. After understanding her style and budget preferences, we put together five different outfits which she was very excited about. It was super rewarding to help someone who was frustrated with the shopping experience find pieces that she loved and could feel good in. Hearing from and working with customers always makes all the hard work worthwhile.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting and what lesson you learned from that?
It definitely didn’t seem funny at the time, but one of the biggest mistakes I made was when I put together our first photoshoot. Having limited resources, I found a photographer on Craigslist and convinced a few generous bloggers to model our clothing. After spending countless hours putting the photoshoot together, I never received the photos from the photographer. This taught me to put everything in writing so there’s no miscommunication or issues later down the road. This might seem obvious, but sometimes when you’re moving quickly or just building rapport with someone, you might not think to do so, but it helps save a lot of time and agony later down the road.
What do you think makes your company stand out?
Above all else, we’re providing a solution that hasn’t been offered before to women under 5’5’’ and building an empowering community for this underserved demographic. By expanding the clothing options available to petite women, they no longer have to resort to wearing clothes that don’t fit them. In addition to making the shopping experience more convenient for petite women, my vision is to create an empowering community and ultimately a movement for this group of women. I want petite women to be celebrated rather than treated as an afterthought.
Which tips would you recommend to colleagues in your industry to help them thrive and not “burn out”?
I would suggest that you carve out time on your calendar to do something you love and find a way to hold yourself accountable either by paying for it in advance or going with a friend. Many founders feel guilty when they’re not spending time on their business, but taking time for yourself is not only beneficial for your business, but it’s really the only way to sustainably deal with the ups and downs of having your own company.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are?
I’m tremendously grateful to my parents for their continuous support. I would absolutely not be where I am today without them. They are both immigrants from Iran who came to this country with very little money, no connections, and barely knowing the language. Through their hard work, determination, and talent, they made it. Their story inspires me everyday. My dad in particular is someone who believes in me more than I believe in myself. I never forget the day I completely messed up an interview for a summer internship with Deloitte. I called my dad completely frustrated. My dad immediately said, “I understand you’re upset, but one day, you’ll be running a company like Deloitte”. I will never forget that conversation.
Are you working on any exciting projects now?
I honestly find (almost) everything related to Petite Ave exciting because it means we’re making progress as a company. Right now, I’m personally very excited about offering style consultations to customers. Everyone wants to look great in their clothes but most people aren’t sure how to go about it. After learning about our customers’ preferences, my team and I do all the work of picking out pieces that fit their budget and style requirements. It’s fun and satisfying to offer a more personalized service to our clients.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I really hope to use my success to be a motivational speaker for children with learning disabilities and their parents. This topic is close to my heart because I struggled tremendously in school due to an undiagnosed reading disability. Despite the challenges I faced, I went on to study at a top university, work at Google and now run my own company. I’d love to share my story with others and show that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and work hard enough.
Do you have a favorite book that made a deep impact on your life? Can you share a story?
I honestly don’t have time to read many books, but I read lots of articles. One of the best articles I’ve ever read is titled The Most Important Question of Your Life by Mark Manson. The basic message is that the amount of success in life is directly related to how much discomfort you’re willing to endure. Everyone wants to achieve financial freedom or be in a great relationship, but not everyone is willing to put in the time, energy, and risk that these things require; the ones who do are the ones most likely to succeed. Put simply, you can’t win if you don’t play.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started my company” and why?
- It’s a very long and lonely path. You spend a lot of time by yourself working and tinkering with different ideas, and success takes much longer than you expect.
- Know exactly who your target market is. Although you’re very likely to know who your general audience is (in our case ‘petite women’), you need to drill down deeper to understand their age, career, lifestyle, habits, etc. Understanding this is critical to the business you build — everything from your site aesthetics to your brand voice will be informed by this.
- You have to try out many different routes before you find a few that work. Whether it’s for marketing, PR, or recruiting, you typically have to try out many different ideas before you find a few that work for your business. This is especially true if you’re a first time entrepreneur and don’t have as much experience or connections.
- Find a veteran entrepreneur who can become your advisor. Find someone who understands your industry inside and out and can make important introductions to top talent and prospective investors. This will help expedite things tremendously.
- Only meet with someone if it’s in line with your current priorities. There are so many people you could meet with about a variety of topics, and this list only multiplies as your company grows. Before hopping on a call or meeting with someone in-person, do some research to assess whether the meeting is in line with your current priorities. If it’s not, then skip it or ask to meet at a later date.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
My goal with Petite Ave is to create a movement for women under 5’5’’. Nearly 40% of women in the US are under 5’5’’ (petite), yet they are one of the most underserved demographics. My goal is to make sure these women are celebrated and included in the fashion industry and beyond. Also, as I mentioned earlier, I’d really like to use my influence to bring about good for students with learning disabilities. These students often go under the radar which doesn’t allow them to reach their full potential. We need to better educate parents and teachers on how to work with and empower students who learn differently. If we’re able to instill confidence in these kids from an early age, there’s nothing they can’t do.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
Instagram: petite.ave
Twitter: petite_ave
Facebook: petiteave
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
If you would like to see the entire “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me” Series In Huffpost, Authority Magazine, ThriveGlobal, and Buzzfeed, click HERE.
Making the Fashion Industry More Inclusive for Petite Women: An Interview with Vanessa Youshaei was originally published in Thrive Global on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.