LIZZY KLEIN | FOUNDER, MAZI + ZO
"Individual mistakes don’t undermine a career’s worth of successes."
How do you start your day?
The best habit I’ve developed during the COVID crisis is a quick gratitude practice at the beginning and end of each day. Morning thankfulness includes a colorful Instagram post and is followed immediately by checking the day’s schedule and mapping out the day’s game plan (daily goals, when to work out, will I be on video?)
Who inspires you?
Underdogs, which pretty much includes every woman entrepreneur ever.
What would you tell yourself as a teenager?
Don’t get the perm.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
“You don’t have to be right every time.” Like many women, I’ve been conditioned from birth to shoot for perfection. Once I recognized that individual mistakes don’t undermine a career’s worth of successes, I felt more free to take risks in my professional and personal life.
What do you need to get you through each day?
Shared laughs. I’m lucky to have outrageously funny friends and family and we all count on each other to find the funny in even the darkest times.
What are you reading?
I’m listening to I.M., Isaac Mizrahi’s memoir and just finished reading Fleishman’s In Trouble. I’ve got a virtual stack on my Kindle.
Briefly describe your business and inspiration for it.
mazi + zo handcrafts high-quality, everyday jewelry for women who like to shake things up and make things happen. We design, craft, and sell our sustainable 14k gold and .925 sterling silver jewelry online and in-person at special events. All of our items are made in NYC. Initially we launched as a line for sorority women, highlighting the value of sorority in developing women’s leadership skills. Our designs were immediately popular with a wider audience so we’ve pivoted to a broader jewelry brand, which has a sorority offering. We’re relaunching soon with another specialized concept.
What lessons have you learned along the way that you wish you would have known at the beginning of your start-up career?
I’ve worked in many startups prior to founding my own and I could have done a better job of taking credit for my ideas and accomplishments. I realized after the fact that board members and external investors had no idea how much I’d contributed and it was up to me to make sure potential colleagues and investors had the full picture.
What challenges did you face in the early days of being the Founder of your own business?
It was important to me to manufacture our products in NYC and I quickly found that the NYC jewelry business is a traditional and insular one. While I love the commitment to traditional craftsmanship, I was initially surprised to learn that some vendors were unwilling to sign working agreements or accept digital payments. And that’s if they would work with me at all, as some are just not interested in working with parties they don’t know. I overcame this hurdle by hiring a veteran production manager who has pre-existing relationships with the best workshops and suppliers in the city.
What is the biggest mistake/challenge you have encountered in your business to date and how have you moved past it?
My biggest mistake (so far!) was launching as a sorority brand, which was a turnoff for women who didn’t have a sorority history. This limited my market. Given our diverse product line, our designs are truly for anyone. We decided to reposition mazi + zo as a brand for everyone, with a specific sorority jewelry line. This pivot immediately increased sales.
What aspects of being an entrepreneur do you love and/or dislike?
I love being fully in control of who I work with, on my own team and as vendors. We are all committed to sustainably creating high quality jewelry at the best possible price. I dislike taking care of information technology stuff.
Which books, articles, blogs have helped to shape your business and/or leadership style?
My favorite podcast episode of all time was Freakonomics’s The Upside of Quitting (Episode 42). Reframing “quitting” as a rational economic choice vs. failure changed the game for me. After listening, I’ve been more open to trying things with ongoing commitments as I realize that it’s ok to quit (as long as you do it responsibly and don’t leave someone else in the lurch.) Easy example: I didn’t finish my Spanish classes because I wasn’t learning as much as I’d expected and my dropping out didn’t hurt anyone else. Harder example: shutting down a business that was ok, but not going to grow. Fortunately, quitting that didn’t hurt anyone either and I’m aware of how much harder that would have been with employees who would have depended on me for income. And then there’s Brene Brown’s infamous TED Talk. Being vulnerable in a business setting has led to a lot of strong, authentic relationships.
Are there any go-to resources that you have found useful to run your business (service, web site, etc.)?
Canva! I’m not a graphic designer but have been able to fake it on Instagram, site graphics, and printed collateral with this easy-to-use site.
What do you think the most important attribute a female entrepreneur/ business owner can possess?
Openness. I am constantly surprised by where I uncover new ideas, so I listen to everyone’s suggestions, subscribe to “How I Built This”, and follow businesses that I admire that *aren’t* jewelry related.
What would you say to another woman who asked you if they should take the leap and start their own business?
I suggest working in some way for at least one early-stage startup before going out on your own so you can get a better feel for how nuts it can be. People think they know what to expect at a startup, but you don’t really know until you see under the hood. I say “some way” because you might not want to give up your day job. Perhaps take on a side project or externship with a startup. This will give you a better sense of what it’s like to work with a lot of autonomy, little structure, a constantly changing environment, and how much drudgery there can be. What’s hard to see from the outside is that founders often need to do *everything* which means calculating sale tax, managing IT, ordering boxes… not just the fun stuff. (If you think those things are fun, call me!)
In the age of COVID, how have you pivoted or what are you doing differently?
While we can't schedule our usual photo shoots, we've taken to blinging pups on IG:; check it out: @maziandzo.
On a more serious note, we've pulled back from marketing while jewelry isn’t top of mind for most consumers and are instead focused on some long-term product development so we can come back with something new and exciting when the world shops for non-PPE accessories again.