Snuggle & Stay 1st quarter retro

Calling this blog post a retro was a little tongue and cheek. I work in tech (my full-time corporate job) so this seemed like an appropriate way to title this post. Snuggle & Stay has been live for over 3 months now and I think it’s time to look back and reflect on how the last 3 months went and what are the lessons we’ve learned. 

1. Progress > perfection 

It’s really really hard, especially as a first time founder, to not get discouraged when things are not going the way you expected. There were days, even weeks, where I questioned whether I’ve made the wrong decision and no one would be interested in what we are building and the vision we had. If I could go back and talk to that version of myself, I will tell her to keep going and that things will get better. 

This is one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned this 3 months, that sometimes the best thing to do is to keep going. The effort I am putting in today might not translate into direct, measurable results tomorrow, but that progression compounds over time and that’s when true transformation happens. 

2. You can’t please everyone, nor should you 

It’s a little embarrassing for me to admit but at the beginning I used to get quite hurt if an influencer we reached out to didn’t respond or a brand we wanted to collaborate with seemed completely uninterested in us. What I’ve known intellectually but couldn't quite process emotionally is that not everyone will be a fan and that’s ok. Even Hermes has haters. We built the brand on an idea that’s fundamentally not for everyone, so it’s only natural that some will be wholly disinterested in what we have to offer. I now focus my energy and attention on finding and serving those who are aligned with our vision and value. 

3. Work-life balance can only be established and maintained with intentionality 

As someone who has a demanding full-time job, is building a brand on the side, and is actively training for a marathon, life feels constantly off-balance. Especially with Slack and Instagram making work so accessible, tuning out seems impossible at times. For a while, honestly sometimes now, the first thing I do when I wake up and the last thing I do before I go to bed is work. Talking to our manufacturer about samples, strategizing with my co-founder about upcoming product launches and potential collaborations, the list goes on. If I wanted to, work could fill up all my waking hours and a little bit more. I realized I needed some semblance of work-life balance, and it was not going to happen if I let things happen to me instead of proactively managing them. I now try to timebox important tasks and give myself dedicated times where I’m completely off of my phone, mostly when I’m running, so my brain can relax for a little. 

3 months is by no mean a very long time and I might be singing a completely different tune a year down the line. I wanted to capture these thoughts as a way to document the process of building Snuggle & Stay, and being honest with our community on what this journey has been like. I love learning about other founders’ journeys, what has worked for them, what challenges they overcame, if you have a good podcast, book, or short form video recommendation, please feel free to send them my way (sara@snuggleandstay.com). 

Best, 

Sara, Mateo, and Ollie