Interview with FounderMade CEO Meghan Asha And What It Takes To be Competitive in The Consumer Industry

Aquis Hair Towel founder at Foundermade Dinner West Hollywood

Motivation has no bounds, if you’re motivated to get something going and have an idea, the old adage rings true “where there’s a will there’s a way.” FounderMade CEO Meghan Asha launched founderMade, and became the founder of a summit that brings together over 200 brands and key industry experts for a day of discovery, networking, and opportunities to accelerate growth in a booming industry.

Consumerism is always high on everyone’s radar. Why, because it involves our everyday activities. When we purchase a cup of morning coffee we’re participating in active consumerism, socialization, and a jumpstart to the productive day ahead. Even if it’s a lazy day, it’s still productive if that was the goal. The all-day conference in Los Angeles was held on October 4th 2018 and brought together brands from a variety of areas including beauty, food, wellness, ext. The day was interactive, social, and gave guests opportunities to discover and attend up to six different panels, participate in chats, and network, network, network.

Why is networking highlighted so deeply here?

It’s an opportunity to take an existing idea and launch it. There are so many different parts to starting a company. Although inevitably everything starts with an idea, executing the idea is critical, and meeting the right folks along the way to water your ideas into blossoming buds is really what it’s all about. Foundermade creates opportunities for likeminded folks to meet each other and possibly discover ways to build distribution, expand sales, learn more about financing options, and build strategic partnerships.

A week before the Foundermade, Consumer Discovery Show conference I attended a dinner at Yarrow café in West Hollywood and had an opportunity to chat with Meghan Asha about business, her time at Columbia, and her vision for Foundermade. There is an optimistic air about Meghan that shines as she speaks. She’s not only driven, she’s bubbly, intelligent and has lots of inspiration to share with others; it’s no wonder Foundermade has become such an anticipated event.

From the looks of it, FounderMade will only keep growing!

Annette: Can you tell us a little about FounderMade?

Meghan Asha: FounderMade discovers all the best consumer products and innovations. We help them build by bringing retailers, distributors, investors, media, and influencers to our summit. If you’ve ever seen a product at Whole Foods, Ulta or Sephora, we’re the one that help drive that value and bring that commerce.

Annette: How long has FounderMade been around?

Meghan Asha: It’s been around for three years. It started out as a small dinner series just for fun. It was just a side hustle, I was working two jobs: for a Venture Capital and consulting for a startup and asked myself what would I be happy doing if I was 90?

Annette: What would you be happy doing when you’re 90?

Meghan Asha: I’m just going to do these twelve dinners and call them FounderMade, and so I did these dinners that started out very small with about 20 people. It kept getting bigger and bigger and we launched a conference, and it turned into a bigger trade show, and we hired the CEO that help scale the Consumer Electronic Show, and now we’re scaling this thing to launch all the best consumer products.

Annette: How many products do you expect to show?

Meghan Asha: We’re going to have around 200-500 founders and products, and lots of experiences on the show floor.

“My 90 year old self smiles because I get to do this” – Meghan Asha

Foundermade Consumer Discovery Show builds relationship, cultivates excitement, and creates opportunity to scale initiatives and encourage growth.

Meghan Asha and Volo Cordless Hair Dryer Founders in West Hollywood FounderMade Dinner

FounderMade Dinner in West Hollywood At Yarrow Caffe

FounderMade Dinner Yarrow Cafe West Hollywood With Meghan Asha

Meghan Asha FounderMade with Aquis Hair

Aquis Hair at Foundermade dinner preview West Hollywood

Photo Credit: ERIC LOMBART

Foundermade dinner with Volo Founders Cordless Hair Dryer

Aquis Hair Towel founder at Foundermade Dinner West Hollywood

What I wore: Kut From The Kloth Denim Jeans / Paul Smith Rose Gold Shoes / Maje Top

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