"Invest Where You Differentiate"—This Founder and CEO Doesn't Mince Words When It Comes to Money and Business
You asked for more content around business finances, so we’re delivering. Welcome to Money Matters, where we give you an inside look at the pocketbooks of CEOs and entrepreneurs. In this series, you’ll learn what successful women in business spend on office spaces and employee salaries, how they knew it was time to hire someone to manage their finances, and their best advice for talking about money.
“Year & Day” Founder and CEO Kathryn Duryea knows the importance of a personalized dining space. (Photo Courtesy of: Roxanne Truesdell)
In today’s Money Matters feature, we asked startup wizard Kathryn Duryea to share her experiences in the world of business and e-commerce. As founder and CEO of Year & Day—an online marketplace for tableware—Duryea knows all about the trials and tribulations of starting your own business. Despite being a direct-to-consumer hit, Duryea grew a massive cult-following on Instagram (organically!) with her millennial-friendly collection of ceramics, flatware, and glasses—she outlines all of it in her interview for our WorkParty podcast.
Duryea’s skill for business is as refined as her aesthetic eye, and we hope that her motivation rubs off and inspires you to strive toward your own entrepreneurial goals, too.
Read on to hear Duryea’s best money advice.
Where do you think is the most important area for a business owner to focus their financial energy?
Invest where you differentiate. For Year & Day, the magic of our company comes from our products, our design, and our storytelling and these are the areas where we invest. In other areas of the business, we and maximize savings and seek efficiencies.
What was your first big expense as a business owner?
Our first big expense was our website development. I believe that the shopping experience in-home is very broken and overwhelming for the consumer. One of our objectives at Year & Day is to re-invent this process to make it simple and delightful. This required building a bespoke website out of the gate, which was a big investment that has since paid off, but at the time was a big financial bet and risk.
How did you decide what to pay yourself?
In the beginning, it was the absolute minimum I needed to survive. As we’ve grown, I’ve increased my cash compensation but kept it pretty below market. We’re still a very young company, less than two years in business, and as we hit important business milestones, I expect to re-evaluate my compensation accordingly.
How did you decide what to pay employees?
Our team’s compensation straddles cash and equity compensation and we benchmark compensation with alike businesses using data provided by our investors and HR advisors. I believe it's important to align incentives by offering equity to our employees so they have a long-term perspective and are focused on our larger objectives as a business. On the cash side, we pay enough to attract top talent but our salaries are generally below market. At major business milestones we’ll review our compensation to ensure we’re able to attract and retain top talent.
One of Year & Day’s elegant yet minimal place settings. (Photo Courtesy of: Roxanne Truesdell)
What are your top three largest expenses every month?
1. People.
2. Product.
3. Marketing.
How much are you saving? When did you start being able to save some of your income?
Right now, nothing! I’m all-in on building this business.
Do you wish you’d done anything differently in your financial journey as a business owner?
I’m extremely scrappy and always negotiate, but as we’ve scaled I’ve had to delegate some of this negotiation. I’ve learned that it's important to coach the team to negotiate and be scrappy so we keep that as part of our culture.
Duryea emphasizes modernism and simplicity in her placesetting designs. (Photo Courtesy of: Roxanne Truesdell)
Why should women talk about money?
Financial management is the cornerstone of building a business and can be complex and difficult. It's important to share advice and experiences so we can all be better business operators and entrepreneurs.
What is your best piece of financial/money advice for new entrepreneurs?
Be as scrappy as you possibly can, but spend where it matters for differentiating your business.
What was the biggest money lesson you learned since starting Year & Day?
Something seemingly intangible—customer experience—can deliver tangible business value.
Duryea’s startup has flourished into a successful company, making strides within the world of glass and ceramic products. (Photo :Courtesy of Roxanne Truesdell)
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