Krystal Stubbendeck,  Midwest-Based E-commerce Entrepreneur  

I met Krystal Stubbendeck during the summer of 2014, on a visit to Omaha, Nebraska, when she and her company, Borrow For Your Bump, participated in Straight Shot.  Straight Shot is a 90-day mentorship-driven accelerator program for emerging tech startups for which, ever since the program launched in 2012, I’ve been privileged to act as a mentor.

Krystal’s career didn’t start in tech or startups. She was working in Finance for ConAgra Foods when the idea for “renting maternity clothes” hit her after listening to all her girlfriends complain about how they HATED shopping for clothes during their pregnancies (especially if the item to be procured was high fashion or formal attire).

Krystal watched as these friends gave up and simply decided to stay at home, versus putting themselves through an irritating shopping experience for an item they would  wear only once. So “solving a problem for your friends” has got to be as good a reason as solving your own problem, when launching a company. The payoff? As Krystal told me, “When a mom-to-be tells me we made her feel beautiful, mission accomplished!”

After launching her business and participating in Straight Shot, Krystal pivoted Borrow For Your Bump from one to three stores under the “BFYB” name: “Buy For Your Bump” is where you can purchase items to be worn over and over (such as basics and leggings); “Borrow For Your Bump” is for special occasions; and the “Bump Love Club” is the online destination where customers can create customized wardrobe pieces  (they complete a style profile, then receive ten items styled specially for them). In addition, Bump Love Club targets the “gifters” (husbands, mothers, sisters, friends, etc.) with pre-packed Bump Love Club boxes for the mama-to-be.

Define “entrepreneur.”
Someone who takes risks, breaks barriers, and exposes their soul….pushing oneself until they are at a breaking point, constantly. THAT’s an entrepreneur.

Who are your heroes?
Any woman who is doing it all and looking the part (wearing heels, holding the baby, running a company, etc.).

What is your current challenge?
Focus. I am very fortunate to be at a crossroads where I can take my business in any direction I now choose. I have to remind myself everyday where my focus and energy should be directed. This is easier said than done when, as an entrepreneur, you are the janitor, the printer repair man, the VP of Marketing, Director of Customer Service, etc.

Your greatest achievement?
Running a company, doing a ninety-day accelerator — and in the middle, giving birth to my beautiful daughter, Estella!

What is your motto?
Stop thinking so much. It’s okay not to know all the answers.

Why are you an entrepreneur?
I wanted to help people, be my own boss, and do more than just sit in meetings all day.

What problem are you solving?
Styling pregnant women, while they are in that state. I constantly hear, “Where were you while I was pregnant?”

What problem would you like solved?
Violence, especially in schools.

Item you wish you had invented?
A shopping app that tracks something until it’s on sale (there’s a ton of them now!).

Biggest regret?
Taking too long to be active in the local start-up community. I didn’t think my idea applied.

What mobile device do you presently use?
iPhone 6.

Essential app(s)?
Asana [project-managing app] for my tasks and overall project management; [organizing tool]  BabyConnect to keep track of feedings and diaper changes; and A Beautiful Mess to edit my photos.

Which productivity tools (app/software/office supplies) do you use most often?
Asana for delegating tasks to employees; Dropbox for images and documents; MailChimp [email facilitating software]; and Canva [graphic-design site]  for investor communications and social media content.

Best discovery?
That being an entrepreneur is really, really hard!

Which talent would you like to have?
Being in two places at the same time (that’s new mom guilt!).

Best pat on the back you’ve ever received?
When the CEO of a major retailer told me, “You are on to something really cool.”

Advice you wish you’d had (or had followed)?
Find a mentor in the same industry and build a following BEFORE you launch. Also, don’t be afraid to be vulnerable…you will be surprised how willingly others will share similar failures.

Your pitch in 140 characters?
BFYB: Buy It, Borrow It, Style It. One stop shop for anything maternity.

Your bio in six words?
Sassy mama, founder, wannabe leader.

Are you on Twitter?
Yes — @borrow4yourbump.

What’s your hashtag?
#bumploveclub.

Your nails on a chalkboard moment is…
Nails on the chalkboard!

The J.O.B. you’d actually like?
CEO and founder of Borrow For Your Bump — and maaaybe Ben & Jerry’s quality control (aka ice cream tester)!

Biggest misconception about being an entrepreneur?
That it’s glamorous and fabulous.

Inc. or Rolling Stone or…..? Which magazine cover?
Rolling Stone…I always wanted to be a bad—s with tattoos!

What are you reading?
#Girlboss, By Invitation Only, and Bringing Up Bébé.

If I wanted to do what you’re doing…what’s your advice?
Mentor, mentor, mentor…as in find one or two or ten.

What conference would you like to keynote?
[Innovation and entrepreneurship conference] Big Omaha would be pretty cool.

What’s your guilty pleasure?
Green iced tea and chocolate-covered peanuts from Starbucks.

Short cut, long route, or road less traveled? What’s your roadmap?
Road less traveled.

Podium you’d like to stand on?
The Academy Awards….too much???

The memories of a chef are tastes and smells; what would you say are the memories of an entrepreneur?
Extreme highs, plus the lowest of lows. Crying in the shower and jumping up and down with excitement.

What makes you LOL?
Sarcasm.

Who or what inspires you?
Women who run companies in a male-dominated world.

What’s the most important startup/entrepreneurship lesson you’ve learned?
You WILL make mistakes. Just try to make them as cheaply as possible.

What would be the title of your biography?
Too Stubborn to Know Any Better.

Favorite gadget?
My iPhone.

Your Ferris Bueller moment: if you could goof-off/skip out for a day, what would you do?
Check into a ritzy hotel. Check into the spa. Take a nap or two. Order room service (Kevin McAllister — from Home Alone – style!). Then invite some friends over – whom I’ve neglected! — for a long lunch.

One place in time you’d like to visit?
The fifties — everything seemed so glamorous, and the working women had more power than you’d think (see Joan Holloway in Mad Men, which started at the tail-end of that decade).

Part of the trick to staying focused?
Surrounding yourself with positive influences, and always having an end goal.

You take a three-hour ocean tour and get stranded…what three items do you have with you?
Sunscreen, a good book, and snorkel gear (might as well make the most of it!).

One last thing: what’s the question I should be asking you?
“What’s next?” Answer:  I turn thirty in a few months, and I’m ready for it! Bring it on….I feel I have learned from a many of mistakes in my twenties (and I know there will be plenty more). But I feel more confident, and have surrounded myself with mentors and peers who share my passion for building something I believe in.