On the surface, she had it all. Heidi Roizen was a pioneering businesswoman and venture capitalist who achieved the highest levels of professional and economic success. As co-founder of a Silicon Valley software company in the 1980s, she grew the business to $15 million in revenues and sold it to become a vice president at Apple. She was written up in numerous “who’s who” lists of trailblazing women leaders in the high-tech industry. She married, had children, and threw some of the most popular house parties in town.
One thing she had too much of though, Heidi realized, was body mass. A long hard look in the mirror and a fateful step on the scale changed her life. When she looked for music to help motivate her to meet her new weight-loss goals, nothing was quite doing it for her. No one was producing tunes with an energetic beat and inspiring lyrics. There was only one solution.
Heidi launched her newest venture, SkinnySongs, in 2007, releasing a CD of the same name in December. The lyrics provide just the kind of uplifting messages Heidi had in mind … because she wrote them. With titles like “Skinny Jeans,” “Incredible Shrinking Women,” “Thin!,” and “I’m a Hottie Now,” Heidi is sharing her positive affirmations with the world.
She has gotten top-tier press in the months since launching, appearing on The Martha Stewart Show, Oprah’s radio network, and the CBS Early Show. She’s also been written up in USA Today, and in dozens of other newspapers and blogs, such as Ladies Who Launch.
For the moment, Heidi’s CDs are sold online only. Heidi’s coordinating line of on-message shirts is also sold on her Web site.
What we learned from Heidi: You have to learn to accept criticism. You can’t take it personally. Understand that not everyone is going to love your product as much as you do. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad person or you’ve created a bad product.
From Corner Office to Home Office
“In some ways, SkinnySongs is remarkably similar to my work in venture capitalism. I’m in business and I think about inventory and marketing, retail sales, and the overall development of my company. Even the medium is the same. Then as now, I’m selling CDs.”
Flying Solo
“The biggest difference is that now I’m a small business. Before, I dealt with big numbers and had a support staff. Now I’m doing it all. I may be negotiating my appearance on Martha Stewart, then hang up the phone and go run boxes to FedEx. As a venture capitalist, you may work with a product that you yourself would never use. But SkinnySongs is very personal and I’m very passionate about it.”
Consumer Marketing 101
“It’s new for me to be marketing a consumer product. I’ve discovered that it’s a lot more than sending out a press release. For the first time, I’m in a TV and music environment. It’s now all about commercials, TV shows, radio play, talk radio, and the Internet, both as a place for consumers to buy and a media outlet for publicity. I’m all grassroots-oriented now. Most of our marketing money is spent on outreach to emerging and traditional media.”
