Growing a Business from the Ground with Marissa Saporta and Jennifer Bernstein

December 21, 2020

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Marissa Saporta and Jennifer Bernstein never dreamed of starting a company together. They had no background in entrepreneurship, but when the opportunity presented itself with the explosion of ecommerce, they decided to give it a try. They weren’t sorry. Today their company, Gorilla Commerce, has grown exponentially, providing home and pet products to people around the world. The company is even thriving during COVID, giving Marissa and Jen a chance to continue hiring, thus providing work in a time of employment uncertainty.

Today, Marissa and Jen join me to talk about their business. They tell me about their backgrounds and discuss a number of lessons they’ve learned, including the importance of delegating, recognizing the value of joint effort, what makes a good product, and the importance of vision. They go into the steps of launching a new product, the importance of quality, the difference between online and in-store marketing, remote working tips, work-life balance, hiring over Zoom, and more. They finish with the lessons they’ve learned from 2020.

“Big things come from big ideas, and small things come from small ideas.” - Marissa Saporta

“We can’t be afraid to be scrappy.” - Jennifer Bernstein

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Hosts

Stephanie Cartin

Stephanie Cartin is a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcast host, community builder, and a champion for women founders. She created the Entreprenista League, a community for women founders, to provide resources and support necessary at all business stages. She’s also the Co-founder of Socialfly, one of the first social media marketing agencies, as well as Entreprenista Media and Pearl Influential Capital which was recently acquired by Cherub. Stephanie has shared her journey managing her health challenges with Multiple Sclerosis, Infertility, and a complicated pregnancy and is an advocate for women going through similar challenges. Her story and businesses have been featured on the Today Show, Bloomberg and Forbes. Consider Stephanie your biggest business cheerleader.

Courtney Spritzer

Courtney Spritzer is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, author, and community builder with a passion for creating brands and platforms that empower women to lead, grow, and thrive.

In 2012, she co-founded Socialfly, a leading social-first digital and influencer marketing agency. Over the course of a decade, she helped scale the business into an award-winning agency working with Fortune 500 brands and emerging startups, building a powerhouse team and culture along the way. In 2024, Socialfly was acquired.

In 2018, Courtney launched the Entreprenista Podcast to spotlight the stories of inspiring women founders. That passion evolved into Entreprenista Media in 2021, a media platform and community supporting women entrepreneurs at every stage of growth. She now co-leads the continued expansion of The Entreprenista League, a membership-driven community and ecosystem for founders.

As an angel investor, Courtney supports female-led and mission-driven startups aligned with her vision for a more inclusive and equitable business landscape.

She is the co-author of Like, Love, Follow: The Entreprenista’s Guide to Using Social Media to Grow Your Business (2015), a strategic guide for leveraging social platforms to drive business success.

Her work and ventures have been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and The New York Times. She is committed to championing visionary founders and helping build the next generation of impactful, community-driven businesses.

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