There’s something to be said about building the company you want. Just ask Melissa Mash, who says she never had any doubts about her company reaching its goals! Melissa is the CEO and Co-Founder of Dagne Dover — Designer Handbags For A Life In Motion, fusing fashion with athlete-caliber function. Melissa joins Socialfly Co-Founder Courtney Spritzer in the MouthMedia Network studios for a conversation about her journey to success and building her company from the ground up, along with a surprise.In this episode:
Hosts
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 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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Highlights
- How Melissa’s husband persuaded her to go to business school because of the network it provides, and how this decision has really paid off
- Melissa’s incredible alignment with her co-founders and why the remarkable company culture they’ve built is so important
- How Melissa and her team raised $200,000 from friends and family to prove out the business, and how they launched with two products that were merely “coming soon”
- The 1,000 person focus group on the biggest handbag frustrations that shaped the initial products
- Why team meetings and communication have been a cornerstone of success at Dagne Dover
- Moving forward when things are hard, and doing things you’ve never done before to reach your goals
- The importance of flexibility, good vibes and calm confidence