When Ali Kriegsman and Alana Branston started Bulletin in 2015, a leading wholesale platform for retailers to buy products from independent brands, they had no idea the company would evolve from a shoppable online newsletter to a multimillion-dollar VC-backed retail marketplace.
But Kriegsman chronicles her entrepreneurial journey – warts and all – in her debut book, “How to Build a Goddamn Empire,” which details her path from corporate employee to pivoting and scaling a major business. The book features stories and advice from 30 other female founders who built companies of various sizes and stages.
The founder and COO recently spoke with Know Your Value’s Daniela Pierre-Bravo, as part of an Acceso Community workshop, about the growing pains of entrepreneurship, maintaining confidence in the face of fear and how other entrepreneurs can grow their businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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“I think one of the most taxing and undercover hidden parts of entrepreneurship that you don’t often get to solve with a quick conversation with another founder or a Google search is the emotion, mental and psychological implications of entrepreneurship,” said Kriegsman. “It was a bumpy road … and I wanted to write this book because no one owned up to that.”









