Hard Work, Hustle, and Home with Rachel Cohen, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Snowe
Stairway to CEO
· with Rachel Cohen
· June 15, 2021
· 59 min
Summary
Rachel Cohen, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Snowe, shares her journey of building a direct-to-consumer homeware brand that offers luxury quality at accessible prices. This episode is a masterclass in identifying market gaps, strategic brand building, and overcoming the inherent challenges of scaling a startup, providing actionable insights for e-commerce operators looking to disrupt established markets.
Key takeaways
Identify market gaps by drawing from personal frustrations; Snowe was born from Rachel Cohen’s own difficulty furnishing her home.
Prioritize hiring for "passion, perseverance, and grit" over traditional qualifications in a startup environment to build a resilient team.
Leverage immersive brand experiences, like Snowe's press launch event, to generate significant buzz and industry recognition without a massive marketing budget.
Implement a DTC model to control brand narrative, customer experience, and pricing, allowing for luxury quality at non-luxury prices.
Recognize and plan for the “myriad obstacles” of scaling a business, learning from challenges rather than being deterred by them.
Themes
brand strategydtc business modelentrepreneurial journeystartup growth
Rachel Cohen is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Snowe. Snowe is a direct to consumer homeware company that creates luxury quality pieces at non luxury prices, using cutting edge technology and the best materials in the world. In the five years since launching, Snowe has won many awards, amassed a cult following, and earned industry recognition from notable product experts and publications including Architectural Digest, Fast Company, Forbes, and Vogue, among others. In this episode, Rachel shares with us her journey from growing up in New York with dreams of becoming the next Barbara Walters, to working in real estate investment banking, to realizing that the process of furnishing her new home with her husband was actually a lot more challenging than they thought, which inspired the concept for Snowe. She talks with us about how she filters for passion, perseverance and grit throughout her hiring process, the numerous challenges she has faced in building Snowe, and how creating an immersive brand experience resulted in a powerful press launch event.
Frequently asked about this episode
What does this episode say about brand strategy?
Identify market gaps by drawing from personal frustrations; Snowe was born from Rachel Cohen’s own difficulty furnishing her home.
What does this episode say about dtc business model?
Prioritize hiring for "passion, perseverance, and grit" over traditional qualifications in a startup environment to build a resilient team.
What does this episode say about entrepreneurial journey?
Leverage immersive brand experiences, like Snowe's press launch event, to generate significant buzz and industry recognition without a massive marketing budget.
What does this episode say about startup growth?
Implement a DTC model to control brand narrative, customer experience, and pricing, allowing for luxury quality at non-luxury prices.
What does this episode say about brand strategy?
Recognize and plan for the “myriad obstacles” of scaling a business, learning from challenges rather than being deterred by them.
