Episode 59: From Concept to the Oscars: Overcoming the Barriers to Entry in a New Industry, with Li Hayes

Middle age can be cruel to women. The aging process is not pretty. But Li Hayes, a mom, an entrepreneur, and a woman of a certain age wasn’t about to let hormones get the best of her. Problems are simply an opportunity waiting to be solved. She researched the market and couldn’t find a solution for hot flashes that was right for busy, working women, so she invented her own, the Cool Me Scarf. Li Hayes knew that she didn’t know much about manufacturing, websites, or retails sales and so she researched, studied and learned. One discovery that propelled her forward was leveraging the platform Alibaba.com which allowed for rapid and safe solutions to manufacturing, business transactions, and logistics. She brought Cool Me Scarf from concept to market and from market to the Oscars! Within two years of concept, Cool Me Scarf was selected as a gift for celebrities in 2020 Oscars gift bags. When not inventing products or walking the red carpet, Li is the owner of Go Leeward Speaker Management supporting a group of amazing business speakers and helping event managers create wildly successful events. What You Will Learn: Li’s journey as a serial entrepreneur and the deals that realized her vision How Li started and grew her business, Go Leeward Speaker Management How Li made the transition from a service-based business to a manufacturing-based business when she created the Cool Me Scarf How Li got the Cool Me Scarf in gift bags at the Oscars How Li leveraged her brand story to add the most value to Cool Me Scarf How to connect with Li Hayes: Website: coolmescarf.com goleeward.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/li-hayes/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoLeeward Twitter: @GoLeeward