An Interview With Jen Lee Koss, Co-founder at BRIKA

Business + Finance

An Interview With Jen Lee Koss, Co-founder at BRIKA

Since completing degrees in both music and business at Harvard, Oxford and Harvard Business School—and with a decade-long career in the corporate world at her back—Jen Lee Koss, 36, has found her niche as an entrepreneur. It was actually a serendipitous meeting with fashion blogger Kena Paranjape that ultimately set Jen off in the right direction. Their simple coffee date sparked an idea that would later become a brand new collective career for the two savvy creatives.

Using the drive, dedication and entrepreneurial spirit she picked up during her education, Jen was able to collaborate with Kena to create BRIKA—an online shop community featuring the work of passionate artisans and designers. While early on she never imagined that she would end up starting her own business, Jen has always had a creative edge and strong leadership qualities (did we mention that she started her own orchestra as an undergrad at Harvard?).

Today, Jen works around the clock and wears multiple hats to ensure that her business dreams are realized, but the thing that motivates her the most is making each day count. Her simple mantra “make it happen” is proof that Jen’s go-getter attitude and hard-working lifestyle are the ideals that guarantee BRIKA’s (and Jen’s!) success.

Her Starting Point

Tell us about your career before BRIKA. Did you always know that you would eventually start your own company?

I worked in the corporate world (consulting and private equity) for nearly a decade before starting BRIKA. Although I may not ever have thought that I would start my own company, I have realized that many of the things that I did in school and afterwards were very entrepreneurial in spirit. For example, I started an orchestra as an undergrad at Harvard.

You’ve been through quite a bit of schooling—at impressive institutions like Harvard and Oxford University, no less! How have your degrees prepared you for your career?

I was a music and anthropology major at Harvard, and then pursued musicology and performance at Oxford before going to business school, so I am not sure there is a direct correlation here, but I certainly think that the drive and dedication it took for me to even get accepted to—and not flunk out of—these schools must have played a part in preparing me for what I am doing now!

When did you first spark the idea for BRIKA? How long did it take to make your vision a reality?

Meeting Kena, my co-founder, was definitely the catalyst for launching BRIKA. Our first meeting was a “blind date” at a coffee shop—not only did we feel like we could have been friends in a past life, we also were amazed by how different yet complementary our skill sets and experiences were. We both felt intuitively that we would make great business partners. We started meeting once a week for breakfast before our day jobs to start brainstorming ideas. It took about six months from idea to launch.

You and your co-founder Kena are friends in addition to being business partners! How did that serendipitous coffee date come to be?

When I moved to Toronto six years ago, I started reading a lot of lifestyle blogs. I stumbled across one that I really loved—the woman who wrote it chose the best products and had the best voice. I knew I had to meet her. When I looked to see who wrote it, I realized that she lived in Toronto, too! I emailed her and asked her out for a coffee. That person was Kena. I think our meeting is a huge reason why we are believers in serendipity

Her Big Break

Running a successful business like BRIKA is no small feat! What resources do you rely on (ie: branding accounting, PR, etc)? How did you go about expanding your team in the beginning?

We are really quite a small and nimble team (five people total), and we don’t rely heavily on outside resources. The one area we made an early investment in was branding. We were connected to an incredible individual, Stanley Hainsworth, who runs a company called Tether Inc. in Seattle. We worked with their team from the get-go to get our branding “right.”

How do you and Kena split up the responsibilities at BRIKA? Are you both involved in every aspect, or have you divided and conquered?

We consider any major strategic decisions together—especially if it impacts our brand and voice. However, we definitely divide and conquer our day-to-day responsibilities. This happens quite naturally because of our varied skill sets. I handle most of the operations, finance and business development. Kena handles the merchandising and anything having to do with our incredible family of makers.

We imagine that balancing a friendship and professional relationship is tough. Do you ever disagree? If so, how do you arrive at a compromise?

We actually don’t consider this an issue at all. If anything, we are business partners first and friends second. We didn’t know each other very well when we started this business, but I can say without a doubt that she is someone who knows me intimately well and will be a part of my life forever! We definitely have times when we disagree on things, but we tend to work those out quickly.

Besides having a successful career, you also are a Juilliard-trained cellist! How do you balance work with your passion for music?

The creative side of me definitely comes from my musical past. I think what I am doing now with BRIKA is a way for me to exercise that creativity in a real way. I get my musical “fix” through concerts, taking my son to his piano lessons, listening to the radio, etc. I know that I will have a deep appreciation for music throughout my entire life.

Her Perspective

What advice would you give to women just starting out on their entrepreneurial journeys?

My biggest piece of advice is to do entrepreneurial things in all aspects of your life. Being an entrepreneur doesn’t just mean starting and owning your own big business. I think having an entrepreneurial spirit means that you are a go-getter, a big-dreamer, a do-er, an executor and, most definitely, a think-outside-the-box type of individual. I would tell women just starting out that they can find ways to be this person—even if they work at a corporate desk job!

When managing goals and dreaming about the future of BRIKA, do you prefer to think five days or five years in advance? Are you a long-term planner or do you prefer to take things day-by-day?

I think I used to be a long-term planner before I started this business, but I have become more day-by-day. I think one of the hardest parts about being an entrepreneur is not getting too stuck in the weeds all the time. When your resources are limited, you end up taking on every role under the sun, and that can mean you have less time to constantly ruminate on the big vision.

What’s the best career advice you’ve been given so far? Do you have a mentor or someone you look up to?

I live by the simple mantra, “Make it happen.” Throughout my career, I’ve learned that there is nothing more satisfying than creating value each and every day—whether it’s a small thing you can cross off your to-do list or a large project you can see to completion. Pushing paper or punching the clock is my idea of time wasted.

And finally, what do you wake up looking forward to? What’s next for your career?

Sales! I am totally maniacal about checking our sales numbers. It’s the best and worst part of this business. In terms of what’s next, I can’t think beyond what I am doing currently. I am so passionate about this business, the community of artisans and designers we have cultivated and all of the consumers who have deeply resonated with our brand!