Tezza Barton: I Built A $2.5M App That Every Girl Needed... With No Tech Experience Or Investors!

Tezza Barton joins Maggie Sellers Reum on Hot Smart Rich to talk about building the TEZZA app, Instagram photo editing, creator culture, and turning a launch she nearly deleted into a $2.5M first year win! Before Tezza became the app every cool girl, creator and brand had on their phone, she was selling Lightroom presets, building failed businesses with her husband, and trying to move out of their 250-square-foot apartment… Tezza tells Maggie about the brutal app launch, the reviews that made her want to delete it all, and the pivot that turned the backlash into a real business. They also get into Tezza’s rules for the perfect Instagram photo, what makes a photo dump actually work, and how her obsession with taste turned the TEZZA app into something bigger than her personal brand. Plus, working with Rare Beauty, 818, Bumble and Summer Fridays, Selena Gomez approving her work, and why the future of tech needs more feeling, not less. Get unselfish access to the insights that will help you own the room. Sign up now https://linkly.link/2jPXJ Tezza Barton is a multi-talented creator, artist, entrepreneur, and mother. She has spent over a decade as a commercial photographer, honing her vision for storytelling with brands and amassing a loyal following of over 1.2 million on instagram. In 2018, she founded TEZZA, a photo and video editing app with a mantra of "The Art of Life" which has over 2.5 million monthly active users. Barton is also a musician and has been honored by Forbes 30 under 30. She currently resides in California with husband and co-founder of the app, Cole Hermann, and her children. Download the TEZZA app here: shoptezza.com Timestamps: (00:00) Intro(01:48) Tezza Barton’s Creative Inspiration(04:05) Posting On Instagram(06:51) Curating Social Media Inspiration(08:44) Tezza Barton’s Creative Family(12:31) Female Entrepreneur Influence(13:54) Parenting With Social Media(14:54) Building An Online Community(18:25) Don’t Chase The Algorithm(20:45) Building The TEZZA App(22:25) TEZZA App Backlash(24:36) Tezza’s Creative Mission(26:23) Pipedrive Ad(27:21) Creativity In The AI Era(29:20) Failed Business Ideas(33:12) Turning Free Content Paid(35:00) TEZZA App Bigger Than Tezza(39:45) Unexpected TEZZA Fans(40:55) Rare Beauty, 818 And Bumble(42:07) Selena Gomez And Rare Beauty(44:27) Building Without Investors(46:10) Meeting Venture Capitalists(46:43) Raising Money Vs Profit(48:53) Bootstrapping The TEZZA Brand(50:12) Bilt Ad(51:09) Ollie Ad(52:09) Building With Your Husband(55:09) Tezza’s Personal Brand(56:47) Choosing Brand Partnerships(58:18) Better Creator Brand Deals(1:00:57) Startup Vs Big Brands(1:01:37) Most Popular TEZZA Filter(1:04:04) Tezza Edits Maggie’s Photo(1:11:56) Tezza Rapid Fire(1:12:08) Latest Credit Card Purchase(1:12:39) Favourite TEZZA Filter(1:13:13) First Morning App(1:13:35) Summer Filter Trends(1:14:21) Travel Photos Vs Home Photos(1:14:47) HSR Love Notes(1:15:21) The Art Of Chaos ⸻ Sponsors Pipedrive - http://pipedrive.com/HSR Bilt - Sign up at http://Joinbilt.com/HSR Ollie: Use code HSR for 70% off at http://ollie.com/hsr ⸻ Hot Smart Rich: Your Business & Culture Gossip For ambitious women wanting to own the room, gain power, and build wealth. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotsmartrich/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hotsmartrich Maggie Sellers Reum: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maggiesellersreum/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maggiesellersreum LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sellersmaggie/ Locker: https://www.wantlocker.com/users/maggiesellers ShopMy: https://shopmy.us/maggiesellers Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/maggiesellers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Maggie Sellers Reum?

  If you're starting a business, there are certain things that are so fun to think about. Y'all know I love a mood board, so everything that relates to the creative, the name, the brand, the website, the vision board. But then there are the things that make you pause and ask, am I even doing this correctly? Or do I even want to be doing this? Like forming your business, getting the right documents, keeping your personal information private. This is where our sponsor, Northwest Registered Agent, is so helpful. They're a one-stop shop for founders who want to launch and legitimize their business without turning it into a giant admin spiral. They help you form an LLC or a corporation, act as your registered agent, and give you tools like a business address, operating agreement, website, phone number, professional email, and free guides.

• 0:43Maggie Sellers Reum?

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• 1:04Speaker 01

  This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required. Compatibility and availability varies. 18+,.

• 1:29Speaker 02

  We launched the app, Tezza, and people were like, "You're robbing me! You're coming for all my money!" I was like crying, like delete the app out of the App Store. But we pivoted, and then in our first year, we made $2.5 million.

• 1:41Maggie Sellers Reum?

  You are an expert at creating the perfect photo dump, and you've worked with brands like Rare Beauty, 818, Bumble. What motivates you to do that?

• 1:49Speaker 02

  I was constantly trying to figure out how I could make my own money so I could be in control of my destiny. Like, your man doesn't have to be more successful than you.

• 1:57Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Would it be possible to have the success that you've had if social media didn't exist?

• 2:01Speaker 02

  My sister passed when she was 17, and that is a beautiful thing of social media. I was able to like connect with so many people because I was able to be vulnerable.

• 2:10Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So when everyone was starting to post these reels, was there ever a part of you that was like, "I need to start talking to camera"?

• 2:16Speaker 02

  Yeah, trust, some of it's out there.

• 2:18Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Do you have a framework for taking the perfect Instagram photo? You and your husband have such a good partnership. Why? And how does it work? Where do you see the brand going from here?

• 2:31Speaker 02

  I will say like,

• 2:35Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Hi, angels. Did you know that subscribing to our channel is free? And it's the simplest way that you can support our show and help us grow. If you do this, we can bring you even more of the content and the guests that you love. All you have to do is just hit the subscribe button below. So please, if you wouldn't mind, subscribe to the channel and thank you.

• 3:02Maggie Sellers Reum?

  In case you missed it, you're allowed to be hot, smart and rich. So let's get into it.

• 3:13Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Tezza Barton, are you ready to get hot, smart, rich?

• 3:15Speaker 02

  I'm so ready.

• 3:16Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Because you're probably one of the most creative people that I've had on the show. How do you find creative inspiration?

• 3:25Speaker 02

  Gosh, it's changed so much over the years, you know? I'm very aware of what I'm consuming. Obviously, social media is one thing, but before that I was, I'm very into like vintage movies, old magazines, going to like record stores, bookstores, just like things that are tangible that I can have around me all the time. And I think especially now that social media is what it is. I have to be very, very careful of that. Like I probably have the lowest screen time of anyone on my whole team, which is like crazy, even my husband. Like I'm very like, I have to protect my, I don't know, what like what's inspiring me? Otherwise I get overwhelmed. Things that just make me feel something like that's always what I'm looking for. People just would say like, I don't have a creative bone in my body.

• 4:09Speaker 02

  And I was like, yes, you do. It's even just the way you live your life. It's like these simple things that that kind of became my thesis of everything. Like the reason I wanted to play in a band was to like inspire people to feel that feeling. Or, you know, the reason I started photography was to inspire people to want to take photos. And then like now that's why I do what I do is really to like get, give people that feeling.

• 4:30Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I love that and I can relate so much because even just being on my honeymoon, being in Africa, being out of this world made me feel so inspired again. Even though I felt a little guilty being away, but.

• 4:43Speaker 02

  You need to let that go.

• 4:44Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yeah.

• 4:45Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 4:45Maggie Sellers Reum?

  You had to learn that?

• 4:47Speaker 02

  Yes, but I honestly like. I crave that, you know, because I think this is what happens in your life. You're like in your young twenties. You have all these hobbies. You're really good at things. You're like, everything you've worked for in your life, you're starting to like, figure out who you are, what you're good at. And then you like, find the thing you're really, really good at. So you, it becomes your job, hopefully, you know? And then you're like, okay, wait, now I don't have like, these hobbies or these things that are, you know, I'm not as complex and interesting. And you have to like, make sure you're still doing that as you get older. Otherwise, I think you, you get bored of like, what you're doing. You're not as, and, and I don't know, I don't have as much guilt anymore. I've let that go. I can like, step away and feel good about it.

• 5:28Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay, can we get really specific about a few things that you are an expert at first?

• 5:32Speaker 02

  Okay, I would love to know.

• 5:35Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Taking the perfect Instagram photo and then creating the perfect dump. Like, I am talking about your Easter photo dump. It was perfection. Do you have a framework for taking the perfect Instagram photo and then crafting that perfect photo dump?

• 5:55Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, I'm always thinking about the first photo first. It's not necessarily that that's what I, I'm taking, but when I'm taking all the images, I'm like, what's gonna really like, hit the heartstrings and make you feel something? Like, is there a moment that you can capture, like, something more than just like a hot stare? But like, is there something you can make someone feel? And that's usually kind of like, the first photo that leads whatever the story is that you're telling. And then I really focus on like, just the little details, whether it's like, you know, your accessories or something that's like fun versus something that's serious. I think it's like, mixing all that together. Well, you know, I've been through so many different eras of Instagram. Like, I've done it all from like, I mean, I miss the days where you just post one really good photo. Like, that was a great era.

• 6:41Speaker 02

  Because I would, I would, I would send an entire day to get that one photo and I would work really hard and. You know, we just don't do that anymore. People don't, it doesn't hit anymore like it used to. It can, don't get me wrong.

• 6:54Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But you said storytelling. So do you think about when you're putting something out, you have a story that you're crafting in your head that you want your audience to go on? Or is it a story that like you feel like you want to portray to the world? Like, how do you think about when you press post? Is it for you or is it for the audience?

• 7:09Speaker 02

  I, it's so for me. I mean, I was a photographer first and foremost. I love like capturing moments and like, I've never deleted an Instagram post. Like you can go all the way back to day one.

• 7:19Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Wait, can I show you something?

• 7:20Speaker 02

  Oh, did you?

• 7:21Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yes. These are your first few. What's something that you wish existed from this 2010, 2012 era that doesn't currently exist today?

• 7:32Speaker 02

  So funny, my little brother. Okay, I think like,

• 7:37Speaker 02

  there was just more of a carefree energy. And, you know, I think we've come back to that a little bit. Like it went from this to like very serious, like, you know, photography and people being like, street style, fashion, you know, all of that era. This was like a hundred years ago, but, and now we're kind of getting back to this. I think people are missing kind of that imperfectness without it being, like, there's still

• 8:04Speaker 02

  an artistic taste here. It's not just like, I think we got a little sloppy and a little lazy at one point where we were just taking photo like a bad food plate. And people were like, this is so cool and effortless. I'm like, let's put a little more effort back in.

• 8:16Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So is that how you look at social media? When you see something, you, you relate to the things that like, you either are inspired by or you want to be in? Like, how do you consume the media that you are?

• 8:26Speaker 02

  Well, storytelling for me has always been like, what's so fun? I, I've all, like, even back when we go to like, the early days of Instagram, I was very into like, props and things that would make you feel more than just, like, this is my outfit. But it's like, where, where's this outfit going? Who's in it? Why are they doing it? Or like, you know, those kinds of things. And I think, People love to connect to images that they like either wish they could see themselves in, or they're like, wow, that's like so fun. Or, you know, like even when I'm taking photos of like my Easter day, it's like, I don't share all of them. Because a lot of them, I'm like, that's personal for me. But like, I'm capturing so much more of the story. So in my head, I'm like connecting those dots, you know?

• 9:09Maggie Sellers Reum?

  We talk so much about the negative side of social media, but I would say that like, you've been able to benefit off of this incredible opportunity that social media has presented itself. Do you think that it would be possible to have had the career and the success that you've had if social media didn't exist?

• 9:26Speaker 02

  Yes, I know I would have been successful at something else without social media. Cause I, I literally, since I was, I don't know, eight, I started a business. I started like a candy shop. I started like knocking doors and selling cards. I started like art classes for the people in my neighborhood. Like, I just loved starting things and, and figuring out how to make money, how to teach people, how to like, I don't know. I just know that would have been in my

• 9:56Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yeah.

• 9:57Speaker 02

  realm. But I don't know that I would have had the success I've had without social media now. Because I think the reach is just, we've never had that. And the generation before had no clue what that would even be like. And now it's even, in the past 10 years, it's out of control.

• 10:14Maggie Sellers Reum?

  You have a really interesting family dynamic because you come from a family of entrepreneurs. And I come from a totally different friend group where like, where when we wanted to do a creative pursuit, our families were like, no, there's no business there. There's no opportunities doing that. You have to go to like this specific school and do this. And I have a friend who finally has actually made her way back into photography and into production. She works at like a jewelry brand that we're probably both wearing today as like the head of production. But it was a really long way to get there because there was a lot of people telling her no when she was a child of like really wanting to pursue photography. You also just mentioned something about having this mindset of being successful. So can you take us back to like who you were as that like eight, nine, 10 year old?

• 10:58Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Your environment, like the things that really helped you get to where you are? And maybe the things that almost like motivated you so that you did become your potential?

• 11:07Speaker 02

  You know, I One grew up with five siblings, so a big full house. My parents were both extremely creative and worked extremely hard. My mom started an interior design business when I was two. And so I just watched her like be so passionate and work so hard. I mean, and I'm not joking, to this day, my mom still sleeps three hours a night because that's how hard she's working. I will never be her. I cannot keep up. I don't even know that I want to be at this point, but she like, she, I'm like, I think you need to sleep. She's like, no, I'm good. I, I need to do this and this is what I'm good at. I'm like, okay, I'm not getting in the way. But it was just like so inspiring to watch her and my dad also to support her.

• 11:51Speaker 02

  Like he put his career a little bit on the side so that she could, you know, thrive. And she was doing so amazing. And, and then I had a grandma who, you know, my grandparents had no money their whole lives. And then in, I think when my grandma was about in her 50s, she's, she was a painter her whole life. And her kids sold, started like making prints of her art and selling it. And it like went viral. She became like this famous watercolor artist. And in her 70s, started making like millions of dollars. And it was just like crazy. So I, I watched like all these different people start these different careers. And I thought, you know, okay, there's so much value in having ideas and being like passionate.

• 12:34Speaker 02

  And I really, so I, I was constantly trying to start different things to figure out, you know, how I could make my own money. I don't, I don't know why that was actually at the core of what I wanted to do, but I just felt like I could, you know,

• 12:47Speaker 02

  be in control of my destiny if that was how I was handling my, my things. And then my mom had a really unique way of parenting where it was like, if you had an idea, she would say, okay, well, what is it? And then you would explain and she'd be like, well, how are you going to do it? And, and you'd have to like, Kind of no. So I wanted to be a fashion designer. She's like, so what are the steps? So I had to go like research the steps, you know, there was like, I'm Googling around and then I got into Parsons in New York City. And she's like, I was 16 and she's like, do you want to go to like night school and move to New York? And I was like, well, yeah. And she's like, so figure out how to pay for it and how you're going to do it. And then she let me go live in the dorms and do that when I was 16 and I like was in control of that.

• 13:30Speaker 02

  And then I was like, wow, I guess I can actually be in control of doing whatever it is that I want to do. So I really had such amazing parenting, I do have to say, like, it's not like all my siblings are entrepreneurs or, you know, we're all doing kind of our different creative things, but I, I do think like having parents that really looked you in the eye and said like, I believe in what it is you want to do and I'm gonna, and like helping me realize that I'm in control of figuring out how to do it was impactful to who I am today.

• 14:00Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Being around female entrepreneurs, I feel like was very rare back then almost. The way that they talked about money and talked about financial freedom, how do you think that influenced you versus like the people that are listening to this? That maybe saw like their dads have more of the financial control in their families?

• 14:18Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, especially I grew up in Utah, which is like,

• 14:23Speaker 02

  you know, most moms just don't work. That was not the norm. So it was constantly brought up to me that my mom was like an anomaly and unique and my grandparents and my, you know, everyone in my life, I was just like, oh, okay, this is unique. But I think there's like something really unique to partnership, right? So like I watched so many men support women in this amazing, beautiful way, which, you know, is not the norm. And it's can be done. Let's just first say that like, I think there's, your man doesn't have to be more successful for you than you like, and you can find someone, you can marry someone that, you know, supports your ideas and the things you want to do. But like, that also comes with other hardships, like when you get pregnant, you have kids, there's a lot of pressure on you as a woman.

• 15:08Speaker 02

  And you have to be able to like balance all of that and you, you get no breaks and it's, it's a lot. So I think it's not necessarily like always as glorified as it.

• 15:19Speaker 02

  Like, needs to be, but I think it's a beautiful, amazing thing.

• 15:25Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Talking about parenting a little bit, how do you think about raising a family in the age of social media, especially when both you and your husband are involved in social media?

• 15:36Speaker 02

  Well, I'm taking notes and I'm trying to figure it out. I honestly don't know. It is so scary and so stressful. I have, you know, people on my team who have kids that are, you know, in their teens and I'm like overwhelmed with what I'm hearing. Even just attention spans, you know, we're very, very careful about how we're even on our phones in front of our kids, right? Because like the second your kid's asking for you and you're like, one second and you're just glued to your device. Like I get the ick of myself. I have to put my phone in a drawer on the weekend. I put it in a drawer. I actually like don't look at my phone for at least six hours. I'm very like strict about those things, but that is even just for me. That's like my mental health, but also just the example I'm setting. I don't really know my rules yet or like, I don't know. I'm trying

• 16:19Speaker 02

  to navigate that. So if anyone has tips, I'm, I'm ready and available to hear.

• 16:25Speaker 01

  This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.

• 16:52Speaker 03

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• 17:20Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Well, I feel like the reason it's so exciting to have people like you in the chair is because I've noticed this, what I would call a creator evolution curve, where you start off doing social media, maybe you're single, or maybe like you, you were living in a 250 square foot apartment with your boyfriend. And then as a creator, your life evolves. You end up doing well for yourself. You're able to have a bigger place. Like you have children and the relationship that you have with your customer, which is like your follower, your community, it evolves and changes. And what I've seen is like, there's been dips. There's even like a huge kind of conversation right now about I'm following anyone that gets married or has a baby. And as someone that's successfully been able to manage this curve and actually like,

• 18:05Maggie Sellers Reum?

  not see that dip, how do you explain the relationship that you've had with your community? As you have evolved as a person, as a founder, as a mother, as a partner?

• 18:18Speaker 02

  Oh, that's deep. I'm like, I always want to be relatable to everybody. Like that is in my core. I still feel like the scrappy girl living in the apartment. Like even today, like building a business, it's hard for me to get away from it. And I have certain guilt about like sharing too much. You know, I really like to keep things

• 18:42Speaker 02

  at bay, we'll say. But I think like, as long as you're sharing something that's like authentically true and valuable, like people will stick with you. There are, I know for a fact, like I'm like, I'm so much more boring than I was a few years ago. Like I have kids, I have other priorities now. I'm also like, my main business is running my business. Like I don't have as much time to be creative and to be offering as much value. But I think like, as long as you keep the, like the,

• 19:14Speaker 02

  your standard at a certain point, like you don't have to be posting as much and doing as much, as long as like what you're putting out is.

• 19:23Speaker 02

  Actually a value and like authentic to who you are.

• 19:26Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Has there ever been like a really hard moment to share or go through publicly?

• 19:30Speaker 02

  I guess when I lost my sister, I mean, social media was a thing, but I mean, it was very early days and I did find it healing in a way to be able to connect with people. But this was like pre Instagram stories, like it was pre, I don't even think you could send messages. So it was anything like a post and a comment. It was very just like different interaction. But, you know, I was 19 when my sister passed. She was 17. We were like doing the music thing. We were, you know, social media was just barely happening. That is a beautiful thing of social media. I was able to like connect with so many people I never would have connected with.

• 20:12Speaker 02

  Ended up, you know, going to New York, sleeping on someone's couch that I had D N, like I think messages, or maybe I wrote on their page. I don't even know how, the, trust me, like the things that I did, but because they were like interested in my story. And then I was like, oh, I'm coming to New York. And then like just the opportunities that became because of something like hard that I went through, I think were so interesting because I was able to be vulnerable. But, I mean, there are just hard things every day that I'm not sharing. But I think that's like a personal choice. Like some people build their brand around sharing everything. And I, and I'm grateful for those people. I find it fascinating, but you have to kind of protect your inner peace too.

• 20:50Maggie Sellers Reum?

  You have this relationship with your audience as a tastemaker and thought leader in photography and in creativity that like people don't necessarily need that from you or not that they don't want it. But I think you are like one of the people that has been able to like ride that wave. When everyone was like, be posting reels. You're like, no, I'm gonna keep posting my photo. Like you're laughing because it's true.

• 21:15Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 21:15Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But I think it says a lot about your values, morals and principles. And like when the whole world is telling you to go one way, you can find it in yourself to be like, I'm actually gonna stay here.

• 21:27Speaker 02

  Yeah. I do think it's hard. Like, you know, these algorithms, they change, they come out. You're like, I, how am I going to keep up? And as someone that's been doing this for 10 years, I will say like, It comes back around. Like, don't freak out, don't panic, don't change your whole brand and identity just because like, someone on the internet is preaching to you and telling you that you have to to keep up. I do think like, people create their own algorithm. Like, you can find people that will be interested in the way you're talking and the way you're doing content, whatever that is. Like, there are just so many creators that are coming up and doing things different and changing the way the algorithm is working like, in their favor. So I think like, that is true. Like, you don't have to panic and chase the trends.

• 22:11Speaker 02

  Like, if you just stick to your core values, like, people will feel that. And I think that's like, probably the most important thing.

• 22:18Maggie Sellers Reum?

  When it was happening, though, like, everyone's starting to post these reels, was there ever a part of you that was like, I guess I need to start like, talking to camera?

• 22:26Speaker 02

  Yeah, trust. Some of it's out there. Um, no, like, it's so funny because I've started doing these videos where I'm like, walking around with a mic, talking at events or whatever. And I'm more like comedic. And people are like, whoa, the Pinterest girl has a personality. And I'm like, yes, I do. I'm like, actually kind of funny sometimes. But like, when I have to be like, it's almost because that is like a production. I love like, the storytelling. I love the art of it. But like, when it's coming down to like, me telling you about my makeup, it's just not hitting. It's, to me, it's not feeling creative enough. So it's not authentic for me. So like, I've tried it. I dabble. I'm still learning. And I know that. And I'm okay with that. Like, you don't have to be good at all the things, you know?

• 23:11Maggie Sellers Reum?

  When you're dealing with big decisions, change, involvement, risk, as a founder, as a creative, as an entrepreneur, how do you decide what's the right thing to do?

• 23:23Speaker 02

  I like, came to this decision long ago in my career, that there are no wrong decisions. You make the decision, then you make it the right one, you know? And I think there's a lot of fear around like,

• 23:36Speaker 02

  Like, for example, when we launched the app,

• 23:40Speaker 02

  we weren't necessarily sitting down and saying, okay, we're gonna be the next, you know, cool app in the tech space, and we're gonna do all this stuff. We were thinking about it in just a completely different way. And if I had never looked at like App Store reviews, I would have thought we were crushing it, because it was so positive on social media. I was like, okay, we launched the app, like, people are loving it. Then I got to the App Store reviews, people are like, you're robbing me, you're like, coming for all my money. And like, I was like, wait, I'm so confused. Like, we were thinking about it not in like, a subscription way. We were thinking about it like, we're building this world, and you're bringing a part of this brand, and coming at it from more of like, the photographer space that I had come from. Anyway, I was like crying, like, delete the app out of the App Store.

• 24:22Speaker 02

  Then we like pivoted and we learned. And I just feel like every decision, even if it's the wrong one, like, it'll help you get to the right one. And there's like, almost zero fear in making the wrong decision anymore, because you, you know, you get decision fatigue. Like, I have to make so many decisions a day. You have to like, be able to just trust yourself and be like, this is the right one. And if it's not, when you figure it out, everything can be fixed. Everything can be like pivoted. I don't know, I'm just like, not really afraid to make a decision anymore.

• 24:49Maggie Sellers Reum?

  When you launched the app, like, your first launch, you had backlash, as you just talked about, and you considered deleting the app, but instead, you went back to the community and you pivoted. But can you take me back to that moment of like, how you actually felt and how you were able to like, change the course of the direction and not just be like, it's over, I've made the worst decision ever, and everyone hates me, and my life is over, and it's never gonna work again?

• 25:14Speaker 02

  I mean, it's true. Like, I've been there. I've been there, but I'm kind of like, I guess I'm mostly through that. But I don't know, that, it can, it's heavy. The social media commenting can hurt. But I think, if I go back, like, my husband, I'm lucky. Like, he's very grounded and very forward-thinking. Like, even before we ever launched, his motto was like, done is better than perfect. Because I could sit and noodle on something all day, and he's like, no, we gotta get it out, we gotta move. Otherwise, we're gonna be too late. And I'm like, okay. So it's like a really healthy balance to have someone like that in your life. And when we did launch and had that backlash, we were like, okay, like, let's just zoom out and take, and look bigger picture. Because sometimes it's so

• 25:58Speaker 02

  hard when you're, you could focus on one comment and like, think you've... I don't know. You're hideous, but like

• 26:04Maggie Sellers Reum?

  User number is 97.

• 26:07Speaker 02

  Thank you. And I believe it as well. Like you're like, I don't even know you. Why do I care? But like, you really have to think bigger picture. And I, we, it was so, I'm so glad we did because we were able to say like, okay, like, what business are we actually trying to build? Like, we were just kids trying to make money, to be honest. We weren't like writing a business plan. But then we, it really made us do that. And we were able to say like, okay, if we were to able, like, change the subscription, make it more attainable, like, obviously, we can have different tiers. We weren't even quite thinking about it like that. And then, you know, to look at a year later, I think we made, like, in our first full year of the app, we made $2.5 million. And we were like, oh, okay, like, we have a business here. Like, we, there's something that we're doing that's right and connecting with people.

• 26:52Speaker 02

  And you can always kind of pivot in business. That's just is what you have to be able to do. And you have to be able to adapt quickly. And I think it's like a really important lesson to learn early on.

• 27:02Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So as someone who is trying to make money, like, just move out of their 250 square foot apartment. For someone that's not familiar with 35 year old Tessa almost, right, tomorrow? How would you describe now the mission that you are on, both with Tezza, the personal brand, and Tezza, the tech company that's making millions of dollars a year?

• 27:24Speaker 02

  I think like truly, and it goes back to like that childhood story. I know it sounds kind of corny, but I literally in my, my very first blog, which was called Brain Litter. Um, my motto was the art of life. And it always has kind of been my personal motto and the brand's motto, and still is to this day, like, really helping people find their inner creative and like figure out like the way they're living their life and their decisions they're making. Like, that is your art. It's all part of, you know, this expression that you're, you're living. And I'm personally like on that journey, always trying to figure out how to like Live that life for myself, but also give that to other people. And through, you know, the app, it's not, we're not just here to help you edit a photo

• 28:08Speaker 02

  or like make a cool video. It's, it's deeper than that. And I think it's about making you feel creative every single day and being inspired to want to create. And in a world where now we have AI and all these different things, like we're, we zag the other way. You know, we're building a photo booth. We build experiences for our users and like helping people connect with other creatives. And I think like, just as much as being like this tech online business, we're focused on building like the offline, personal connecting experience that, you know, people are craving. And I think that's like what I'm personally craving too in my life. So it's kind of fun because they, they go together.

• 28:48Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Can we take a moment to talk about the least glamorous, but most important part of building a business? Your systems. I see so many founders and CEOs in my ecosystem who are building incredible businesses, but their backend is just chaotic to the point where deals will literally go cold because no one is keeping track of where things are at. So if that's your business, you really ought to think about switching to our sponsor, PipeDrive. A simple and smart CRM for small and medium sized businesses. That's easy to use because it's all centered around a visual pipeline. So you can see every deal, what stage it's in, and what needs to happen next. Angels, if your ambition is big, like I know it is, your systems need to match.

• 29:32Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Head to pipedrive.com/hsr to get started with a 30 day free trial. No credit card or payment needed. A hundred thousand companies are already using it, so why not join them? That's pipedrive.com/hsr with a

• 29:48Speaker 01

  This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50 page restoration blog, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required. Compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.

• 30:15Speaker 03

  Born from the intensity of a night in the eternal city. Introducing Born in Roma Fragrances by Valentino. Feminine perfume Donna Born in Roma features juicy black currant, central jasmine, soft cashmerin and warm vanilla. Masculine leaning but unisex Womo has notes of fresh violet leaf, aromatic sage, green vetiver and mineral salt. Shop holiday gifts at Macy's.com.

• 30:43Maggie Sellers Reum?

  All this AI like connection, you said you're craving that just like in-person experience. Do you feel like the world that we live in, it's possible to live in the old school way that we once did? Or like, do you have to also keep in mind like what's going on with AI? What's going on with those trends? As you are building the experiences that like you are missing for yourself?

• 31:04Speaker 02

  For me, I mean, I'm always going to be aware of all the different ways creating is happening. I think it's healthy and I think it doesn't mean that we have to be a part of it. I think like, you know, of course, I'm always going to look at like, how can I make creating easier, more attainable, fun? And also amazing for our user? And for me personally, I'm a creator myself. Like, I still want to like use the app and be fast and like, be the most creative person that I can. So it's not necessarily a bad thing to have to like adapt to these new ways. I'm like open to it, but I think I will always think about

• 31:46Speaker 02

  the person using it first and what like they want. I never want to like, you know, I curate that experience as a creator myself. Like, I want you to feel like that is a curated experience, not like a robot's just doing something for you. So I don't know, you know, I'm learning every day, but you know.

• 32:06Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Do you use AI to help you create?

• 32:08Speaker 02

  I mean, I guess like if I'm like, if I'm trying something new, like I'm learning. I feel like, you know, I went to art school. I was a photographer. I started in film and then I like learned all the ins and outs of Photoshop and Lightroom. And like, you know, back in the day when those came out, people were like so scared. But I think it's important to like know and learn what they're doing. I don't know, we're not like in some rush to try and be like every other AI app that's out there. I think we like, we're watching, we're seeing what people are doing. And, you know, we love to have like a really strong perspective on it, but yeah.

• 32:42Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So you and your husband started this when you were living in New York City.

• 32:47Speaker 02

  Mm hmm.

• 32:47Maggie Sellers Reum?

  In a 250 square foot apartment, but this was not your guys' first rodeo together. I think a lot of people don't know that, like you had multiple failed businesses before this. What were some of the other things that you dabbled in that didn't work? And why do you think that this one specifically took off the way that it did?

• 33:04Speaker 02

  We're still dabbling. Um, I think like when we first moved to New York, we we were just obsessed with the idea of brand and that was almost like our love language. We were like, oh, we would dream about building brands together forever. We played in a band together. We also had a blog. I'm not going to say the name in case it's still up. I don't want anyone to find it. But like we, we just found this like amazing connection over building things together and we like even designed these socks. We were like, I don't know. Okay, it's almost like, it doesn't make sense to say now, but I'm so glad we never launched. We never launched the socks, but they were like these fashion socks. So we were doing like this denim jacket brand. We had sunglass brand. We've had art prints.

• 33:48Speaker 02

  We've done like so many different things. This one, it was different though, because it was truly like a baby of both of our passions. I was a photographer. I went to art school. I was like obsessed with like curating and aesthetics and everything. And he was in tech and built apps. And so it was like, we combined both of our truest passions. And I mean, even before that, I wrote a book called Insta Style. That was like sold at Barnes and Noble and Target and

• 34:16Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Was it a white cover?

• 34:17Speaker 02

  It was an Instagram grid.

• 34:19Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Oh, my God, I got that for my sister for Christmas one year.

• 34:21Speaker 02

  Stop, I'm dying. That's so cute. Oh, my gosh, no, I still get messages. People are like, this, this book helped me so much. I'm like, wow, thank you. Like, I, I mean, I wasn't new to the space and I wrote a book about it, but I truly felt like there's so much knowledge and no one's talking about it. And I felt like anyone could do it and I wanted people to feel that. So I just was like, ready to share all the information. As a photographer myself, I was like, here is how I'm creating this aesthetic. And no other photographer was, everyone was like gatekeeping all their knowledge. And I was like, you're going to grow the more you share, you know? I could just

• 34:53Maggie Sellers Reum?

  No, my biggest pet peeve is when I'm like, what are your camera settings? And like, no comment.

• 34:57Speaker 02

  No comment, like even still to this day, there's so many photographers, I'm like, please, like, we're just, we're all in this together, you know? So I really did feel that passionately and then I started with selling Lightroom presets. I was catering towards the pro photographer because that's who I I thought I was talking to and just the amount of people that were like, this is way too complex and like, I just want to be able to do it quick and on my phone. And I really looked at the space and I was like, oh, the space is heinous. It's just like black and white apps built by a bunch of dudes. There's nothing catering to one like this, all these women who are coming up in the space and freaking killing it. And then also that felt like as fun as the act of creating. Everything was like very serious and very techie. So I, we, I just knew like there was something to be done and it took like a year and a half

• 35:42Speaker 02

  and to build and then, yeah, we launched.

• 35:44Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But at the time that you guys were doing it, was it at the time that other creators were like selling their presets on Lightroom or was this like pre that?

• 35:51Speaker 02

  I mean, when we started building it, yeah, by the time we had launched, for sure. Like, I would, I would say I was like one of the first to begin that, the preset selling.

• 36:00Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yeah.

• 36:00Speaker 02

  Era. And so that's kind of how I knew there was like major interest and that there were like people like looking, and that is why we were building it the way we were. We weren't saying like, we're going to be like a dollar ninety nine, you know, in the, a month or whatever it was in the app store, we're going to be like, releasing guides and like locations of where you can go shoot and all this stuff. But people were just like, apps are supposed to be free. And you're like, well, it was, you know, it's Steve Jobs fall. Apps were free for a minute. Like now it's not the case, but.

• 36:32Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But you were a paper wall pusher because you were like, I am actually going to bring you something of value and you have to pay for it, which I think as a creator,

• 36:43Maggie Sellers Reum?

  there is a line, I think, when you are used to offering so much for free.

• 36:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 36:48Maggie Sellers Reum?

  When you have to put a price tag in front of something for the first time, it is a really uncomfortable experience and most of us will go through that. And even forget the word creator, like, think about when you're coming up in your career and you do these free internships and it's like you're doing it for experience, right? And I hate to say it, but like, we all did that as millennials. Like, we had to put in the work, but when you finally are like, this is my value, you have to pay for it. There is that immediate reaction from the audience, which is like, wait, I'm so used to getting stuff for free from you.

• 37:19Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 37:20Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Did that take you a long time to be comfortable with like, this is the value that you're getting from me, whether it's on my personal brand side or on Tezza the app? Like, you have to pay for that.

• 37:29Speaker 02

  Yeah, I would say in the beginning, it was extremely uncomfortable. And I also still to this day, I, I, I'm like, I'll just do, I mean, I'll send you a code.

• 37:38Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I already have.

• 37:39Speaker 02

  I know, but like, yeah. I mean, you get to a point where you can't, how long can you do that for, you know? Like, I, I've been giving away everything for free for years. And it, it does get to a point where you're like, I have to either turn this into a business. I have to make money or I have to go get a job doing it, whatever it's gonna be. So someone else is gonna do it if you're not. So you might as well just do it and get over it. And the people who don't want to pay, they're not gonna pay. But you're not like forcing anyone, you know?

• 38:06Maggie Sellers Reum?

  It is interesting though, because I think most photo editing apps generally struggle to have a presence or a brand. Whereas Tezza app has 2.3 million followers, which is actually more than your personal account. Was it intentional to like, put a bunch of the attention and resourcing behind building Tezza to be like a bigger brand? Than even your personal brand? Cause I can tell you, to be vulnerable for a second, that was totally the intention with HSR. HSR is double the amount of followers that I have personally. And like, when I was building this, I was like, actually don't want to be an influencer. I want to be an entrepreneur. And so it's more important for me as I'm making these little silly TikToks to like, brand it. Like I have a media company already, even though all I have is these little TikToks.

• 38:50Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 38:51Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But it grew HSR so much more than even my personal brand name. Like, I think people really only know who I am as of very recently. Whereas I think they've been hearing about this HSR thing for a little bit of time. So I was very excited to have you on to ask you that question. Cause you're actually one of the few entrepreneurs that has a brand with more followers than yourself.

• 39:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, definitely very intentional and always was from the beginning. I was never like necessarily on social media for like my personal brand. I was, you know, sharing so much information, helping other, like, I was kind of the influencer for influencers. I was like, you guys can all be influencers, like, let's go. I was like trying to help people do that. I don't know why, I just, I truly felt like this was so fun and I wanted people to do it. And I remember like,

• 39:43Speaker 02

  I have like an investor meeting, like somebody was like trying to, you know, wanted to invest. So we took the meeting and they were like just so concerned about me, the me of it all. And my name being a part of it. And I was like, no, trust me. Like, most people don't even know that I'm a person. And then I TikTok came out. Anyway, I posted a TikTok that went viral of me and my husband and how we built the app. And literally thousands of comments of people saying like, I had no idea Tessa was a person. And I was like, I did it. But really, it was because I think so many people felt like it created so much value for them that they were talking about it as if it was their own app. And I, that was like, they were doing the marketing and like all of that for us.

• 40:27Speaker 02

  And, and they felt like so attached to it because we had like built it almost together, you know? Like they were giving me insight and telling me what they wanted. And I was like building it for them. And so we had such an incredible community of people that were just voicing all of this for us. And, and still to this day, like even the Tessa social media, like for our app is very much run like as if it's like your big sister or your friend. It's like from that person perspective, not even just like a giant brand. But like, it still feels personal, even though it's like so many different creators, so many different aesthetics, like different things. It's, it's still coming from like that mindset of a creator. So yeah, very intentional, but.

• 41:06Maggie Sellers Reum?

  When you were thinking of naming the company, were there any other names in the running other than Tezza?

• 41:13Speaker 02

  I mean, yeah, I, it's kind of so weird that it is called Tessa. I mean, my, my real name is Tessa. My friend used to call me Tessa as like a nickname.

• 41:24Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 41:24Speaker 02

  And then.

• 41:25Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Didn't you just say the same name twice?

• 41:26Speaker 02

  No, Tessa.

• 41:27Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Tessa, yeah, okay.

• 41:28Speaker 02

  And then Tessa was the nickname. So when I had like my blog and stuff, I was like, oh, Tessa's cool. It's like not a real word. And it's, you know, kind of like an alter ego or I wasn't even thinking of it as like necessarily a name. It was kind of like this like brand and my husband, we were going to create like this men's. Brand, this woman's brand, it was Tezza and Tezza, like, we have like all these ideas. Anyway, so funny. Can't change it now, but-

• 41:52Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Would you change it if you could?

• 41:54Speaker 02

  I almost think it weirdly like led to some of its success because everything else was very like snapsy, like, just like names that felt like a tech company and ours was like Tezza and it had a face and it was like, what is this? And so it almost helped us like stand out in a really unique way. And I think if you are entering a space, like especially now, the photo and video space is like so crowded. When we launched, it was not that way. But like, how can you like show up in a really different way than everyone else in your space? Like, there's room to mix it up and I think it's important.

• 42:24Maggie Sellers Reum?

  What do you think about the Tezza customer who initially was buying everything back in the day? And then who is the Tezza customer now? Who is that person?

• 42:33Speaker 02

  I mean, it's quite a wide range, you know, we have everyone from like the millennials who have been with us for a really long time to Gen Z and like how, you know, they're creating in a totally new and different way. So we're like constantly thinking in both of those brains. And then so many brands are using Tezza, like to run their entire like social media accounts and, and how their brands are showing up on the internet. Anytime I go to an event, you know, the person comes up to me, like, everything goes through Tezza. And I'm like, oh my gosh. So I'm really like, so many different people are using it in different ways and, and we're really talking to all of them.

• 43:07Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Have you ever had a really large fangirl moment where someone's come up to you and you're like, I had no idea that you use this to build your business, whether it's a creator or a brand?

• 43:18Speaker 02

  Well, I have kind of more of a funny story. Where I was at Lollapalooza in Chicago and a cop started walking up to me and I'm like, oh my god. Like, I was like, what did I do? Like, I'm like, I'm like so, I'm like sweating. And he's like, I, I just have to tell you. And I was like, okay. And he's like, I'm a huge fan of your app. I use it on all my social media. Like, I'm a photographer on this. And he like starts pulling it up and I was just like- Like, one, I'm just like, we're catering to women, especially at this time, it was like 90% female. Using the app and this like, hot male cop is coming up to me, like showing me his Tessa feed. I was dead. I was like, you know what? Success. Like, the fact that you are a user, I, I'm done.

• 43:59Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I love that you use that as your fangirl moment over like working with Selena Gomez, 818, Bumble.

• 44:06Speaker 02

  Lots of fun moments, but it's, it is true. It's like those little, like, people that you wouldn't expect who are like extremely creative that have this whole online persona, I just find fascinating.

• 44:18Speaker 01

  This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration blog, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.

• 44:45Speaker 03

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• 45:02Speaker 03

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• 45:13Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But you have worked with these brands like Rare Beauty, 818, Bumble, Hourglass, Summer Fridays. What is the craziest story of how one of those partnerships came to be?

• 45:27Speaker 02

  Oh, well, it's actually always so mind blowing because these brands reach out and they're like, you know, we're huge fans of the app or everyone's using the app that submits all their content. Like 818 was like, everyone that sends in their content for 818 is like, has the Tessa. In the metadata. So we're always like, oh, that's so great to know. Uh, but like with Selena, it was really interesting because we worked with her team that she has to approve all of it. And I'm like, so you're telling me Selena's like sitting down approving what I'm creating? And they were like, yeah. And then they were like, she's may or may not be coming to the event. But it was like, so is she or is she not, you know? And then I was like, she's not coming. And then we come to the event and she's like, just there and so casual and so nice. And, and then telling me all about how much she loves the new Prisa and everything.

• 46:11Speaker 02

  So I'm like, it's just really, you know, everyone's just people also running their own brands. And especially like women, they're just out there just crushing it. And it was really cool to like, see that she's that invested in such a massive brand, you know?

• 46:24Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But I think we almost take that for granted, but a lot of the times people don't actually see the celebrities that are truly involved in their brands.

• 46:30Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 46:31Maggie Sellers Reum?

  For most of the brands that you work with, would you say that that's the norm or that's the anomaly? When there's like a celebrity face attached to it, like are most of them as involved as Selena Gomez is?

• 46:40Speaker 02

  I don't know. No, I would say that's like, I mean, it's probably 50 50, right? But like you, you even have people like Kim K who still edit their own content, you know? They don't just have content. I think people just think someone's like, people even ask me like, you still post your own content? I'm like, who else is going to post it? Like, what are you talking about? But I think people care, like a lot of people do really still care about what they're putting out there. So, you know?

• 47:05Maggie Sellers Reum?

  My husband always gives me a really hard time because my favorite part of my day is answering my community's DMs. Like it's legitimately the thing that keeps me going, like.

• 47:13Speaker 02

  Well, it's how you know what's going on, what people are like, there's no way you could not.

• 47:17Maggie Sellers Reum?

  And by the way, it's like, I do get the odd one that's really hateful and really mean. And like, yeah, that sucks to read. And his whole thing was, well, I'm around a lot of celebrities. And what they do is they have their publicist basically like read the comments and then give you 90% of like a summary of what's going on. And they leave the bad ones. And I tried that for a really long time and I felt so disconnected from the community. Like literally my favorite part of my day is like at nighttime, I go into my DMs, I answer probably like five or 10 of them. Do you still do that?

• 47:45Speaker 02

  Absolutely. Yes. I, I look at every DM. I think, like, I mean, I try.

• 47:51Speaker 02

  But like, I, I think it's the only way you really know how people are connecting with what you're doing. It's like, it's basically the data, you know?

• 48:00Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I'm glad I never DM'd you, but I do have a funny story to tell you. So, we were actually both at a happy hour for Intrepid Investment Banking.

• 48:09Speaker 02

  Oh my gosh, wow, okay, yes.

• 48:11Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So, there was probably like five women in the room and I was in this weird place in my career where like I had just been working with these celebrities. I was kind of leaving, but like, didn't really know what I was doing and I was like posting online, but also doing SPVs. And like, I just didn't really have anything to come up to you and say. And so I remember just like, seeing you and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. And then I didn't end up shooting my shot with you. I have never DM'd you, but I've been a fan and I remember being in that room with you, just being like, wow, this is so cool. This creator entrepreneur is at this investment banking event. And obviously you decided to not take money and that's been like a really big part of the growth story. But did you ever consider potentially bringing in other investors?

• 48:53Speaker 02

  Well, first of all, I wish you said hi, because I hate that. And like, especially if we were like-

• 48:58Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Literally one of-

• 48:59Speaker 02

  Yeah, we should have definitely chatted. I was probably like, who is she? So, she's so pretty, I can't. But yeah, I think we, we went down that path. At one point, we were like, struggling, you know, because we really built our business to be profitable. Like, that was the goal from the get. We weren't like, trying to show scale, scale it as fast as we could or anything. It was like, we want to like make money and we want to have, you know, for our life. And then we realized like, oh, this, some people build businesses to sell. And then like, you know, this is how you throw like major events. If you have like investment and you can hire more people. Like, it was just, I was truly a child when I started the company. Like, I don't think I had a true understanding of how business worked, could work. I don't think all they all have to be the same.

• 49:43Speaker 02

  And so we did go down that path, but ultimately like, I just realized-

• 49:50Speaker 02

  Still to this day, I feel this way, but I feel like I still know best what is best for our company. And I don't need somebody to kind of like weighing in on those decisions. Because I think a lot of the things that we do, people would say, that's not a good idea. And that doesn't make sense, but it it does. And it always like pans out, even these things like collabs or, you know, building a photo booth and building these experiences for brands. Like, I think in the beginning, people would have said, that's just like a waste of time and a waste of money. But now that's almost become like a significant part of our business. I don't know. I, I, you know, I, I still, we'll see. Never say never. We'll say that, but.

• 50:28Maggie Sellers Reum?

  What was your first impression when you met a venture capitalist or an investment banker?

• 50:35Speaker 02

  Well, first of all, it's always just so many men and they look at you like, dude, like, yeah, they always, I feel like you would like, know how to command a room and take people seriously. So I will take notes from you after, but it did take me a minute to learn how to like, what that flow is, honestly. I, people didn't take me seriously at first, but I'm very tall, so people have to listen no matter what. So that usually does work to my advantage.

• 51:01Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Even though you decided not to take money,

• 51:05Maggie Sellers Reum?

  do you still get impressed when you see someone in the news that's raised a bunch of money for their company? Be honest.

• 51:12Speaker 02

  Well, I think there's too much emphasis on it.

• 51:15Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 51:16Speaker 02

  Of course, I, I think it's amazing. I have so many friends who have started incredible businesses. They, they had to raise money in order to, you know, scale and do things at a certain level. And like, I totally understand that. It's a different business than the, the business that I've had to build. So of course, but I don't think there's ever like enough emphasis on like,

• 51:36Speaker 02

  people like building money or a business to be profitable or like how long they've been doing that or, or things like that. Like the headline is always like, they raised this much money. And that's like the golden standard, but I would love your perspective on that. I don't know.

• 51:48Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I agree with you a thousand percent and it was interesting because even when I took money from Steven, people were like, oh, why are you doing that? And like, do you need the money? And I was like, they are a strategic part of our business. Like, our business has 10 acts since we've been a part of Flight Story. And full transparency, like, the people we are able to hire, the blueprint that we can use, like, it was such a strategic move that it allowed us to do things that like, we truly, like, my sister was the head of finance for a jewelry brand before this. Like, I was building brands for celebrities and was like, in consumer and dabbling with investing, but like, we had no media experience. We had no long-form media experience. And so having a team beside us that like, allows us to fail and allows us

• 52:30Maggie Sellers Reum?

  to learn from their past failures, not even on our show, has allowed us to grow at a pace that we just wouldn't have been able to do in the past. So for me, whenever someone comes to me and they're like, I really want to raise money, my question is always like, for what? And from who? Because if you can't answer those two questions, it's probably not the best thing, especially if you're bringing someone in that's like, gonna tell you all of these things that you're like, you don't even understand my business, which I feel like your business is such a unique, it was such a unique thing, and it was almost hard to put in a box of like, where could this go? And I feel like there's so many places that it still could go. So I guess my next question to you would be like, as someone

• 53:10Maggie Sellers Reum?

  who has the flexibility because you've chosen to bootstrap, like, where do you see the brand going from here?

• 53:18Speaker 02

  Lots of places, you know, I truly do think of Tezza as like a world and all that comes with it. Like, I mean, we, I, it almost sounds silly, but it's like, we think of it like a restaurant. Like, I'm like, how is it hitting all of your senses? Like, when you walk past that window of like, in New York of a cool restaurant, the candle is lit just right, and you hear the music and you can smell like what they're cooking, and you're like, I gotta get in there. I don't even know what's happening, but I gotta go inside because it's gonna make me feel this certain way. Like, that's how I think about Tezza. So it's everything from like, I think just working with creatives of all kinds. You know, we've kind of like, spent so much time in this niche, but like, now we're expanding in such bigger and different ways. And then truly leaning into these in-person experiences

• 54:02Speaker 02

  that most people are leaning away from. Like, that is, you know, kind of our special sauce. And I think Yeah, like I think what you were saying earlier about being so strategic with those, you know, who you're taking money from and like that could, that actually can be so helpful, but you have to also be ready for that because maybe someone, either someone's gonna really get it and believe in your idea, or they're gonna shoot your idea down and they might mess it up. So you really have to know, you know, who you're letting into your business, I think.

• 54:30Maggie Sellers Reum?

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• 55:13Maggie Sellers Reum?

  for you and finds you local new spots too. So if you're looking for ways to be smarter with your money, sign up now at joinbilt.com/hsr and make sure you use our link so that they know we sent you. One thing that Courtney and I keep arguing about now that we're married is not when we're gonna try for a baby. We're aligned on that. We argue about when we're getting a dog. No joke. My vote, baby first, then a puppy. Because realistically, I'll be the one doing all the work. But I know that when it comes to feeding our future puppy, we're both very aligned on using today's sponsor, Ollie. Ollie makes the highest quality fresh food developed by real chefs and backed by veterinary nutritionists. From the second you start

• 55:55Maggie Sellers Reum?

  your subscription, everything is tailored to your dog. All meals are perfectly portioned, so much so that you even get a pup tainer and a scoop for easy storing and serving. And through the Ollie app, you can track your dog's health too. If you want this level of health for your puppy, head to ollie.com/hsr and tell them all about your cute little dog. And if you enter HSR at checkout, you'll get 70% off your welcome kit when you subscribe. Plus, Ollie's obsession guarantee means that if you're not completely obsessed like you are with my show, you'll get your money back. It seems like you and your husband have such a good partnership to be able to handle this together, but you guys have failed together, won together, made babies together. So how do you guys keep it together?

• 56:37Speaker 02

  Well, we have a Friday lunch every Friday. It's true, like, we never miss it. We have to have lunch on Friday. It's like, I have to look at you in the eye and have no one else talking to me. And we can talk about anything from like, if it's romance to like the business, whatever it is, it's like just that one on one time. And a lunch is so much different than like a date night dinner. Cause it's less serious. Like, I don't know how to explain it. And you could stay, you could, you know, be there for three hours if you had to, like, whatever it is, there's just something special about it. But my husband is also very good at saying like, this, we're done. Like, you're closing your laptop. We're not working anymore. Cause I could just like, kind of work forever. And I think setting those boundaries is like really healthy and helpful, especially when you've been together forever. Like, it does.

• 57:23Speaker 02

  And with kids, I tell you, there's no time anymore for you, for the two of you. So you have to make it. You have to find it.

• 57:30Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Would you say that you're like the maker and he's more of the manager? Have you heard of that?

• 57:34Speaker 02

  Yeah, but I, but no, we're like both so in each other's business. I don't know. It's so interesting. Like, definitely in certain things.

• 57:43Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 57:43Speaker 02

  But like, there's nothing that doesn't cross over. Like, and I, we almost have to approve and see everything that each other's doing. It's really interesting.

• 57:50Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Well, that was actually going to be one of my questions because most people that start a business together, after so much time, they don't call themselves co-CEOs. Like, one of them usually becomes the CEO, one of them becomes the creative director.

• 58:04Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 58:04Maggie Sellers Reum?

  And one of my burning questions to ask you, because a lot of people that have come on this show as the creative or as the maker, they don't have the CEO title after a while. And like, they kind of let someone come in and is like, running the business and they're more the creative director. You've kept this CEO title and you share it with your husband. Why? And how does it work?

• 58:28Speaker 02

  I'm like, maybe we shouldn't, but no, I think the why is because we still truly believe and Love what we're doing like we, I don't know. I don't think anyone could do it better at this point. And after spending much time, I, we've looked into that. I'll say that much, and I still feel like we know what we're doing. So we're sticking with it and it works because I think we both like, he's definitely more operational than I am and I'm more visionary. But there's no world where like he consumes more social media than me. He knows more about like, like if we get, I have to approve, we approve every ad that goes out, obviously. And he's that, he comes up with better copy.

• 59:13Speaker 02

  He comes up with better ideas than I do, which no one would expect. Like I'm the content creator, but I'm more like in the feels and he's very like the, the bow on top. Right. I don't know. It just is, it's an interesting flow, but it really, it really works.

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• 1:00:24Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Does he get involved in like the Tezza personal brand work that you do?

• 1:00:29Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, he still takes my photos when I, when I beg, but

• 1:00:36Speaker 02

  you know, it's definitely like a 5% of his time. Yeah.

• 1:00:41Maggie Sellers Reum?

  How do you now, as someone who's like primarily running a business, think about what gets you out of bed and gets you excited about building the Tezza personal brand? Cause I think once your business gets to a certain size, you're like, this could totally be my focus, but I still have to put effort and attention and things into this. So like, what gets you excited about having both creative outlets?

• 1:01:06Speaker 02

  Well, one, I love like still being the like a user to the product that I am making, because it's so helpful. Like all I will be out and about at events. Or like the reason I go to events, because I'm like, how are we taking, what are we doing, girls? Like, let's chat. Like, what do you need? How can I be of service? Like, I'm always trying to think of like, what's the next thing I'm going to create? So being in this space is so helpful. Being a user of that, I'm always like, oh, wow, we can make this experience so much better. So like, it is so nice to kind of be blending those two worlds. And I think most of the apps that we're competing with or who are copying us or whatever, like they don't have a creator helping them. And that was, well, don't go hire one because, no, I'm just kidding. But it is like, it is kind of a secret weapon.

• 1:01:51Speaker 02

  And I honestly just, I would probably be doing it regardless. I truly love creating content, taking photos, like capturing, storytelling, all of that. So, yeah.

• 1:02:02Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So a brand deal comes in, like the wine brand you just did. What motivates you to do that? Like, is it that they're giving you creative freedom? You want to share that with your audience? Like, what is it about taking time away from every single thing that you have going on? To be like, I'm actually going to do this for this brand?

• 1:02:17Speaker 02

  I think like, one, it's still flexing that creative muscle for me as like, trying to, you know, be a photographer and like, think creatively, think outside the box. Because even when you're just doing it for yourself, it is so fulfilling. And it's so much more fun, obviously, than when you have a brief and you have to like stick to guidelines. It's really, really hard. But I do believe like a lot of brands, you know, I talk with a lot of founders of brands and those are the brands I'm like excited to work with. Cause I'm like, okay, I see you have a vision. Like, I kind of want to help you bring it to life. And like, sometimes those are the ones that turn into. Longer partnerships or like these, you know, things like rare hourglass where we're helping bring something to life in a different way. So definitely paying attention to that. And then, you know,

• 1:03:02Speaker 02

  sometimes I I like to have multiple like incomes happening at once. And I don't think I'm going to be a content creator forever. I think like, you know, I've been doing it a really, really, really long time. When you're pregnant, you don't always want to create content. Like there are just eras where you're like, this isn't my era. And then you're like, this is my era. So like, it's okay to have those eras. I have, you know, a company on the side I can run over here. But like, I think while it's still working, I like to keep it, keep the engine going.

• 1:03:31Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I think that people like you and I have a really unique perspective to give a message to brands that are listening to this. And I made a very controversial video that has been spun out on LinkedIn so much where I was like, the three frames in a story set is not working. I can tell you that as a creator and I can tell you that as an investor, like, it is actually causing people to skip through all of your messaging. And I'm actually really happy I posted. I think it has half a million views now. And I've had a lot of brands reach out to me and be like, how do you suggest that we then work with creators or influencers? Because that's the playbook that we were given. I'm not sure who made it up, but like, it's just what we were passed along. So if there was one rule that you could switch with the unique position that you have, that every brand could listen to to do better creator influencer deals, what would it be?

• 1:04:16Speaker 02

  Well, I think I would just have a call with the creator and say, I mean, it's actually really simple because they already know what's worked. They the proof is in the pudding. They could show you what works for them. I don't think there's like, I know it's like hard when you're working with so many different creators as a brand. But I think if you could like invest more in the creator you're working with and say, show me what's going to work and tell me and like really listen to them, like, the post is going to do much better. It's probably going to go more viral. Like, the benefit will just be so much deeper and feel more organic. What would you say?

• 1:04:46Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Mine would be the three story frames.

• 1:04:47Speaker 02

  No, but like you, you're saying to get rid of this.

• 1:04:49Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yeah, I would say that the brand.

• 1:04:51Speaker 02

  What would you say to?

• 1:04:52Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I would say to the brand, like, we need to have an organic partnership over the span of a month long, where there's going to be certain posts that go out. But like this. Three right after one another, like when you're talking about a lip product, like how if you were to organically post a lip product, you would post probably one story and be like, there you go. And then you might post it again of like, oh, what's in my bag? Or maybe at the end of the month, you do an empties like that is what people actually want. And it's funny because I made a decision like, I don't really ever. Maybe I post five to 10 like standout PR packages a month when they're delivered to me. Because I think the packaging's great, or I think that like, there's been amazing startups that listen to this show that send me something. And I'm like, they can actually use my influence in this now.

• 1:05:36Speaker 02

  Right.

• 1:05:37Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But I like to save my product. What's the word I'm looking for like affirmation to when I've actually used the product?

• 1:05:45Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:05:47Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But I still think it's so interesting that like, we feel the pressure as creators. Like as soon as you get the package, it's like you have to post it, but we don't even know if we like it yet. Or how could we talk to our audience in an organic way?

• 1:05:57Speaker 02

  Right.

• 1:05:58Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So I do think that that relationship is shifting a lot. And we as the creator entrepreneurs that see both sides have that unique ability to like, share with the other brands that just don't seem to be giving that, given that insight.

• 1:06:10Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah.

• 1:06:11Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Do you think that we as these like nimble, scrappy entrepreneurs have a unique advantage? Even over these big brands that have these huge budgets because of how we get these insights directly from our customer?

• 1:06:24Speaker 02

  Yeah, I think a thousand percent. I think sometimes there's just so much money being wasted and like, not enough thought being put behind things. I mean, I have worked with big mega brands who I'm like, you're actually ruining the product by doing it this way. Because they're not, but they're not even taking the time to look at it. And there's too many people to like.

• 1:06:42Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yeah.

• 1:06:43Speaker 02

  You know, sometimes too many people. I'm like, we only have 20 people. That's why we can get things out quickly and like, you know, iterate past, but.

• 1:06:52Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Speaking of the data, is there the data behind the most widely used filter on Tezza?

• 1:06:58Speaker 02

  Uh huh. Yeah, of course.

• 1:06:59Maggie Sellers Reum?

  You sure?

• 1:07:00Speaker 02

  Yeah. It's always, it's part of it, you have to take with a grain of salt because it's the order that they're in, you know? So like vintage is first and vintage was the first love of the internet. So people love that filter so

• 1:07:16Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Still.

• 1:07:16Speaker 02

  Much and they still love it. And we have considered like taking it away, but people would lose it and it's used millions of times a day. You have to kind of look at like, okay, what are the premium users, people that are paying that have been around for a while? Even still vintage ends up in there, even though that's like a free filter. So it's really interesting, but even still, they say people come up to me on the street like, I just love vintage, can't live without it. It's almost like the original Coco, because now people love Coco, but like vintage was that before her.

• 1:07:46Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So for someone like me, I have taste, but sometimes where it's like the restaurant you were describing. I'm the owner of the restaurant. I know who to hire to pick the best candle. I know who to hire to put up the best drapes. I know who to hire to curate the music. I know the chef that I'm going to put in because I have the vision. But like, I can't pick out the curtains. I can't pick out the candle. Do you know the difference of what I'm saying? And so sometimes for me with social, I feel like, well, I actually don't know how to take the perfect flat layer. Like what filter to put on top of this image. But if there was data that I could see as to like what's trending or like what people are liking or saving the most. Like I would actually use that as a way to inform the way I'm going to edit my photos.

• 1:08:29Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 1:08:30Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Do you anticipate ever releasing that to the public?

• 1:08:33Speaker 02

  Yeah, like we do do kind of like recaps and things. And then even we'll share, you know, the tags of the week. And so you're kind of seeing like what people are using the most and how they're creating. Like that's a lot of art, social posting is happening, but it would be interesting to share that in app. We've thought about that, like how many times something was saved with that, that week or that month or something like that. Uh, would be interesting because I think the numbers are mind blowing. And so you might be like, I'm going to consider using that. But one thing we're really trying to work on is like, there's so much in the app that you can do. But like, you know, how do you get to all of it faster? Cause a lot of times people just use like what's first presented to them, which makes sense, you know?

• 1:09:14Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Can we do a little experiment?

• 1:09:16Speaker 02

  Are you going to make me edit your photo?

• 1:09:17Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yes.

• 1:09:18Speaker 02

  I knew it.

• 1:09:18Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay. So this is just a recent photo.

• 1:09:22Speaker 02

  So cute.

• 1:09:22Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I felt like it was very colorful and there was a lot of different things going on that we're gonna put the before and then we're actually gonna put the after in the episode so people can see.

• 1:09:32Speaker 02

  Okay, well, I mean, your aesthetic, like, what are we going for? Like, are we moody? Are we, what's?

• 1:09:36Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I'm not sure.

• 1:09:37Speaker 02

  You're not sure?

• 1:09:38Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So here's my problem, Tezza. I'm an ADHD, multi-hyphenate, ambidextrous, creative entrepreneur. I wake up every day and I'm like, who am I today? So like, I would say the biggest struggle with like the brand is that people are like, and who are you in this moment? Whereas I don't think I have a specific aesthetic.

• 1:09:58Speaker 02

  I think you do.

• 1:09:59Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay, well, maybe you can share a little bit more about what you think it is.

• 1:10:03Speaker 02

  I'm gonna, I'm gonna assess, I'm gonna give it a breakdown. I think I like, or at least I see what it is, like, where it could go.

• 1:10:10Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:10:12Speaker 02

  But I mean, you're crushing it, is kind of what I'm saying. Because I think you're, it's more clear than you think.

• 1:10:17Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Perfect. Okay, I've been working with Claude, so.

• 1:10:21Speaker 02

  How's it going?

• 1:10:23Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I think he's making some improvements, but I was like, I need to get the queen of creativity and image and taste in here and see what she thinks.

• 1:10:29Speaker 02

  I know, because this is like, this is a very like fun image. Like, you could go like really fun, you could go filmy, or you could go like moody, you could go chic, like, I don't know, I don't know, so.

• 1:10:37Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Let's go whatever you think the brand image is that I'm creating, like, you do that one.

• 1:10:42Speaker 02

  Okay, okay.

• 1:10:43Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yeah.

• 1:10:44Speaker 02

  Okay, I like it.

• 1:10:47Maggie Sellers Reum?

  This is why I feel like you would be the best party guest, because people are just like, Tezza, I need your help.

• 1:10:53Speaker 02

  I mean, I love to help, so I'm here. I'm here for the girls, like, you know, what can I say?

• 1:10:59Maggie Sellers Reum?

  How long does it take you to edit a photo?

• 1:11:04Speaker 02

  I mean, I'm either quick or I'm taking a really long time because I'm trying different things. I'm trying to find something new, you know?

• 1:11:10Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:11:11Speaker 02

  Some things aren't requiring that. Like Easter, I knew exactly how I was gonna edit the second I put it in, for example. But like yesterday, I went to an event and like, we could go like really chic and classy, we could go like really fun and punchy. So, you know, I don't know.

• 1:11:24Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So you think about editing your photos as a photo, not as your grid?

• 1:11:29Speaker 02

  Okay, I don't think about my grid anymore, which is crazy. My, I used to be like, hyper focused on my grid. And like, making sure it was all cohesive, but I am all aesthetics now, essentially, and I can make them all work together in different ways, cuz you know, that's how my brain works also. So I've, I've released my grid, I will say.

• 1:11:56Speaker 02

  Which is kinda

• 1:11:56Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But it's so interesting because I would still look at you and think you have a cohesive grid.

• 1:12:03Speaker 02

  I don't even think about the grid, I'll be honest. I mean, I think about it, I wish I could like, spend more time on it, but like, I don't make sure everything's going together.

• 1:12:13Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:12:13Speaker 02

  There's no time for that anymore.

• 1:12:14Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:12:15Speaker 02

  And I don't think anyone's really, I don't go and look at other people's grids unless you're like new, like it's someone new coming the first time, you're, you're looking at those top nine or, you know, 20, but you're not going deeper than that.

• 1:12:27Maggie Sellers Reum?

  But see, the way that I think about Instagram, and I think it's actually important for people with their personal brand, which is just important nowadays, is like, it's your magazine cover.

• 1:12:35Speaker 02

  Well, for sure. I mean, I'm thinking about the grid in terms of like aesthetics, it all has to like, be gorgeous and go together, but I'm not like, I guess I'm thinking of like, 2018 grid, and that was like, psychotic. So, I'm, I'm more talking about that.

• 1:12:51Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay. Because I think that like, when I was working with Claude on my personal brand, when, before I started making some changes, it was like, your grid is basically saying, "Look at my achievements." Like, this is like, there was nothing about who you were, and like, you have a business that you can put all of that on. Your personal grid needs to show like, what do you do? Who are you? What is your energy? Like, how, how, what are people gonna expect from you? And I had never really asked myself those questions, and so it was actually very helpful to do that exercise, and Claude roasted my grid and was like, "This is embarrassing." Like, that is a word that they used. But I think it was a good reminder that it's like, this is the way that the world sees you. They go to your grid and they make an assumption about you, whether it's right or whether it's wrong.

• 1:13:36Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:13:37Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So there does need to be some emphasis on it.

• 1:13:39Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, I'm definitely, trust, I'm thinking about every photo, the first, that's what I'm saying, like, I'm storytelling, thinking about the first photo, like, what someone's gonna click on and why, I'm, I'm thinking about all of that. But as far as like, colors go, or like, spacing, I've released that, that great thing. But I do think it is Your website, essentially. So whatever you want people to know, they gotta know it right when they come.

• 1:14:02Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:14:03Speaker 02

  I agree with that.

• 1:14:04Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:14:04Speaker 02

  Claude is right.

• 1:14:05Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Right? Okay, well, let's do this photo.

• 1:14:07Speaker 02

  Okay, well, okay, I gotta get back to it. I'm doing a little HSL. I gotta change some tones.

• 1:14:14Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Wow, this is so cool watching you do this.

• 1:14:17Speaker 02

  I mean, it's strange lighting in this McDonald's. Is that where we are?

• 1:14:20Maggie Sellers Reum?

  We're at McDonald's.

• 1:14:21Speaker 02

  What is this for? For fun?

• 1:14:23Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Well, so I got a Spotify, actually just bought me a billboard for the podcast.

• 1:14:27Speaker 02

  Stop. Oh, my gosh, congrats.

• 1:14:29Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Thank you. And so we went and saw it two days ago, and we actually just posted it today. This I did not put in the dump because I couldn't edit it in time. But I just thought it was fun. I love a Diet Coke. We just went to McDonald's after, and I was like, this just does show my personality, where it's like this professional business podcast, but we're going to McDonald's in like Gucci 2010 sunglasses and getting four Diet Cokes for my team.

• 1:14:53Speaker 02

  No, I love it.

• 1:14:54Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Right?

• 1:14:54Speaker 02

  It's so cute. I mean, I could sit here and edit this all day. It's a lot of pressure when it's someone else's picture, you know? I gotta get the skin tone right. I gotta take out some of the blue.

• 1:15:05Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay. Oh, so you're not even doing a filter over top. You're like editing.

• 1:15:08Speaker 02

  I am, and then I'm also, you know, I think HSL is the most undervalued tool.

• 1:15:13Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:15:13Speaker 02

  Because, like, for example, these are just too blue in the background. So I'm going in, I'm clicking the blue, I'm taking out the saturation of that a little bit.

• 1:15:20Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Love that.

• 1:15:21Speaker 02

  Because your phone is also kind of almost editing for you. It's like thinking it is, it's making something better or worse.

• 1:15:27Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:15:28Speaker 02

  And so you kind of have to either undo that or like to actually even make it feel more like the reality that you were living in.

• 1:15:34Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:15:34Speaker 02

  You know?

• 1:15:34Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yes.

• 1:15:35Speaker 02

  That's my perspective.

• 1:15:35Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:15:36Speaker 02

  So.

• 1:15:36Maggie Sellers Reum?

  This is all things I did not know.

• 1:15:38Speaker 02

  Sometimes I do a few versions, you know?

• 1:15:40Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:15:41Speaker 02

  She's like.

• 1:15:42Maggie Sellers Reum?

  And then do you copy the presets ever over to another photo?

• 1:15:45Speaker 02

  Always, yeah.

• 1:15:46Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:15:46Speaker 02

  That's usually like my, I sit with one photo for a while, paste it on a few, see if it's like working, and make my final edit and then paste it over.

• 1:15:55Maggie Sellers Reum?

  And how do you organize your photos?

• 1:15:58Speaker 02

  Albums, but they've ru- I mean, they've ruined it. You can't search your albums anymore. You can only search like collections.

• 1:16:05Maggie Sellers Reum?

  See, I even find editing such a crazy process because let's say we, someone takes a hundred photos of me, which is not that crazy to get one good one.

• 1:16:12Speaker 02

  Not at all.

• 1:16:12Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So let's just be honest, it's like four hundred photos to get one good one.

• 1:16:16Speaker 02

  Uh huh.

• 1:16:16Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Um, right?

• 1:16:18Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:16:18Maggie Sellers Reum?

  And then you favorite, let's say eight, then you have to go in, you have to edit all of them. Then like you need to switch around the presets and now you have fifty different photos and no way to organize which one you actually wanted to choose.

• 1:16:31Speaker 02

  I usually, like, once I saved all the ones with the edits that I like, then I just put them in Instagram and start like rearranging and that's kind of how I, I don't know.

• 1:16:39Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:16:41Speaker 02

  But you can also favorite with Intesa, so like, you could like, you know.

• 1:16:44Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yeah.

• 1:16:44Speaker 02

  Okay, you know, you're on the, you know, a lot of people don't know.

• 1:16:46Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I'm a subscriber, girlie.

• 1:16:49Speaker 02

  Okay, this would be like if I was just doing a subtle chill, chill edit, but like I could go harder.

• 1:16:55Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Love.

• 1:16:56Speaker 02

  You know.

• 1:16:56Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yeah, because it's, it can go with everything. Like you took away all of the really intense colors.

• 1:17:02Speaker 02

  Like it was almost just like, I, if I were editing that for me, I would go like, fill me and make it like a little more like.

• 1:17:08Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So you did Coco?

• 1:17:09Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:17:09Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay. Yeah, I see this. Okay. Okay. Tezza, rapid fire.

• 1:17:16Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 1:17:16Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Are you ready?

• 1:17:17Speaker 02

  I'm ready.

• 1:17:19Maggie Sellers Reum?

  What is the last thing you put on your credit card?

• 1:17:22Speaker 02

  I bought my husband a piece of art for, we just, for our new house.

• 1:17:27Maggie Sellers Reum?

  You bought a new house?

• 1:17:28Speaker 02

  Yeah. What you did.

• 1:17:30Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Wait, congratulations. Have you moved?

• 1:17:32Speaker 02

  No, hopefully this summer.

• 1:17:34Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Oh my God, this isn't, are you building it?

• 1:17:36Speaker 02

  No, but we're doing like renovations. It's been a whole situation. So we're, we're very excited, but it's like been a long time coming.

• 1:17:44Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Oh my God. Okay. I was about to ask, what's the last most expensive thing you put on your credit card? But would that be it?

• 1:17:48Speaker 02

  It would be the house. Well, I don't, did I put it on a credit card out of there? But yeah, the house was, yeah.

• 1:17:54Maggie Sellers Reum?

  You can only pick one Tezza filter to use for the rest of your life.

• 1:17:58Speaker 02

  I mean, I'm just gonna have to go with, of what everyone else would say, but Coco. I think Coco just always works.

• 1:18:05Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Is that your most used?

• 1:18:07Speaker 02

  My personal most used? I always mix it with like a film effect. So I'm like mixing it on top of other things, but it's always kind of at the base.

• 1:18:15Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay. I would say it's very iconic, even the way you edit your photos. Like even my husband, who like doesn't know this stuff, was looking at your photos today and zooming in. He's like, oh, you can really tell that there's something going on here. Thank you. What is the first app you open in the morning?

• 1:18:29Speaker 02

  Instagram.

• 1:18:32Maggie Sellers Reum?

  You're an Instagram girlie.

• 1:18:33Speaker 02

  I'm an Instagram girlie through and through. Yeah.

• 1:18:35Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Do you like TikTok?

• 1:18:37Speaker 02

  I do like it. I can't consume it for very long.

• 1:18:41Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:18:42Speaker 02

  My brain's just, I gotta protect.

• 1:18:44Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Yeah.

• 1:18:45Speaker 02

  But I mean, if it was your video that came up, yeah.

• 1:18:48Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay.

• 1:18:48Speaker 02

  You know?

• 1:18:49Maggie Sellers Reum?

  What's the filter everyone's going to be using this summer?

• 1:18:53Speaker 02

  Well, it's coming out in about a month, so.

• 1:18:56Maggie Sellers Reum?

  What's it called? Can you say?

• 1:18:57Speaker 02

  It is not named yet. I usually name it once it's kind of finalized, so.

• 1:19:03Maggie Sellers Reum?

  How do you go through the naming process?

• 1:19:05Speaker 02

  It's sometimes it's inspired by like what it's gonna be used on or, you know, like what the experience is that we're like shooting the campaign about or anything like that. But if it's something that's going like, for example, a film effect, a lot of times they're inspired by like an actual film or, you know, certain, certain things. So we'll like take inspo from that. It's kind of a wide range of inspo.

• 1:19:30Speaker 02

  You can name our next one. I'll call you.

• 1:19:32Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Love that. I'll put on my creative hat. Okay, you can only take one of these for the rest of your life? Travel photos or home photos?

• 1:19:40Speaker 02

  Home photos. Did I, really? I don't know. That came out quick, but I think I, I think I would change to travel photos. I don't know why I said home photos. Am I, I actually have no idea why I said that first. I think right now I'm so home obsessed. All I'm thinking about is home, home, home, this new house. Like, I just can't stop. But no.

• 1:19:59Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Amazing.

• 1:20:00Speaker 02

  Travel photos.

• 1:20:01Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I do these things every day called HSR love notes, which is basically a way to retrain my, retrain my toxic brain.

• 1:20:07Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 1:20:07Maggie Sellers Reum?

  So it's like an affirmation. So my, as an example, would be like, your voice has value, your haters don't pay your bills. My opinion matters. If you could only say one HSR love note to yourself for the rest of your life, what would it be?

• 1:20:20Speaker 02

  It's kind of been, I guess, maybe the same forever, but feel the fear and do it anyway. Like, we just grew up saying that in my house and it's always been like the way I've gotten over the fear of like trying to do something new and putting myself out there or whatever it is, so.

• 1:20:34Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I love that. Okay, last one. If you could title this season of your life, what would it be called?

• 1:20:41Speaker 02

  The art of chaos. I think.

• 1:20:45Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I love, of course it had art in it. I'm obsessed.

• 1:20:48Speaker 02

  Well, you know, the art of life, but now it's just like the art of chaos, but like it's still, you know.

• 1:20:53Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I love it. Tezza Barton, thank you so much for coming on HSR. Where can people find you and how can HSR help you?

• 1:20:59Speaker 02

  Oh my gosh. Well, you're, you're helping me already. Um, but you can find me on Instagram, teza.barton. You can find the app, which is just at Tezza. You can find the app in the App Store. Tezza. Tezza, shoptezza.com. You can find all the goods, all the things.

• 1:21:16Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Okay. And we have one final thing for you as an early birthday gift. So happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Tezza. Happy birthday to you. Oh my God, let me take a picture of this. This is so cute. Isn't the cake so cute?

• 1:21:38Speaker 02

  You guys.

• 1:21:38Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Like what filter would this go on?

• 1:21:41Speaker 02

  Oh, I would do like a little class, which is in the film.

• 1:21:45Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Let's take a little video of you blowing it out.

• 1:21:47Speaker 02

  Okay, ready?

• 1:21:51Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Perfection. And we made it match your shirt.

• 1:21:53Speaker 02

  No, it's literally perfect.

• 1:21:54Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Oh my God. You have to take it home with your family.

• 1:21:56Speaker 02

  So nice.

• 1:21:57Maggie Sellers Reum?

  Thank you so much for coming on.

• 1:21:58Speaker 02

  Oh, thanks for having me.

• 1:21:58Maggie Sellers Reum?

  I had the best time. I have to tell you something before you go. It is your time to own the room. There is something special that we've been putting together after these incredible conversations in season two. So you can learn what these women are doing when they walk in and own the room. We've packaged up all of these learnings and we are going to be releasing it, but to gain access, you have to sign up to the newsletter. So you're going to visit hsrowntheroom.com to sign up and get access so that you can own the room.

• 1:22:36Maggie Sellers Reum?

  If you're starting a business, there are certain things that are so fun to think about. Y'all know I love a mood board, so everything that relates to the creative, the name, the brand, the website, the vision board. But then there are the things that make you pause and ask, "Am I even doing this correctly, or do I even want to be doing this?" Like forming your business, getting the right documents, keeping your personal information private. This is where our sponsor, Northwest Registered Agent, is so helpful. They're a one-stop shop for founders who want to launch and legitimize their business without turning it into a giant admin spiral. They help you form an LLC or a corporation, act as your registered agent, and give you tools like a business address, operating agreement, website, phone number, professional email, and free guides.

• 1:23:19Maggie Sellers Reum?

  They also have real corporate guides who know your local laws. Visit northwestregisteredagent.com/hsrfree and start using free resources to build something amazing. Get more with Northwest Registered Agent at northwestregisteredagent.com/hsrfree.

• 1:23:40Speaker 04

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