Chillhouse CEO Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton Talks Sexism in the Workplace
If you haven't been to NYC hotspot Chillhouse yet, we strongly urge you to do so as soon as you can. The Big Apple hardly seems like the place most go to relax, which is exactly why the city was more than ready for the cafe-spa to come in and revolutionize the industry.
The brain behind the brand is none other than famed entrepreneur Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton, who was already the founder of blog Taste the Style and a co-partner in the The Garret Bar, Dinnertable, and Dullboy before opening her new zen Lower East Side space.
What sets Chillhouse apart is the fact that it offers up "chill" in three steps: a cool cafe space that delivers on delicious drinks, a minimal area for manicures that can be as pared-down or as artsy as you'd like, and a tranquil, tucked-in location for massages. And in case you were wondering how it's faring with New Yorkers and the social media world at large, the brand is growing steadily with almost 40K Instagram followers.
And that isn't Ramirez-Fulton's only endeavor, as she's also been tapped as one of the newest faces of Fossil's latest "Fossil Firsts" series: she stars alongside fellow entrepreneurs Mark Bustos and Camille Becerra in the brand's newest round of images. We caught up with Cyndi about Chillhouse's first foray into e-commerce, how she still deals with chauvinistic men at business meetings, and the women of color-owned businesses she's inspired by right now.
1/3Teen Vogue: You've done collaborations and have worked with other brands. What's the story behind how you got connected with Fossil and why are they a brand you chose to partner with?
Cyndi Ramirez: I do get a lot of opportunities, which is really awesome. It definitely revved up for me when we launched Chillhouse. Working at a company like this brings a lot of opportunities, a lot of press, and a lot of brand partnership possibilities, so that kind of landed in my inbox. At the time, I had become pretty strict about only working with certain brands because I do have an influencer background as a blogger. I didn't want to work with brands just to promote their products. When I opened up Chillhouse, I wanted to be very focused about who I worked with, making sure not to saturate my followers with things that wouldn't matter to them.
Fossil was a great partnership because they really wanted to share my story and what I was about. They really wanted to put my business on a worldwide lens, which is something that I haven't ever had really. It's pretty awesome that my friends who are in Istanbul and Germany are telling me, "I saw you in a store and on a poster in the middle of nowhere". They're also highlighting two other entrepreneurs, so it's important for me to see who else I was included with in the campaign. I'm a big fan of Camille and I met Marc through the Fossil campaign. I thought it was really cool that they were highlighting people in their work element. I feel like it's what defines me in totality these days unfortunately. Fossil is also such a classic heritage brand which I feel that everyone has a soft spot for, along with being very popular. Just the recognition alone is really awesome.
TV: You mentioned the launch of Chillhouse briefly, so I'd love for you talk about your brand's beginnings and where it is now. I know you also launched its editorial component, The Chill Times, recently. And where do you think you might be going next?
CR: When we first launched, we saw a big void in the spa industry and relaxation space. My general story of how it started was that my husband and I were trying to get massages and our options were so split. Either we could get a cheap, almost kind of seedy service or we could go to high-end luxury spas. There wasn't something in the middle that really spoke to us from a branding perspective, with their interiors, and as a total vibe. When you go get massages, there are often bells and chimes, and I was thinking, "Where's the fun hip hop?" The first obvious step was the thought that there needs to be a space like this. We never thought past that and when we launched, we then thought, "Let's see how this does".
We opened Chillhouse up and the trifecta is really great for us because it's the evolution of how you chill. You start by drinking something and settling into a space. Then your nails. For me, nails are always the first way I relax: it's a weekly ritual for me and I think most women agree with that or can relate to that. Even if I do my nails myself, it's very meditative and is the moment of me doing something for myself. It's also a creative practice and the fact that we have a nail art lookbook allows us to inject our brand into the nails of all these customers, so that's where the nail element came in. The massages are the ultimate form of relaxation and pampering yourself. So, that's why we have all three.
But as time went on and we started listening to our customers, Instagram folllowers, and our intuition really, we decided we wanted to go 360 degrees with Chillhouse. The next natural step was doing an editorial site for a couple reasons. It's a way for our community, customers, and anyone really to engage with our brand in a non-paid perspective. You don't have to come to Chillhouse to enjoy it in one way, shape, or form. You can still get the vibe and do something for yourself: it's like free self-care essentially. I also had a site called Taste The Style and I was figuring out what to do with it around December. I either had to sell it or shut it down and I didn't really know what to do. So, essentially we acquired it into Chillhouse and that was like my gift to the company. We moved over all of our assets, all of our traffic, and all of our contributors. We're still growing that. The ultimate goal is that we're going to be launching e-commerce. We'll be selling our goods and other brands' goods. Our goal is to become a full-fledged, 360 brand that has multiple locations one day and a strong online presence.
2/3TV: Entrepreneurship is on the rise with millennials and with Gen-Z. Most of the former generation is already freelancing and there's definitely a pervasive do-it-yourself mindset. But the reality is that owning your own business or working for yourself is hard. Do you have any advice for young people who are thinking about starting their own business, but aren't sure and also aren't certain of where to start?
CR: I think community building is really important and it's something we try to keep top of mind for Chillhouse. We're essentially growing a big community already with our membership program and then with The Chill Times. I feel like I always say "find your tribe" but it is really important to find people who are on the same journey as you so you can use them as a resource when it comes to getting advice. It's also crucial to find people who are a little bit more ahead of the game than you and I know it's often hard for young people and those who are just starting out to find a mentor. That person may be your boss though. I still keep in touch with all my former interns. It's really important to intern, get yourself out there, and start building those relationships with your peers inside that work environment.
Entrepreneurship is something that's hard to know if you want to do right out the gate, so it's important to still try other jobs and learn about the things you need to know to start a business. Then you can decide when you're ready. Jumping right into it…I mean you won't have all the answers unless you're partnering with someone that does have experience. That is a good way to start as well. It's safer. But if someone thinks they have the solution to a problem with a product that has never existed and they went to school for product development, go right ahead. Also, partner with people who have started a business before and pitch people who are amazing and who could be your president and your CEO. There are different kinds of entrepreneurs out there. It's not so cut and dry: it isn't a once-size-fits-all kind of space at all.
TV: You're also a woman entrepreneur and a woman of color. Women of color are starting the most new businesses: black women specifically.
CR: I love to hear that.
TV: It's amazing and makes sense, especially when you think of these women being ignored for such a long time and finally getting the space to create. Just wondering about the challenges you've faced along your career journey based on these intersections of your identity and how you've overcome those obstacles. How are you continuing to instill confidence in yourself?
CR: I come from both a fashion and a hospitality background and I never felt that I fit in when it came to either space. For hospitality, I didn't see a space in which I could grow. I loved the community and the people I met there, but there wasn't a space for me to really excel and continue learning because I didn't want to go into management. In fashion, I didn't graduate so that put a psychological block on how I presented myself in the industry and to the people who were hiring in human resources because I didn't know that I had it in me. I didn't have that degree so I felt that I didn't deserve a job. That plus it was impossible to get an interview or I wouldn't apply because the qualifications stipulated that you must have a college degree. It's a requirement on every fashion application and I'm not a liar. I hate lying. My husband's like, "Just fake it 'til you make it" and I couldn't. It makes me feel really uncomfortable to act like I know more than I do. So, I didn't go after a lot of things that I really wanted to do for that reason.
My journey really started in my late twenties when I worked for this woman, Liza. She had a concept and design business that wasn't full-fledged and it wasn't something that I had ever seen before. I was really excited about watching someone grow a company from the ground up. So, I became her first hire and I really took a lot of that time to figure out where I belonged in the space based on all the things I did for her. It was really easy for me to pinpoint the areas of the business I hated and thus adjusting my focus. It allowed me to figure out where I belonged. As far as being a woman of color, she even admitted that she came close to not hiring me because she thought I was too stylish and cute for the job.
I think there are a lot of perceptional things I've been dodging my whole life. I may not look like I belong at these real estate meetings with these white men who are buttoned up with their suits and ties: that isn't me. They never look at me first; they always look at my husband first. I still deal with that, but you've just got to realize this is the nature of the business. I'm not going to internalize it. It's the way this business is and it's antiquated and it's BS, but I always remind them that I'm the freaking boss. I'm the one who makes the final decisions when it comes to where we're opening our next location. That's something I'm currently still dealing with now. Women have to deal with so much of the same crap they dealt with in the past. I grew up working in nightclubs, bars, and restaurants, dealing with chauvinistic men. I kind of brush it under the rug now because I've been so exposed to it my whole life.
3/3TV: What fashion and beauty brands are you looking at right now who are doing cool and innovative things?
CR: As far as beauty brands, I really love what NOTO is doing. I think we're going to carry her brand in our shop and she's based in LA. She's very inclusive and her branding is on point. I think she's all-natural and non-toxic.
For fashion, I love Nanushka, and Cult Gaia is doing a wonderful job, of course. Nanushka was under the radar for awhile, but now she's blowing up. Other really awesome wellness companies that I feel people should be on the lookout for...GOLDE is one. She was actually our GM here before she was the founder of her company. She has her turmeric-blend business which she ended up naming GOLDE. We don't carry it right now, but we did. She just signed with Sephora and the company is only about a year old. I'm really proud of her. She's a black woman from Upstate New York who went to NYU and she's so smart. She's definitely got an amazing thing going and I love finding brands that are still super young, so I can help them get out there.
And this isn't style but have you heard of Celsious? Just thinking along the lines of brands run by women of color. We just did a recap of a few brands that we really like and Celsious was one of them. It's more of a store, but it's actually a modern-day laundromat in Williamsburg. I told them you guys are freaking geniuses. I thought it was a really cool business concept and it's obvious. I thought, "How hasn't this happened yet?" The same way we're trying to revolutionize the spa industry because it is antiquated in a lot of ways, is the same thing they're doing with the laundromat business. So many people in Williamsburg don't have laundry in their buildings, so they could essentially open up everywhere.
TV: And you have to spend a lot of time there because you can't just leave your clothes.
CR: Exactly and you want to spend your time someplace that's nice with decent lighting. They're really doing something cool. And Circumference, they just launched. I'm obsessed with their products and packaging. The few things I've tested from them have been really, really good.
