Underrepresented: ADHD is my Fashion Innovation Superpower with Melissa Chung

Founder of Krippit Paris, a 3D-printed fashion accessories startup, Melissa Chung shares her journey as an underrepresented founder turning a personal problem into a business innovation. She discusses entrepreneurship, the resilience required to thrive as a woman in the finance industry, and the importance of representation for female founders. As a Canadian immigrant in France, she has learned that innovation has no language barrier—great ideas transcend language. Melissa also emphasizes taking the “dis” out of disability, turning what can be seen as a disadvantage into a personal advantage. She highlights how community engagement, mentorship, and advocacy for ADHD and learning differences can empower other underrepresented founders to succeed in innovation-driven businesses.

Breaking Barriers in Fashion & Finance:
  • From finance to fashion – transforming women’s daily struggle in high heels into innovation.
• High heel protectors – tackling a problem women face daily in professional settings.
• ADHD as an advantage – turning challenges into entrepreneurial strengths.
• Advocacy & education – supporting those with ADHD by transforming passions into successful businesses

Connect with Melissa: www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-cs/details/experience/

Visit Krippit: krippit.com

--------
The show is recorded from Beyond Form, a fashion tech innovation platform. We build, invest, and educate fashion tech entrepreneurs and startups. We’d love to hear your feedback, so let us know if you’d like to hear a certain topic. Email us at podcast@beyondform.io. If you’re an entrepreneur or fashion tech startup looking for studio support, check out our website: beyondform.io

Transcript

Beatrice: 0:00

Hello, I'm Beatrice Newman. We're doing something a little different for this series and I'll be your host instead of your usual host, Peter. This is the Underrepresented Entrepreneur Series. Being a Black female founder myself, I know how hard it can be to do business in London. This series tells the stories of founders that have successfully navigated business where sometimes their backgrounds limit opportunities. In today's episode, we're joined by Melissa Cheung, founder of Krippit, whose journey shows that innovation has no language barrier. From being the person of difference in a room full of blue suits to challenging perceptions and encouraging us to take the dis out of disability, Melissa's story is one of courage, creativity, and action. She reminds us that sometimes the best thing you can do is to stop overthinking and just do it. But what if the very thing that fuels your boldest moves is also to challenge you navigate every day melissa opens up about how living with adhd has become her superpower

Melissa: 1:08

i wasn't diagnosed till i was almost 21 much later in life and i think today it's taboo that still not spoke about as much i really truly believe that misunderstood there should be the right tools in place to help i always say let's take out the dis in disability and focus on the ability one of the doctors mentions like having adhd is like having a ferrari Let's

Beatrice: 1:36

get this conversation going with Melissa on today's episode of Venturing into Fashion Tech. Hi, Melissa. Thanks for joining us today. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself? Sure. Thank you, Beatrice, for

Melissa: 1:48

having me. My name is Melissa Chung. I'm the founder of Crip It Paris. And I came to France about five years ago to start my journey. My background is in finance. I also have a master's in law. And today I know we're going to explore some topics about diversity and women founders. So I'm excited to talk. you a bit more about that.

Beatrice: 2:07

Cripit is a really interesting name for a business because you give us just a little bit more of a background on what Cripit is so our audience understand where we're going with it.

Melissa: 2:16

I know some people will be listening in and for those I can see, and I'm going to do a demonstration. Cripit is actually a 3D printed high heel protector here. So for those listening in, it's For all the women that struggle walking in their high heels, think about cobblestone, grass, et cetera. My product actually fixes that problem. We call it a multi-fit high heel protector. There's a silicone insert and you put it at the bottom of your high heels so that you can get from A to B without having to carry or switch another pair of shoes. It's provide comfort and style for every woman who loves heels. And it also helps you from, I would say, getting into, we call it the sticky situations, which many of my call leagues when I'm in finance had suffered from, including injuries, etc. So this is what Crip It's about. It's my invention. And that's what's brought me to my journey here in France. I

Beatrice: 3:09

love that. Well, let's get into your journey, right? So how do you, first of all, go from being a financial advisor to starting your own 3D printed accessory business? In finance,

Melissa: 3:22

women wearing high heels is A must. It was part of our uniform every day. I saw so many women, you know, we're trying to wear their power suit. We're trying to juggle all the, I would say, you know, being women as a minority in the financial industry still. In my MBA class, 12% were women and the rest were men. And we had so many disadvantages, I'm going to say. For one thing, I literally have this picture of my classmates. There was a networking event. For our class, all the women were stuck on one side of the grass because it's an outdoor event. Our heels were getting stuck in the grass while the men were networking the whole entire room. We're like, how is this at disadvantage? And not even that. There's so many times where, you know, including my own mother who suffered a detrimental jaw fracture after her high heel was caught in a sewage grate. I was, you know, I was also wondering how come there is no great solution out there, including, as I mentioned, in finance. I had many colleagues actually that would break their heels and Our lunch break would be we have to look for another pair of heels. So not only is it costly, but it's also, I would say, a danger. But, you know, I was trying to solve a problem. I started I came up with the idea in my MBA class. I said, you know, women, let's try to figure out a problem. And through rapid prototyping, turn to 3D printing because Cornell University is a very strong and I would say engineering industry. And they really pushed us to, you know, say it does not have to be perfect. I mean, I defaulted to 3D printing as a quick, rapid prototyping experience to help sort of, how do I tape this up? Imagine, envision what could look like my final product. And slowly we evolved from there. But that's actually how I went into both 3D printing. I was bringing, you know, both fashion and function together. And that's how

Beatrice: 5:07

Cribbit was formed. I really love how you've taken a very unfortunate spin to how women in the financial world, potentially in law and I guess other business sectors, in the ways in which they have to dress and you've really put a positive spin on it in supporting, I guess, the comfortability of it and just... managing some of the negativity that comes with having to wear heels because it's not necessarily formed to support the day-to-day working and it's not necessarily what people would see as a practical shoe but it's a shoe that really goes with that outfit and just gives you that that edge, that power, right? How do you do it? Because I'm not a heel type of girl. Like I have to have trainers in my bag or flashes, right? And are trends actually changing? Wearing

Melissa: 5:55

heels, I would always say is like training. In fact, we sold quite a bit to some grad classes because a lot of these graduations, especially in the US, they would have been on grass, not just because heels are part of the style, unless you're in fashion. And even when you go to work, Canada's Bay Street, but in the US it's Wall Street, you're often having to, as they say, carrier switch. And yes, women in finance, we are a minority. I think for myself, it's that resiliency, right? I'm working in a male-dominated industry. I went even in my class, as I mentioned, the 12%. And so how do we face this? My product is about how do I make women's lives a little bit easier by something small, something we can keep to ourselves. I am not great in heels either. And there's so many times where I had these cotton sewage grates and whatnot. But yes, ever since I invented my product, it's one less little thing off my mind. We're supposed to network after work with all the men. Myself and my other female colleagues had had times where we stayed back because we were saying, we're wearing these and we showed them our heels. So I'm just saying, how is it a limitation, our own uniform, what we wear to our own careers in a already male-dominated industry? So I think that the resilience of trying to solve that problem, it's always been a challenge in general, but I really enjoy the challenge of it. And it keeps me going, I think, because I said, if not now, when? I think

Beatrice: 7:20

it's brilliant that from just one problem that you've resolved an idea on, which is just getting your heels stuck in grass, right, or in the cracks in the to because of the flat area of the sort of Cricut 3D extension, it actually helps make the heels more comfortable that That's absolutely phenomenal. And it's such a small thing, but it's a significant thing. So, I mean, bravo on creating that for your business. But coming back down to even having to wear heels, again, no shade to women who love to wear heels because I do. And I understand its significance in re-elevating your posture and the outfit. It's just hard wearing. And I think psychologically, sometimes you just want to be able to turn up to work and not worry about how I look, but just be revered for how you do the work. So how do get over that psychological issue when working with men in such a very demanding industry like finance?

Melissa: 8:16

I know that with COVID, everyone was working from home and a lot of the trends have changed because of that. But that's also brought up opportunities, right, for me. But those years of also women, I've been told, not wearing heels have also made it difficult. Like you mentioned, be a dress for yourself. So I've been told my product has also helped bring back that confidence when you're first going back and having to wear your heels to work. Again, it's that little secret weapon. It doesn't enhance. It's just to make your life easier and more comfortable, right? And that's so that we can, as women, I would say, fiddle with our attire and be able to focus on what's at hand. And if it's like bringing a woman's opinion into a room, right, during a meeting or anything, especially I would say an MBA class, I think as women, we think in multiple dimensions, I'm going to say. So if I'm a minority in a situation via... female, be it, as I said, like a Chinese Canadian living in France right now, also a minority, I use it towards my advantage to tell my story. Because I like to say, especially if you have an idea, it's about you, yourself. If it's about innovation, innovation has no language barriers. So you use these elements to overcome any challenges that even if it's men or in the workplace or in life.

Beatrice: 9:37

Thank you for abbreviating on that. And I think that was really, really inspiring. So coming back down to your entrepreneurial journey, I'm curious, you being an expat in Paris from Canada, a Chinese female founder, a person with ADHD, how do all these elements define you as an entrepreneur and also as an individual?

Melissa: 9:59

This is where I went back to my language. I mean, innovation has no language barriers. And I'm saying this because like I'm still right now trying to grasp it. Let's call it a two level of French. However, I would say if you have an idea and you have a product or a business that is actually aligned with the marketplace, then that's when everything I would say language doesn't matter who you are. like what you look like from the outside, it doesn't matter, right? It's about you, your ideas and truly about not what you look like. If you're diagnosed with any ADHD or any other adversity, I think it's really important that people know that. But one of the elements, ADHD is actually attention disability. H has a hyperactivity and it's about basically For myself, I use it as a, I call it, it's an advantage. It helps me multitask in a, like I would say, in a more creative way than an average, I would say, person. Because the person with ADHD, like, you know, my father always says, you become more creative. You're always having to overcome some sort of challenge. You tend to work harder and you tend to even have more, we call it like fuel in you to do things. That's a bit about my background. But I think I always say when it comes down to ADHD, I wasn't diagnosed until I was almost 21, much later in life. And I think today it's taboo that still not spoke about as much. I'm a huge advocate because I'm also on several boards. I was a president for a chapter in Canada. I still sit on the board today forever. our province of Ontario. And I'm a high advocate because I really truly believe that it's misunderstood and there should be the right tools in place to help. Because instead of like, you know, labeling, I always say, let's take out the dis in disability and focus on the ability. So I'm really big about talking about that.

Beatrice: 12:02

I think that's lovely I really like how you take away the dis in ability because I think when you think about many different aspects and this is not to take away from the fact of many different types of disabilities that are named but even when you go into race and sex there are many disabilities there in how you are looked and so it means you have to work a lot more harder to understand the world around you and because you do you actually become a huge asset because you see the world differently and therefore you're able to come up with innovative ideas or solutions that actually support everybody, which I think is really great. And I wonder, you're a resilient person though, but have there been instances where even within your resilience, either your ADHD or even just your sex has changed? not allowed you to progress or do the things that you want to do.

Melissa: 13:00

Aside from, I would say, I call it the wardrobe limitations for women, which I'm solving. I think as a Canadian, the reason why I'm going to say that, you know, going to school in the United States has taught me a lot in terms of acceptance and diversity. So we categorize anyone with ADD or ADHD classified as a learning disability. And again, let's not focus on the word disability, let's call it ability. And I think that's a misnomer because also the definition of what it means to have a learning disability is also not known. You need to have above averaging functioning IQ to actually fall into that category. What people misunderstand some of the definitions is also what causes, I would say, these sort of taboos around the subject. So some of the challenges would definitely be, for example, I did help set precedents in the financial industry. So for example, I usually ask for a separate room to do all my licensing or any, like when I was writing my GMATs, for example. Don't be afraid to ask. I always tell people this. Don't be afraid to ask, and especially if the resources are there. If they're not there, go make it. So for the banking industry, I was the one that challenged some of the banks on the boards to change some of their accommodations for anybody that had dyslexia, nonverbal learning. So anyone with a learning disability in general. I really believe that we have the same to offer, if not more. Some prime examples are Richard Branson. He has ADD and he's a founder of Virgin. And he has been incredible. And he's an advocate of it too. And there's so many other examples like Michael Phelps. He's an Olympic swimmer. He has a huge brand. And he also needed a way to channel his energy, channel his talent. And just to elaborate on that, I would say, let's go further. Some of the challenges. Women and men are also different when it comes down to ADHD, how it affects them. So for women, it's much more in our minds. It was a boy... it's easier to detect it when they're younger because you see them jumping everywhere. You see a lot of movement, they can't sit still. And you think they're, oh, there's something wrong with them. You know, you can physically see it. With women, it's not so much actually. I was coined as Melissa's highly, highly intelligent, but she's always daydreaming. And it's because I'm actually not, when you say one thing, I have like 110 thoughts and I can go off on these different like spectrums. And that's also part of usually a lot of us have like our IQs excel in certain areas as well. So there's a lot of misinformation up there, but also some of celebrating some of the wins. And as I said, like I'm relentless at like talking about policies and advocating for the right type of accommodations and for anybody that needs to write exams or anyone who'd need it for accessibility. I'm a really big advocate of that. So it falls into my personality of entrepreneurship.

Beatrice: 16:03

No, thank you for highlighting on that. And I work with some phenomenal colleagues and people in my life who have been diagnosed with ADHD, but they're definitely high achievers in what they do. Going back to what I was saying earlier on in, it makes you see things differently and you use it to your advantage. But I'm curious, I was having a conversation with my friend just just yesterday actually on ADHD and that there are a lot of children being diagnosed with it a lot more earlier on and so many than before. And I was just like, you know, what's going on? How come? And their response was, well, I think there are probably a lot of people misdiagnosed or not diagnosed with ADHD and they're only just getting wind of it now. And so you're seeing probably a larger crop being diagnosed. You obviously saw that there was something different in you. You were diagnosed much later on in life. So how did you cope sort of even before you were diagnosed?

Melissa: 16:58

I had to create a lot of self-learning tools. Like literally when I loved saying like mind mapping, which I learned later on in my MBA class was a complete success. technique of way how to do business canvas model, but that was my natural way of actually So I'd be like writing post-it notes everywhere, all over the walls, it's covered. You learn to overcompensate in certain areas. I think part of the challenge was, let's go back to culture. They did the test and my mother, because again, she's from Hong Kong, my family's from Hong Kong originally, they also have a culture that might not be accepting or understand it actually. It's difficult when you're dealing also with another level, which especially my parents, they don't know about it, they don't understand it. When they told my mom, they're like, okay, she either has a hearing problem I'm a kinesthetic learner, which means I learn through multiple inputs, like seeing, hearing, touching, feeling, experience, which goes to my creativity, I would say, too. I need to do. And that's really important, I tell people, especially with anyone who has ADHD. Just do, don't overanalyze because our brains will go into analysis paralysis. So I had to convince my mother actually to be able to take me actually to a proper diagnosis. It took time. But as I said, like, I mean, I found the right tools by also doing. And what was more interesting, I think when I got to Cornell, what surprised me most was they're very open about it. They have so much resources. And I was at first, you know, you have a little bit of, you know, I'm going down to this huge Ivy League school. Do you tell them? Do you not? And that's always a challenge too. And we have to respect people. On the board for the Learning Disabilities Association for Ontario, we... have parent support groups too which we find really important and it's to help coach and also manage the stress and understanding for parents to help provide the right tools in place so i think having the right information also for parents is really important to know that these kids are not segmented out but here's what you can do xyz let's have this game like you know with the guidance counselor it's called a placement let's have an agenda for them to accept this you'll also have a roadmap in place. And I think that's really important. So maybe parents now are realizing that having an earlier roadmap is also important for these kids in order to guide them for their life, whether it's education or their careers.

Beatrice: 19:37

Thank you so much for going through explaining what ADHD is. That was actually one of my other questions. But what I'm interested to know is, for you, how did it manifest in you building your startup, Crip It?

Melissa: 19:49

I, you know, skyrocketed. ADHD is something that is just, it's part of me. So it's not necessarily, but it is a factor of my creativity because I think in so many elements. So I would say with ADHD, sometimes it comes with OCD. So myself, I won't stop until I solve a problem. One of the doctors mentions like having ADHD is like having a Ferrari engine accident. brain that won't stop thinking, that won't stop. And sometimes the tools that we talked about in place are just to, you know, put some nice brakes on those like that engine. I would say like, I wouldn't stop prototyping until like I came to the right, I had the right product, or I had the right at least fix at the moment. I explored different avenues. And even, you know, I'm going to say, I think it's, it makes you resilient. Like for example, even when I, so this, you know, hyper, you know, ADHD is about hyper. So I like, I don't like this. It's still like to keep exploring. It makes me curious. I don't, I suffered actually myself also an unfortunate fall where I broke my leg. So then I had no choice but to sit down and I could no choice. I had to slow down. And I think for once in a while, I'm like, I'm physically restrained and I need to move. So what am I going to do? And I came up, with a whole entire new product line. And they're the Crippit Accessories shoe line, actually. Crippit Clips, basically. They're shoe accessories that act as brooches and so forth. I can quickly show you and explain to your audience who are listening. They will just be like a little... Very cute. Yeah, they'll be like a feathery clip, but you could also change the look of your shoes, quickly clip it on, make them chic. But they also now, you change them, they act like a brooch, so I can put them on as a brooch too. But they fall under this. And you know why? Because I was trying to solve a problem. In France, they only do an ugly white cast. So I was like, this is so ugly. I got to decorate this. And I started clipping and making shoe accessories. I started putting a band around, like a pink band. So I had a pink band and I started decorating it. So let's put it this way. Yes, as I said, my hyper part got restrained when I was physically not able to move. I was still actively moving in my brain and creating, and I came up with a whole accessory line. So there you go. That's a little bit of my ADHD not stopping me from anything.

Beatrice: 22:05

I love that. I could borrow you to help with some of my need for a power boost in getting certain things done. It is a superpower as well. A little bit envious there, I would say. Let's talk a bit more about fashion. So you've got a patent for your design. So congratulations. You've got products in a market. How has the fashion consumer responded to Crippit? And what has been the hardest challenge to get you where you are now?

Melissa: 22:35

It took us a long time. So we have right now, thank you for asking that question. We do have two patent designs in the US right now. And because we've redesigned our products here in Paris, we are also looking to also add that to our company here. I would say it's important to protect your ideas from the start. especially when it's innovative and it's new. But I would say that it's still important to do rapid prototyping and to get your products out to testing the market first, right? A patent means it's very restrictive, right? So with a little augmentation, a little change, your product is no longer fitting into your own patent, actually, which that part is also a challenge, I would say, when you're filing in multiple countries. However, again, it comes down to product market fit, right? So our product, our first, I'm going to say like 3,000 orders were actually for a functional aspect. We were in the midst of just filing it, but at the same time, we were solving a problem. So it was at a horse race event in the UK, I guess you guys would call it the Royal Ascot. In Canada, ours is, it's called the Queen's Plate. So Queen's Plate placed their first order and that's actually how I got my company started. It was because when there's no other products out there in the market that fits a problem that you're trying to solve. As you probably know, at the Royal Ascot, everyone's wearing hair fascinators or walking grass or wearing their stilettos, et cetera. So I brought Valley you, and I was solving a problem at that point, right? Not only were previous other products on the market from like Amazon that would damage other women's heels, but they are also usually comes in three different sizes. We have a patent because our product is a multi-fit, as I mentioned. It can fit high heels from size six millimeters, 15 millimeters. So it fits a quite a wide range of problematic high heels. The way like, I'm going to say like people have taken to it. It's the wedding planners. It was originally the large corporate events where it was needed. It definitely, it was a much more basic product at the time. And coming here to France, we've taken it where we've added locks, we've added different aspects to it because we've been listening to our customers this whole time. We've been asking them, we've been testing, we've been like, what else can we add? And a lot of them were still saying that. And the reason why I would say in France really helped because of the fashion industry is to add these like bee shoes on it, to add jewels, to make it more beautiful and not to make it just a functional product that's at the bottom of your heel that you take out. Can we keep it on longer? Everything I've done so far in the market, the changes of the collection of our products have been because of like people being, I would say our customers, they give us the best feedback and we are always constantly evolving. I

Beatrice: 25:26

can imagine. And I'm guessing your background within law, and by background, I know that you did an MA in it, you said. Did that support you in writing or putting together that patent document? Because I know for some budding entrepreneurs on here who are looking to probably patent, I mean, what would be the... the best advice you'd give them? Is it to get a lawyer? Is it to potentially be able to do it themselves?

Melissa: 25:52

What you first have to do is you can do this yourself to save a bit of money as to do the research yourself. And especially with ChachiBT now, you can actually do your own draft. You can use code words, right? And sort of compare to see what's on the market because it depends what you're trying to patent and did my law background help I think it just helped identify sort of like the nuances of where it's important like there's these questions and case studies more like are objects are 3d printed classified as actual real end products I think question was they're talking about like I think 3d printed I'm gonna go case study was a 3d printed guns for example if someone printed at home it is like what type of law or what kind of like what kind of protections are around these were questions that started being raised. My law background was specifically in innovation and technology law, so it was very specific. It was very aligned with entrepreneurship because of the new ideas and creations. So how do we deal with issues now about technology like cybersecurity and so forth? So not necessarily to do with my patent, but it helped me understand more about the idea of creation and how do you protect those ideas. Lawyers will bill on a billable hour, right? So if you You can sort of present to them as much as you can upfront. That will actually save a lot of time. With patent lawyers, I would say you can always get some quotes. And like what I did recently was I just got multiple quotes from different firms and it seems to all be sort of the same. But what's hard is the technical documents, which you can work with a person who does, if you're doing a technical product like myself, like a technical drafter who can help draft some of your designs so that, You're not paying a lawyer's time to do that because a lawyer will actually just outsource that most likely. I would say at the time, like I had some tech engineers. So wherever you can eliminate the sort of the cost is really important too.

Beatrice: 27:48

Last question, Melissa. So I'd like to swivel back down to your unique background. Recently, you've taken up responsibility teaching young adults with ADHD that they're possible to be entrepreneurs regardless of their condition, which I think is amazing. And the theme of this series is entrepreneurship is for everyone. So could you tell us about why you started to get involved with such initiatives and how you think anyone can be an entrepreneur?

Melissa: 28:15

I was just actually speaking to my client last night and he was really excited that actually I was talking about, you know, how I've helped his journey and others. I think, again, just because of my background and I was a former president of the Learning Disability, it's an easy reach for people to find me. They know my background and they know that I'm an entrepreneur. so they naturally ask me. But in terms of coaching, I've coached people with ADHD also with spectrums of autism. There's differences on how you coach them. I basically help them bring out their passion. So a lot of them, I always say, The only way you can start a company as an entrepreneur is you need to be passionate about what you're doing. So a lot of them may be on mundane jobs, let's put it this way, maybe just like a very average job and they're very unhappy, right? So the clients I've received, I've reached out to me is because you can see the fire in them. They have this unique idea. They just don't know how to put it. So what's been most, I would say, instrumental in doing that for myself, go do it. Just go out there. You have to do it. You have to tape it up. You have whatever it silly idea it is, just go out there and do it and it's okay to fail. Don't be scared to fail. And there's one thing that I'm going to say that is you get a no a lot. So rejection for us, we become like immune to that. So that's one thing that I would say is part of your super, you become immune to rejection too. So you're like, okay, you get a lot of no's. So I said, For sales, even I tell like my clients now, it's okay, go up there. If they're gonna say no, it's no, it's fine. You just next, next, next. It's a numbers game, right? You keep going through it. One client of mine, I'm really proud of him actually. I've been coaching for the last few years and he loves video games. He's a kid with autism and he's passionate about that, but he's a very mundane job. So how do we get him to maybe, let's have a reward. He wants to save enough to even fly to France. He really wants to go to France, for example. You know, small goals like that, But yeah, it started off as he likes video games. So how do we bring that into one small idea was just like, okay, well, there's this idea of streamers, right? It's twitching. I mean, from that from two years ago. So because he has a lot of kids, again, you have OCD over something hyper focused either, and his was on gaming. So every night he's going and he's doing his twitch podcast. He's like twitching, he's twitching, he's twitching. He has over now, I think $2,000 on that he has like three to 400,000 on Instagram now, watching him stream. Off of Twitch, he's making three to 400 a week extra income. I'm so proud of how he's independent. He goes to all the entrepreneur events himself. So when I give him suggestions, they're okay. And they're okay with the failure because a lot of times we don't know. They are willing to take these little risks. And I would say the safe haven of it is because they also, I tell them, you know what? Keep your mundane job there for now. But let's have an outlet for your success and let's celebrate it with ideas from yourself. Every week we're exploring new avenues for it, including now we put together a pitch deck. he's taught again it's so rewarding because he's taught me so much about like things I didn't know about he's like there's this you know these other communities these communities where we all watch each other and we throw each other bits and that's how you get more 1 million viewers and I'm like how do you do that and they're like there's companies that do this and I'm like there is and I didn't even know there's business models so I learn a lot too

Beatrice: 31:31

amazing Melissa it's been fabulous talking with you and I think just on that To close that last question, I think the message is just do it and don't take no for an answer, right? Absolutely. Never give up. I love that. We're going to enter into our quick fire rounds. Are you ready? Yes. Okay. First one. Grass or subway grate? What's worse for heels? A subway great. I can imagine. How do you celebrate your wins?

Melissa: 32:01

I'm going to say for myself, I reinvest back into my own company, into creating new products. It's a reinvestment back into my ideas.

Beatrice: 32:09

What inspired you to create a product for high heels?

Melissa: 32:13

It was actually, it wasn't more of an inspiration. It was more solving a problem. It was actually my mother who suffered an unfortunate fall when her heel got stuck in the sewage grates and it fractured her jaw. Yes, she's three days out of work, but yes, she's okay.

Beatrice: 32:27

can imagine. Four, Paris or Toronto? Which city has better fashion energy? Paris. Paris, hence I'm here. And last one, five, what's

Melissa: 32:36

your power outfit? I would say it's the simplest outfit. So usually it's a dress that has pockets in it. And it's, you know, to add to my shoes, they'll be like shoes with like a Mary Jane strap. So it takes away from any like guessing or anything and it stays on your feet. So I would say my power outfits are the ones that are like less fussy and functional. I love

Beatrice: 32:56

that. Melissa, thank you so much. It's been a pleasure talking with you. And for those who've been listening in, I think one of the key or couple of key takeaways and gems that Melissa dropped was innovation has no language barrier. Takeaway this in ability and being the person of difference in a room full of blue seats. See you next time.