CEOs and content creators gathered for an all-day conference on Saturday in Los Angeles to receive entrepreneurial advice from esteemed speakers and star-studded keynote speakers including Lauren Conrad, Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigen.
Conrad’s keynote was held alongside her best friend and The Little Market co-founder, Hannah Skvarla. The pair, who run the nonprofit aimed at empowering women and artisans, spoke about their experience running an online fair trade shop.
“We wanted to create something where the potential to help people was limitless,” Conrad said, who also noted her partnership with Skvarla works because of their different skill sets.
Related Stories
Conrad told The Hollywood Reporter, “In the very beginning, we actually made a point to seek out groups in areas that didn’t have basic human rights.”
The fashion designer says that meeting with her artisans and actually seeing change has been the most rewarding process.
“When we were in Guatemala, one of the women was telling us domestic violence has gone down because she was able to contribute to her household. A lot of the women that we ask what they want to spend their money on say sending their daughters to school. The boys are always the first to go and it’s kind of a domino effect; as soon as the daughter is no longer in school she is often married very young and it continues that way. The more you can see women and girls in school, the better,” Conrad told THR.
The co-founders also announced that they are launching their first brick-and-mortar store in Pacific Palisades, California to sell their handmade products made from artisans around the world.
Like Conrad, who advised the audience to pursue their passions, Teigen endorsed the same principles.
“Cooking is my No. 1 passion,” said the Cravings author. “It centers me like nothing else does. I think it’s so hard to find your real passion. I never loved modeling; I was so insecure. I always became best friends with people behind the camera.”
Teigen, who is known for being outspoken, said her first attempts at getting signed by modeling agencies were often met with hesitation.
“I remember going to New York and a lot of people were very skeptical of me because my green contacts and two pairs of fake lashes. They were also like, ‘she talks a lot,’ which wasn’t a typical thing of models. I didn’t really realize people cared what you said, you think you’re a comedian or making jokes, but you never know if a brand is going to read it,” Teigen said.
Kardashian faced similar challenges as Teigen, shifting from reality fame to gracing the cover of Forbes, entering the tech market and creating her own cosmetic company.
After adding a third child to her family, the beauty mogul said, “If I’m going to spend time away from my kids, I better love it.”
Behind her success, Kardashian credits her drive and supportive team.
“If you could only hear the bathroom conversations between me and my husband [Kanye West]. I have a really supportive team and husband that build me up and motivates me,” she said during her talk moderated by her friend Allison Statter, co-founder and co-CEO of Blended Strategy Group.
At the end of the day, the KKW Beauty founder shared her best piece of advice: “Show up. Do the work. Don’t be lazy. There’s no short cut.”
The evening before the conference, Create & Cultivate hosted a VIP speaker dinner where guests including Kim Kardashian, Lauren Conrad, Jen Atkin, Nina Dobrev, Tia Mowery, Busy Phillips and more enjoyed a family-style meal paired with Kim Crawford Wines at Neuehouse.
The event itself echoed an Instagrammable haven for guests, filled with pop-up shops like hair and makeup stations for mini-makeovers.
