Quick Question
The CEO of Instagrams favorite alcohol-free drink shares how positivity has shaped her career.
In Bustles Quick Question, we ask women leaders all about advice.
Here, Ghia CEO Melanie Masarin explains her celebratory approach to shaking up the non-alcoholic beverage world.
Ghias North Star ultimately came to Masarin via the scenic route.
), but rather to create meaningful experiences.
Masarin says her team constantly reorients toward that goal, whether planning their nextrecipeor brainstorming a campaign.
We always ask ourselves, What’s the occasion?
What are we celebrating?
How did you gain the confidence to go from working at established companies like Glossier to starting your own?
When they offered to invest in my non-existent company, I realized that they really believed in me.
Getting advice from people that you trust and letting them in on your doubts is so important.
It was even intimidating to tell my parents about Ghia.
And that’s so valuable.
How do you build a data pipe of mentors who will encourage you like that?
For instance, I know[Glossier CEO] Emily Weissis really good with always putting the customer first.
Shes my first call for something like that.
But it’s a small circle.
Trust gets built over time.
When transitioning to leadership, how did you learn when to be more hands-on and when to delegate responsibilities?
If it affects the customer experience, thats when I want to be extremely involved in the execution.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best piece of advice came from my friend Nicolas Jammet, again.
I really liked the team, and I really believed in the product.
But something inside medidn’t feel right, and I couldn’t explain why.
Im a very rational person, and everything told me that I had to take this opportunity.
Nicolas said, Just because you have an incredible opportunity doesn’t mean that you have to take it.
Now, I spend most of my days saying no to protect the business.
It’s something that I remind myself of constantly.
How do you get into your ideal mindset for a big work event?
I like to be prepared the day before.
I always say I take my worries andanxietiesfrom my brain to my notebook so that I can sleep easy.
After youve closed your notebook, how do you unwind at the end of a long day?
I’ll usually have a Ghia, sometimes with the team.
Also, keeping up with wellness is really important to me.
Looking back on starting out as a professional, what advice would you give your younger self?
Things really do always work out.
Looking back, the best decisions that I made were Gods decisions.
I really believe that how you spend your days is how you spend your life.
And I wish I had known that at the time.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
