StartupNation Blogs

Landing a large account can be an exhilarating experience for a young company and you can’t help but daydream about the possibility of “overnight success”.  Just around the corner… redemption for all those long hours spent fine-tuning your product, reciting your elevator pitch in the mirror, and packing orders until 2am.  While getting an initial [...]

Yesterday was a tough day for many Moms- myself included.  The baby boy that inspired the birth of my company, Glamajama, isn’t such a baby anymore.  He started Kindergarten at a new school with no friends at his side, a teacher he’s never met, and all kinds of new rules and procedures he’d have to [...]

“Knockoffs” and “Copycats” are too often part of the hard knocks high fashion deals out to young designers.  Years spent perfecting the fit of a signature cocktail dress can be stolen overnight by a larger, more established company with lower price points.  Your signature cocktail dress is now mass market and you won’t see a [...]

I remember very clearly my first trip to the principal’s office.   I was in the second grade and in trouble for “stealing other kid’s lunch money”.   As much as it sounds like the calling card of a bully, I can assure you it was nothing like that.   It was the early 80’s and jelly bracelets [...]

Six months into launching Glamajama I was driving home from a playgroup with my nine month old son.  I caught Dr. Laura on talk radio telling some frazzled work-at-home Mom that there was no way she could be both a full-time Mom and a successful Entrepreneur.  Her argument was simple, one would suffer and all [...]

Do-it-yourself publicity isn’t for the faint of heart, but it isn’t impossible either.  Over the past couple of years I’ve been able to secure several high profile publicity “hits” on my own and I’ve learned quite a bit in the process.  One of the things that I have learned is that you don’t have to [...]

I’ve received some great feedback and questions from readers after my initial post.  Several of them gave specific information about their business successes and dilemmas.  In the true sense of community, I wanted to share those responses and my suggestions for getting over those hurdles.  I am creating a “Beyond the Launch” series that will be generated solely [...]

My name is Heather Nolte, and I have enjoyed being a small business owner for the past four years.   My company, Glamajama.com , is a lifestyle clothing company that creates glam-studded clothes for women, toddlers, and babies.  Glamajama has been featured on The Today Show, The Early Show, Oprah, Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Extreme Makeover: Home [...]