From College Startup to Gen Z Success: Starting Young, Innovating, and Co-Founding with Mom with Amanda Zuckerman, Co-Founder of Dormify

Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff

Rebecca Minkoff

Society & Culture

4.8 • 543 Ratings

🗓️ 14 November 2024

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

According to Urban Dictionary, "dormify" means "to decorate your living space with cool, trendy, hip fashion." It was added in 2011, the same year Dormify, the powerhouse brand behind the growing Internet trend for designer dorm rooms, was officially launched. Co-founded by Amanda Zuckerman and her mom, this brand has transformed dorm and small-space living into something chic, personalized, and functional. As Amanda stood in the aisles of Bed Bath & Beyond with her mom in 2009, trying to find dorm room essentials, she couldn't find bedding suitable for dorm room beds, let alone something stylish. She realized she was having a lightbulb moment. She planned to create a brand dedicated to students getting ready for college. With encouragement from her mother, Amanda co-founded Dormify at 18 years old from her dorm room. Over the past 13 years, Amanda’s college startup success has helped countless millennials create the dorm room of their dreams and now Gen Z (and soon-to-be Gen Alpha) are catching on to the growing trend. Throughout her entrepreneurial journey, Amanda has learned the best way to navigate the co-founder relationship between mother and daughter, how to adapt to the needs of a new generation while innovating new products, and how to find her rhythm as a young founder. With so much success already under her belt, Amanda is looking forward to the next evolution of Dormify, transitioning to the go-to brand for all your pivotal life moments, from decorating your first apartment to your baby nursery. Thanks for listening! Don't forget to order Rebecca's new book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success. Follow Superwomen on Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Do you ever see a successful woman on your feed or in a magazine and think, wow, it must be
0:05.6	nice to have it so easy. Well, think again. Behind that glossy cover or smiling face is a ton of hard work,
0:12.8	countless failures, and endless learning experiences. I'm Rebecca Minkoff, and I'm here to tell you
0:17.8	that success isn't a walk in the park. It takes grit, resilience,
0:22.4	and a willingness to take risks. That's why I created Superwoman, a podcast that peels back to
0:27.9	varnish and gets into the nitty gritty of what it takes to make it as a woman in today's world.
0:32.6	From luminaries and game changers to women you've never heard of but should, this podcast is here to inspire you to take your next leap, no matter how daunting it may seem.
0:42.3	We'll explore the sacrifices these women have made, the highs and loaves they've experienced, and the lessons they've learned along the way.
0:49.3	So if you're ready to be inspired and learn from some of the most successful women out there, join me on
0:54.7	Superwomen. Together, we'll uncover the stories behind the successes and prove that with hard work,
1:00.7	determination, and a little bit of luck, anything is possible. Hey, everyone, you're listening to
1:06.6	Superwomen. Today's guest is Amanda Zuckerman, the co-founder of Dormify. She started this business
1:12.3	while she was in college because as she was shopping for her first dorm room experience,
1:16.9	she couldn't find anything that would not only fit the beds, but that would be stylish at all.
1:21.5	13 years later, she's not only dormifying dorm rooms, but bedrooms, little girls' rooms,
1:26.8	babies' rooms, and beyond.
1:28.1	She has done this all throughout with her co-founder and mother. We talk about their relationship,
1:33.0	how to make things work, what it's like to work with Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and the sacrifices
1:37.7	she has made along the way in order to get this business off the ground. Take a listen.
1:42.5	Amanda, I'm so excited to get to speak to you today.
1:45.0	I recently dawned on me that I was seeing these, I think I'm friends now with people that are
1:50.6	sending their kids off to college. And the sheer amount of like, here's where it started,
	...

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