7 things hospitality founders can learn from the world of luxury floristry

At the latest CODE Founders Series panel talk – ‘Founders Beyond Hospitality’ – powered by Toast, CODE’s Adam Hyman sat down with powerhouse founder Whitney Bromberg Hawkins, founder and CEO of global luxury flower delivery brand, FLOWERBX. Here’s what Whitney had to say about raising investment, maternal guilt, moving on from mistakes, and the most important lesson she learned from her 20 years working for Tom Ford.

The most important lesson I learned from Tom Ford was how to say ‘no’.

What you say ‘no’ to is more important than what you say ‘yes’ to. When you start a business, you get so influenced by opportunities – everyone has an opinion. You’re also vulnerable, you don’t really know what you’re doing, so you have to keep to that focus and that vision. You couldn’t ask for a better teacher on how to build a brand: Tom Ford is arguably one of the biggest and best brand-builders of our lifetime.

Bring your children along for the ride

With my first two children, I felt guilty about everything. By the third one, I had no guilt but I’ve also brought them along for the whole ride. They’ve delivered flowers, they’ve set up flower stands, they’ve been in the truck, they’ve delivered on Valentine’s Day. They’re involved in it so they’re resentful of me doing it.

Fashion, flowers, food… it’s all about creating beauty

People assumed it was hard going from fashion to flowers but it’s the same thing – it’s creating beauty, it’s just the medium that’s different. We’re all lovers of beauty. We’re all lovers of experiences.

I have butterflies most days. It’s a good feeling

Feel the fear and do it anyway. I do something I’m nervous or scared about every single day. It’s like exercise, it hurts when you do it, but afterwards you think I’m glad I did that. You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Nothing really great happens otherwise.

Fail fast and move on

Whether it’s a person you hire that wasn’t right or something that didn’t work, move on. The longer you wait, the more it starts eroding culture.

Be intentional with how you raise money

When you find investors, you’re creating a club. I was way too open with my club. You need to have people involved who can help deliver on what you’re trying to do. If I did it again, I would do it so much more intentionally.

It takes a long time to be an overnight success

When you look at Gail’s, they’re over 30 years old. Also, they’re nearly 20 years old.

How do first careers shape hospitality founders? Join us on Monday 9 November for the final Founders Series to hear from our panellists: John Devitt, Founder of Koya; Cynthia Shanmugalingam, founder of Rambutan; Ollie Gold, founder of Pophams Bakery; and Ria Morgan-Ratcliffe, founder of Ria’s; how they’ve turned their outsider’s perspective into a competitive advantage.

Find out more and book your tickets via the link here. CODE members can enjoy a discounted ticket price – check the CODE app for details.

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Toast is proud to partner with CODE for the third year of the Founders Series, supporting honest conversations and practical advice from the people building and leading hospitality businesses.

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