Angie 

Welcome to the No More Mondays podcast, the show that inspires confident professionals by interviewing people who actually enjoy what they do for work. I’m your host, Angie Callen, and I welcome you to join me each week, as I chat with founders, entrepreneurs and employees who have figured out that special sauce, the magic, the mystery to having no more Mondays. Hey listeners, and welcome to another episode of No More Mondays Podcast. Today we are welcoming Samantha Sutro Alexander to the show titled The Beauty of Being a Boss. Sam is currently the Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer at Bitewell, a food tech startup focused on simplifying healthy eating, and we’re going to get more into that in a minute. Before joining the founding team at Bitewell, Sam worked as the Chief of Staff at the Estee Lauder companies. There’s a name we American women know well, Sam has clearly figured out how to stand out in the professional world. She’s also held leadership positions at Smashbox in LA, Bridgewater Associates, some other private equity firms. It’s an impressive background, and we’re going to get to learn from it. Especially because Sam built up her roots in the indie beauty industry starting at the counter. It’s a very inspiring story and I’m excited for all of us to learn from her. Sam, welcome to No More Mondays!

Sam 

Hey, thank you for having me. I’m so excited.

Angie 

You’re welcome. You win when we set out in season three to really talk about people who have kind of made waves or made their way on that, like more traditional corporate ladder. And you came our way I was like, oh my gosh, this is like, so exciting. Because you’ve had roles that are really big interest out in the market right now at companies that people know really well. And so, it’s gonna be fun to get to know your journey. But let’s start with Bitewell, tell us a little bit more about what the technology is doing and what it’s like to be kind of part of that founding team and what you’re up to there.

Sam 

Yeah, absolutely. So, Bitewell is the world’s first fully shoppable meal planning platform. And that means so many things to us, but probably nothing to anyone else right now. Because the technology that is powering us is so new, and it doesn’t exist in the world, the best way to explain it is like if the meal planning and calorie counting and macro tracking abilities of my fitness pal got married to the deliverability of Uber Eats and Instacart. And all of those great food delivery platforms, that baby that they would have together is bite well. So, we essentially take all of these awesome inputs about you, your health, your nutrition goals, your allergies, your dietary preferences, the list goes on. Our proprietary AI then connects that with deliverable food near you restaurant meals, recipes, groceries, meal kits, and we build a meal plan that fits seamlessly into your life, and allow you to order everything through Bitewell’s platform.

Angie 

Sign me up. Also, you’ve never said you haven’t said that once or twice or 1000 times in the last year. So, have you know 00 learned from that elevator pitch. So, this is really interesting, because obviously, health and wellness became even more at the forefront through the last two years. I’m not even gonna say the word cuz I’m sick of talking about it. But it’s become such at the forefront at a time when also like food delivery became such a big deal. So, this is like a really smart baby to have in the tech space right now.

Sam 

Thank you. We think so too. And funnily enough, the idea, the spark for Bitewell happened pre 2020. I’m just from living everyday life. My co-founder, Chris was flying around doing biz dev for some of his other businesses, he would land in a city and try to figure out what was right to eat near him. And something that wouldn’t derail his health goals. And he would end up defaulting to like pizza or Chipotle or something easy because there was no platform that could connect him with the right food for his body. And so that’s where the journey began. And it has really just like, snowballed and evolved and changed and grown over the past two years.

Angie 

And also side note out there everybody if this is if you’re like Chris, Bitewell this is sounding familiar, Chris is also what Sam’s co founder is also a guest on this season of No More Mondays and we took a totally different approach into Bitewell in his experience, so you’ll kind of get this cool 360 view of what they’re all up to. But as you as you kind of enable this healthy lifestyle for busy people like us, I’m wondering what your number one tip is for helping people stay healthy when we’re on the go and have busy lives and jobs.

Sam 

Oh my gosh. That’s a great question. I would say um, when in doubt, stick to the plan. So, what’s been really helpful for me because my I don’t have a schedule that said I used to, and I think we’ll probably talk about that but like there was a time in my life where my schedule was very set. Get up, go to work. Do these things leave work, come home cooked dinner, do whatever else. And now every day is different. Some days I start at 6am Sundays, I don’t have a call until 11am. So, having a plan, and for me, I do it through Bitewell, but truly, you could do it however you want, you could write it down on a piece of paper, you can put it on a calendar on your refrigerator, just having a plan of like, okay, for breakfast, I’m having this for lunch, I’m having this for dinner, I’m having this prepped and ready to go. And just stick to it as best as you possibly can. To reduce friction.

Angie 

One of the reasons I was really excited to have you on this show is because you found a way to navigate and succeed in these really big companies really recognizable, but also some of the roles you had are really interesting, specifically the chief of staff role that I think you had at least one or two companies. It’s a really hot and trending position right now in the market that people are really seeking. And so, I feel like this is one that our listeners are really gonna enjoy hearing about. So talk to us more about how your career went from counter to Chief of Staff before Bitewell even came on the scene?

Sam 

Oh, gosh, okay, how much time do we have? I’m kidding. I’ll give you the condensed version. Um, so I graduated from NYU Tisch with an acting degree. So, that is my degree, graduated or was about to graduate, and got a really awesome opportunity to travel the country in a tour, and which would have been a very exciting opportunity for me was not. And I realized at that moment, that acting was not the career that I wanted to pursue for the rest of my life. Through a very fortuitous circumstance. And a really good friend, I was connected to my first job outside of school with a great indie beauty company called Juara skincare. And I started off working at the counter. They were a startup team of like three and a half people. And I became the other half person that made it for. And I would walk into different pharmacies and small shops in New York and show people the product and get them to buy it. And that was my first job out of school. And I had no idea what I was doing, or why I was doing it or where I was going to go from there. And after a couple of months of doing that, and getting to know the team better, they were moving their office from an apartment into a we workspace, and they needed help packing up boxes. And I was like, sure all absolutely help. So I went to the apartment, I started packing boxes. And if you know me, you know that I love organization. So, I started organizing everything into little, you know, groups and piles before I packed them in the box. And the founder looked at me and was like, you could be useful. We can do something with you. And the founder and the woman who was the director of brand strategy, Nani to us over the VP of Brand Strategy, who has now become a lifelong friend saw something in me and brought me into the office a couple of days a week, they had me start by creating their social accounts. And then I read the website. And then I did some sales and some product development and some marketing. And then they ended up sending me to Southeast Asia, I went to Singapore and Indonesia to learn from the team that the beauty brand had roots there. And to learn about jaw move, which was the medicinal healing art that inspired the brand. He brought me back anyway, my career really blossomed there in a way that I could never have expected. And I found that I was really, really interested in marketing in storytelling and in sales. And so at that point, I thought, okay, Sam, with your acting degree, you should probably go back to school, maybe get an MBA or a degree that has something to do with what you think you’re going to do for the rest of your life. And in the process of looking for an MBA program and kind of vetting that process. Bridgewater, reached out to me, they like non traditional candidates, I went in, I went through the interview process, I actually wasn’t going to take the interview, but my husband works in finance. And he was like, if you have the opportunity to interview there, you should at least just do it for the experience of interviewing there.

Angie 

Thanks, honey. Good advice.

Sam 

Thank you! I’ve had lots of very helpful nudges from very helpful people like that along the way that have helped to shape and guide what has become a really a wonderful career. But, um, I went I interviewed I fell in love with the culture of the place, and I spent time there and that was my first Chief of Staff type position. So, I worked in research analytics, and I worked as a management partner alongside the heads of research. And it’s a role that is somewhat, somewhat particular to the place but has a lot of similarities to other chief of staff roles outside in the world because you yourself are not the subject matter expert, but you are the support structure for the subject matter experts who they can sparkle and shine and do the thing that they do best. And that is probably where I first started to learn about the idea of a chief of staff, the chief of staff role, and how fulfilling it can be, and how beautiful it can be when there’s a great relationship between the subject matter expert and the Chief of Staff, and they can work together symbiotically to bring the company forward. So, that’s where I learned that, but I really missed beauty. I missed consumer, I miss storytelling, I miss a lot of the things that I was doing in my last role. And I had taken a complete pivot. So ,I went back, I work for a small private equity firm that invested in beauty brands, I ran one of their brands alongside the founder for a little bit of time. And then I had this great opportunity at Estee Lauder companies with clinic. So, that brings me to my well, almost to my next chief of staff role, which was an amazing role. So, I came into clinic as the Chief of Staff for Jenny Belknap, who’s the CMO at the time, I worked under her for a few months. And then she got an awesome promotion and went to run the North America business. And I was like, what’s gonna happen to me? Again, very fortuitously, J. Mater, who was the brand president at the time, decided to take me on as her Chief of Staff. And so I continue doing the work that I was doing in the marketing space, but expanded that purview across the entire brand, and really worked side by side with her for a while, I’m building the clinic business and leading a lot of process and strategy and operations work on the brand. Um, so that was also a wonderful experience. I, as I’m talking about it, I’m like, how did I not 30? I’m not even 30? How did I do all these things?

Angie 

I think that’s a great message. And actually, because everybody can’t see you. And they realize how young you are. There’s, there’s a because you’re in that I guess you’re a millennial? Are you a millennial?

Sam 

I’m a millennial, yeah.

Angie 

There’s, I talked to a lot of young people who have that feeling like they’ve got to have it all figured out. And they get caught up in this analysis paralysis of I have to make this very perfect move as I enter the professional world, you’re a perfect example of how I almost had nothing figured out. And I mean that in the most complimentary way, because it actually helped you then go try a few things, a land somewhere, take advantage of it open door, fall into good mentorship opportunities, which I want to talk more about in a minute, and kind of like test a few things to see what you really had an affinity for. And what I think is so ironic about it is that love of kind of storytelling, and the creativity of marketing, does the acting degree and the communication skills, and the artist is of that total justice,

Sam 

Like to say I have done a lot of work with America needs you, which is a great organization that helps first generation college students. And whenever I’m talking to them, there is that anxiety of like, I don’t know what I want to do for the rest of my life. How do I figure this out? And I’m like, Look, I still don’t know what I want to do for the rest of my life. I think with Bitewell I’m closer. I think I’ll be working on Bitewell for, you know, at least the next decade, I hope. But what has been helpful for me is to just follow my curiosity. And in every opportunity, I assess it at face value and say, okay, if I go and do this, am I adding tools to my tool belt? Or am I doing more of the same. And for me, the way that I’ve decided to optimize my career is assembling the largest toolbelt that I possibly can, so that as I get into later stages of life, I can have multiple lives and multiple reinventions and continue to learn and grow. 

Angie 

I think it’s really smart. And there’s the other thing I think is just really interesting there is is how you kind of were at that fork in the road of going MBA, because it felt like something, I’m guessing at the time, it felt like something you needed to add validity to where you wanted to go. And then the professional world just took you in another track and you’ve been able to do everything that you would have done with an MBA if not more simply by getting the real world experience. So, it’s what I have called myself, I have an RW MBA, and it hasn’t been limiting. And I think that that’s I talked to a lot of people who have that like imposter syndrome around education, or they feel like I have to go do this huge investment of school in order to get where I want to go, but you’re real proof that you you don’t.

Sam 

Thank you. Yeah, I completely agree. Um, and I think going back for your MBA or additional schooling can be really great. If that’s, it’s a different type of learning. And for me, classroom learning has never I mean, I was a good student, um, but I didn’t really enjoy classroom learning. I like got through it so that I could go to other stuff. And so for me, it was like why go back to school and pay a whole bunch of money to learn in an environment that isn’t the right learning environment for me.

Angie 

This is so cool, because this is something we’re highlighting on this season is, you know, how were how has it helped? How’s mentorship impacted your career, and how has it helped you get here today, and in my observation that’s totally related to the big break. So, talk to me a little bit about how that has shaped this path for you.

Sam 

Early in my career. So, in the Juara days, I fell into mentorship. And I like to call it internal career advocacy, because I think when you land in a place in a new role, wherever it is, whether it’s a large corporation or a small business, I’m your number one, maybe not number one, but high up on the list objective should be to find an advocate, or a mentor, or a combination of those things, who can really help to guide your path at the organization that you’re in. But I think there’s a difference between a mentor who is really focused on you, as a person, you as a professional throughout many organizations and the the path of your career versus you and your advocate who’s focused on your journey through the corporation that you’re in. And I’ve had wonderful mentors, and I’ve also had wonderful advocates, and my first advocate was also is also my lifelong mentor, Nadia. Um, and so I was very lucky that she saw something in me at Yarra, she decided to, you know, bring me on take me under her wing and really helped guide me through that organization. Then when I landed at Bridgewater, one of the biggest reasons why I took the role was because of the woman who interviewed me who ended up being my manager Anna Harman, who again, became a huge advocate for me within the organization, and a lifelong mentor after. And Anna has left and gone on to start her own company called studs. And she’s amazing. And I have had so many positive female influences in my career, both advocates and mentors. And then when I landed at Estee Lauder companies, Jenny was my first advocate. And she really helped to position me to be ready to take on this chief of staff role for Jane. And then Jane became my next advocate, and many, many others who came through through time, but really finding that person who believes in you and believes in your journey in the organization was key.

Angie 

And I think when you are willing to show your strengths, you went into a place and just started doing what you do, instead of trying to like limit yourself only to the to the role you were given or to whatever box they wanted to put you in. That’s when somebody saw something in you that triggered this whole domino effect since then, and and that’s where I like the message there is don’t feel like you have to play it safe when you’re in an opportunity, because people will see things in you, when you kind of start painting outside the lines and exercising whatever your unique value to that job is.

Sam 

Absolutely and I think I was trying, as you were saying that I was trying to think if this was true, and I think it is, I have never taken a job that has previously existed before I occupied the seat.

Angie 

Oh, that’s so that’s there’s your you found your sweet spot creating roles, there’s the organizational skills, and figuring out how to create that structure around a role that will support, you know, whatever those operations are got, you know that about yourself now, which is really cool.

Sam 

Yeah.

Angie 

And there was also I wanted to talk about there was a there, I think this was an initiative that you and Jane Lotter did together was the women in leadership, the beauty of being a boss, and you’ve mentioned a few things that really fall into kind of a passion around that. So, tell me a little bit more about that initiative.

Sam 

Yeah, so that initiative, um, we I actually did when I moved over to Smashbox. So, I left clinic, I knew that I wanted to live in LA, it was like a lifelong, I need to live on the West Coast call. And I was ready to move out of Jane’s Chief of Staff role and there was this great. There is a great leader at Smashbox. She was leading the marketing team for North America at the time, and now she’s leading the entire North America business, Kimberly Ventura. And I wanted to go work with her. There was a role opening up that they were just creating, again, like this theme continues. They were just creating this role of the consumer engagement director. And I went over and I took that role. And one of the things that we worked on together was this awesome program called heifer con. And it was really to celebrate several things, but we underscored it with the beauty of being a boss Smashbox being an LA brand has a huge Latina following. And we really wanted to support specifically female entrepreneurship for Latinas. And so that is how that program developed. We worked with two amazing, amazing female entrepreneurs Patti Delgado and Julissa Prato, to pull that program together. And what was meant to be a, you know, several 1000 people in person huge conference like beauty con or Comic Con, but for the beauty of being a boss, right for entrepreneurship ended up having to completely change because it was meant to take place in mid 2020. And we turned it into a virtual conference, which ended up being a blessing in disguise, because we were able to reach even more 1000s of women, I think it was this perfect storm of being inspired by all of these amazing women who had left their corporate structure environments and gone out to start their own businesses paired with the fortuitous timing of meeting Chris, and my own personal passion around food and nutrition, that all created this perfect storm for me to be ready to leave structure and go start my own company.

Angie 

And I love talking about employee to entrepreneurship transitions. And essentially, that’s what you did. And it kind of appeared at exactly the right time, both that idea of wanting to go more into something that had that entrepreneurial aspect to it. That brings me to the question like how do you stay productive? How have you created structure as you’ve moved from, like forced structure and accountability into what the chaos of being an entrepreneur and founder looks like?

Sam 

Okay. Well, I would say that the first year was really tough. And it’s just been in the past couple of months that I feel like I’m hitting my founder, entrepreneur stride, because and I know this is sort of different from the question that you asked, but I will circle back to the very actionable action oriented question that you asked. But what I didn’t expect to happen to me is, after having a very successful career, I was bringing in my own income, I could, you know, go buy a pair of shoes whenever I want to do like, I was very comfortable. And I didn’t realize how much of myself I had tied to that type of success. And when I left and started working on Bitewell, and, you know, no salary, I wasn’t paying myself, we were a team of like zero people, I was doing everything from, you know, the things that I love doing to accounting like crazy, a crazy wide breadth of things. And we were in this place where I went from going, I work at Estee Lauder companies, and everyone’s saying, oh, I know exactly what that is. That makes that means something to be to. I’m starting this company held by well on people like, Uh, okay, um, I didn’t expect that to affect me as much as it did. And so it really took a long time for me to find my new stride and my new reason for I’m loving myself as a professional. And that pivots into how I have created productive structure for myself. So, I think it took me all of that time to realize that and to appreciate some of the different aspects of myself as an entrepreneur. And now, I have created a wellness practice for myself that I follow, and I really stick to it. So, in the past, my structure had been, you know, created for me by different companies and organizations. And so now I have a wellness practice every morning, I meditate that has been life changing for me, I sit, I drink my coffee, I like take time to think and to just be a person. And then I launch into the day and that day looks different every day. Like I said, sometimes that practice happens at five o’clock in the morning because I have a six o’clock in the morning call with our development team in another country. And sometimes that practice happens at my much preferred hour of 9am because I’m not a morning person. And then I don’t really okay.

Angie 

I’m a huge fan of of the cliche morning routine. However, I don’t, I do not subscribe to the some methodology that it has to be done at 4am Because I also do not do for you I do five 4am is a completely different hour of the day than five. 

Sam 

So, no one wants to talk to me before 10am I promise no one sometimes people have to but no one wants to, no one wants to. Um, but anyway, so after that the day goes crazy in it and it is whatever it is. And I you know, have a combination of proactive actions that I know I want to get done and reactive actions that have to get done. And then the capstone of that first part of the day is always making dinner I always start Whether again, time changes, but whether it’s at like 530, which is very early, it’s never at 530, whether it’s at 630, or 9pm, I stop, I make dinner for myself and my husband. That is my routine and I love it. And cooking brings me such joy and it gives me space to recalibrate. And then I usually launch Beckett and realistically, like, I usually work a pretty long day, and then I work a couple of hours at night.

Angie 

That piece about you losing your identity is so real.

Sam 

When I decided to take this leap and become an entrepreneur, everyone told me how great it was gonna be, I thought it was gonna be hard, but no one said anything about this about this massive identity crisis that you might have. And then afterward, now that I’ve spent time reflecting and have kind of gotten to the other side, and I’m now comfortable talking about it. Whenever I bring it up, they’re like, oh, yeah, Mm hmm. Oh, that happened to me, too.

Angie 

So, let’s I want to learn a little bit more about you. We’re getting into it. Very interesting layers of Sam. So, we’re gonna play a little game that helps us get to know you and what further rounds you out. And don’t worry, they’re not they’re not hard, but you’re gonna love it because I asked a lot of food questions. You ready to pick play a little round of Rapid Fire?

Sam 

Absolutely. Let’s do it. 

Angie 

Okay, question number one. And this is funny. I almost decided to take it out just because you have such a healthy lifestyle. But I’m going to put it in because I know sometimes you eat either a hot dog or a hamburger. Which one? 

Sam

Hamburger. 

Angie

What is your most memorable travel destination?

Sam 

Hmm. Bali?

Angie 

Oh, why?

Sam 

Because I went there. Okay, I went there for work. Um, but the woman that I was working for is Indonesian. And so my experience was very local. And I spent a lot of time learning about their food, culture, and medicinal culture. And it was amazing.

Angie  

Okay, give us a great book recommendation.

Sam 

Oh, my goodness. Ah, hmm. I have so many. Okay, there’s a book name that it’s on the tip of my tongue. And I can see the cover. Maybe you know it. I’m just going to describe it to you. Okay. I’m the worst with names this.

Angie 

This will be a sub game. Okay.

Sam 

So, I’m going to describe it to you. Okay. It’s about a woman who lived in the bayou. And she like had no family his daddy’s book. Yes. Where the Crawdads Sing.

Angie 

Okay. Okay, cool. We got it. All right. So, give us a favorite snack. You can you can make it a guilty pleasure if you would like but what’s a great snack that you kind of go to?

Sam 

My favorite snack is apples, cheese, and nuts.

Angie 

I’m wondering if you play board games and would like to throw out a cool board game?

Sam 

Yeah, of course. I love board games. Um, okay, this is random. We bought this over Thanksgiving. It is a blockbuster themed board game. And it comes in, do you remember those blockbuster video covers that they had those plasticky ones. It comes in one of those. Oh, cool. Oh, it’s great. It’s just full nostalgia. So blockbuster game. Go find it.

Angie 

I’m a big fan of old school Trivial Pursuit. So, I have a feeling that’s like the the modern version of it. Love it. Yes. And other than No  ore Mondays of course, what’s a great podcast that you listen to?

Sam 

My favorite podcast is just turned on is Whitney Cummings podcast and I just let her rattle on in the background because they’re like four hours long.

Angie 

And because this is a show about Mondays what is the first word that comes to mind when I say Monday? Ready? Row. Okay, tell me why.

Sam 

Um, because I I love what I do. I love it. And I love doing it and I’m just ready to go. Um, Saturday’s usually my rest day. I don’t generally at this point, take a two day weekend just because we have so much going on. So, Saturday is my rest day. Sunday is my prep day. And then Monday, I’m ready.

Angie 

And she’s ready because she sets herself up for success. And while we don’t always recommend working six days a week when you’re in this world, sometimes it is required and it will pay off and then you’ll be able to have your two day weekends but ready for the week. As we start to go to wrap this up. I would love for you to let everybody know where they can follow you your amazing journey get info and bite well as it launches in you know more markets. So, how do we how do we keep track of you and all the amazing things you’re doing in your in your career in the world?

Sam 

Yeah, for sure. So, you can follow me on Instagram at BiteWellco. So at vi t w e ll see. Oh, and then if you want to follow me my Instagram handle is at Samantha Sutro Alexander. So Samantha traditional spelling CI TR o Alexander.

Angie 

And we will link all of that in the show notes, of course. And there are so many things you can learn from Sam. So I’m going to encourage you to do that. And we want to support Bitewell, because we’ve had both you and Chris, as guests and for supporting us. Alright, so we’re gonna take this home and get yet one more very practical piece of advice from Sam, what is your best recommendation for what our listeners can do? To get one step closer to a more enjoyable career?

Sam 

Hmm. Ah, think about what tool you want to add to your tool belt. Next, write it down and go find a project or a job that gives you that tool.

Angie 

Like stay. It’s the curious, it’s a curious and seeking constantly seeking those layers. I love how you said that where you just want to build the tool belt to give you so that you have like different ways to put it together and use it in the future. So, I think that’s really it’s a strategic way to build your your experience and your qualifications. And you all out there can do the exact same thing. Sam, thank you so much for joining me here on No More Mondays. It’s always a pleasure to talk to people who love what they’re doing for work. And I love that you actually said I love what I do. And so you’ve been a great inspiration and given us some great action items. So, thank you for being here and being part of the No More Mondays movement.

Sam 

Thank you for having me. It’s been fun.

Angie 

I know I have a feeling we’re going to hear a little bit more from Sam. So for all of you out there listening, I would love for you to subscribe to No More Mondays wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a five star rating because it is a huge help as we continue to inspire confident professionals everywhere with amazing career stories like Sam. If you’d like to leave us comments feedback, or drop a guest suggestion please visit us online at No More Mondays dot info. Thanks for listening to this episode of no more Mondays, we hope to grab some great insights to help you improve your professional satisfaction. Please visit us at Apple iTunes and give us a rating so we can continue to offer you awesome interviews and content each week. No More Monday’s new episodes drop every Wednesday. No More Mondays is brought to you by Career Benders, Inc in partnership with executive producer Jane Durkee. For more information about career coaching, resume writing personal branding, recruiting, and entrepreneurship coaching services, visit our website at career benders.com. That’s Career Benders. B as in boy, S is in sam dot com. This is your host Angie Callen signing off until next week when we chat with another inspired confident professional.