ive endeavors.  Inside Retail: What prompted the transition from working in the fashion industry to the floral delivery sector? Meenakshi Lala: I spent the past two decades of my life in fashion retail, and strongly believe that fashion retail is one of the hardest verticals to be in. I wanted to do something harder, so I came to run a perishable product business. I constantly joke about how flowers are significantly harder to handle from a supply chain perspective. When the opportunity came my way to work with UrbanStems, I learned more about the emotion of what we do as a business after having discussions with several board members and executives in the business.  On Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day specifically, my team picks a handful of orders for me to deliver. I take my five-year-old daughter along with me as our Mother’s Day activity and she and I love to see the joy on people’s faces.  To know that we bring joy to people in this big world where everyone is constantly running at 90 miles per hour and is always stressed about some aspect of life, and that this is the ethos of what this brand was created for, really resonated with me.  While there is also a financial element to running a business, with growth, profitability and key performance indicators to hit, fundamentally, we are spreading a lot of joy and happiness, which I think the world can always use more of.  IR: From a more technical perspective, how do you think your previous experience has prepared you for this role? ML: It has prepared me so much, especially with putting UrbanStems on a brand-first trajectory.  In the fashion industry, you grow up with a brand-first perspective. It’s all about how you’re surrounded by branding in everything you do.  For example, recently I was reading an article on why high-end designer fashion brands are opening cafes and restaurants. The reason brands are doing this is because it comes from the same philosophy of wanting their consumers to embody the lifestyle of the brand.  Whether it’s the cup, the fork or the napkin [in the cafe] or the handbag you carry, you are living and breathing the lifestyle of the brand that you follow.  Fashion has ingrained this in me, and that’s the change I like to believe I have brought to UrbanStems about making it a brand-first organization. Positioning it as the brand that brings in the unexpected and comes up with unique arrangements and assortments. From day one, my vision for the business is that when you look at an arrangement, you can automatically tell it’s UrbanStems’.  IR: What does the day-to-day look like in your role?   ML: The day-to-day in my role can be a mixed bag of things. It can be a full day of budget planning, looking at the profits and losses statement (P&L)  and thinking about the bottom line. It can also be a day spent with investors talking about what’s next for the business, or having a happy hour session with the team. This Mother’s Day weekend, I will be spending time with my team at one of our fulfillment centers, just watching them in action.  I am extremely grateful for the team that we have built at UrbanStems. We truly have the most exceptional team, and to watch them in action during these peak moments is a lot of fun, and I really enjoy doing that.  I have learned from great leaders that good leaders surround themselves with excellent people, people who are better than them in certain facets. I surrounded myself with a very smart team of experts in their own lanes, and it’s a lot of fun to sit back and challenge and talk to them about not just the day-to-day of the business, but also the future of UrbanStems. IR: What is one piece of advice that you’ve learned from your senior colleagues within the industry? ML: One piece of advice that I got very early in my career is to never be afraid to say, “I would like to try.” Even if you don’t know how to do something, when you show up with that authenticity, the leaders around you join forces to teach you, tell you, show you how to reach your goal. That authenticity, transparency and eagerness to learn and want to try is extremely important.  Even as the CEO of this business, there are times when I walk into a conversation and I’m not sure what something means or how to do it and I’ll say, “Let’s talk about it.” My team appreciates that candor and that they can also teach the person leading the business something, and I am constantly learning from them every day.  IR: Mother’s Day is right around the corner. What are the flowers you like to see in your own bouquet? ML: I like to see the unexpected. I am not a traditional peony and rose lover.  I love to see a combination of some fun, whimsical stems, like garden roses, anemones and I also love a play on calla lilies.  I love non-traditional colors, like neutral tones and sophisticated creams versus pinks and purples. That’s more of the palette that I enjoy in flowers.