Meet Mishell Ekunsirinde

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mishell Ekunsirinde. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mishell , first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
Before the pandemic, we found a lot of success in experiential events. That left very little time to work on the site. Looking back I also think it was a great excuse for me. Because I realized that I always had to feel like I needed to learn more or get a coach/ mentor to move to the next level. When the world around us changed and brought in true uncertainty I realized I had the knowledge and that I was enough. I started to act on my knowledge and experience and trust myself more. In a matter of a couple of weeks, I transformed our site, started working on getting press, and got the word out about STINA & MAE.

A week after the site revamp we were featured in the parenting site What To Expect. From there we kept the ball rolling and were featured in VOGUE, ELLE, Mom.com, Motherly, and a few others.

I also decided to trust in my sales ability honed in college when I worked at a gym as a trainer. I was tasked with selling memberships. I approached buyers from retailers like Nordstrom and Macy’s.

Going through these experiences taught me to trust myself. I think that is the key to getting over imposter syndrome.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am the founder and chief executive officer of STINA & MAE. I love what I do every day. I get to celebrate parenthood. Our tagline is “capturing the awe moments.” I can truly say I love that we get to be a small part are some of the most special moments in people’s lives. Whether it’s welcoming a new baby or celebrating milestones like baby’s first food or first stroll in the park.

STINA & MAE is the intersection of my passion for design and what I feel is my purpose of helping others/human connection. I think that is why we strive to educate about creating toxin-free environments for families, feeding the food insecure children, and spreading awareness for maternal health issues.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think my thirst for learning has carried me well throughout my entrepreneurial journey. Trusting my abilities has gotten me further than I ever have gone before and human connection is my ability to connect with people from all walks of life.

My advice for someone just starting out is always the same trust your gut, stop second-guessing yourself.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Being an entrepreneur is one of the most stressful things I have done and am doing. It is easy to feel like no one understands because most people in our lives don’t understand what if feels like to run a company or to start something completely on faith and an idea. For me when I am feeling stressed I use exercise as my outlet. It helps me clear my head so that I can be solution-oriented. Some days I exercise, I let myself freak out a bit but once my head hits the pillow and I wake up the next morning I am all about solutions. I try to be more solution-oriented so that I can be closer to solving the problem,

Also, I’ve built a community of amazing friends who are also entrepreneurs. People I am willing to share numbers with, details that I might not be open to sharing with just anyone. These people are part of my trusted circle. I call them my tribe. I tell every new entrepreneur the same thing build your tribe because you’ll need it.

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