SUPERCHICKS, A Fashion Statement – by Gary Smolker

“At the end of the day, it’s all about what motivates you.” – Payal Kadakia Pujji, Founder & Executive Chairman of ClassPass

Style Leaves A Lasting Impression

Throw out the old male view of women and of the place of women in society.

There is a new type of woman in America – the SUPERCHICK.

She has style, the courage to be a trail blazer, and passion.

AND, she has crashed through the GLASS CEILING.

We are currently living in a post-Flower-Power-Society that has begun to be led and run by SUPERCHICKS.

I attended an outstanding educational program Thursday night April 26, 2018 at the fabulous chic Shutters on the Beach Hotel in Santa Monica, California, put on by the High Class Brilliant Suave “Leader of the Pack” Mintz Levin law firm, in which the featured speaker was a SUPER CHICK, Payal Kadakia Pujji.

The title of the program was “Trailblazers -21st Century Women Leaders.”

The program consisted of questions asked to 35 year old SUPER CHICK super chic Payal Kadakia Pujji (Founder & Executive Chairman of ClassPass) by Arameh Zargham O’Boyle, a high powered brilliant chic pleasant to be with under 40 year old Litigation Partner in the Los Angeles offices of  the Mintz Levin law firm.

Payal is an amazingly successful 35 year old businesswoman.

1. If I remember correctly: the start-up ClassPass was started/founded five years ago by Payal, when Payal quit her job as a consultant at Bain & Co. to start ClassPass from scratch.
2. ClassPass began as an idea in Payal’s head and it is now “worth” over 100 million dollars.
3. I think someone said ClassPass is now worth 500 million dollars.
4. When Payal told the top executive at Bain & Co. she was quitting to start her own company, the Bain & Co. executive told her he wanted to be an investor in Payal’s company.
5. Simultaneously, upon learning Payal was leaving Bain & Co. to start her own company, that top executive at Bain & Co. immediately wrote and then gave Payal his personal check in the amount of $10,000.00 as an investment in Payal’s new – but not yet started – company.

Courage

When Arameh introduced Payal, Arameh said,

“Payal is a woman who had the courage to take a chance on herself.”

During the three hour program that followed, Payal gave a series of very inspiring down to earth answers (containing lots of good sound advice) in response to questions Arameh asked Payal.

In the Question and Answer period which followed, in which members of the audience asked questions, Payal gave more good advice when answering the questions posed to her.

Attendance

My best guess is that 160 people attended this program: 155 women and 5 men.

All the women attendees were stunning.

Dress

All the women, including Payal, were very colorfully and stylishly dressed.

I took a picture of the woman sitting behind me in the audience before the program began.

I also took a series of pictures of the woman sitting in front of me.

I am pretty sure the woman sitting behind me (whose photograph is displayed below) was Payal.

Here is a photo of what the woman sitting behind me (Payal) was wearing.

Isn’t that a fabulous scarf?

Here is a series of photographs of what the woman in the audience sitting in front of me was wearing.

Isn’t she wearing a fabulously chic well made highly styled fantastic dress?

Lessons Learned

Payal made the following “lessons learned in her life comments” while answering Arameh’s questions:

• You must always ask yourself: What makes me happy?
• Passions in our lives complete us.
• Know what inspires you; turn that passion into your business.
• Relentlessly pursue your passion.
• Investors invest in a person, in people, not in a business model.
• Work with people who know who you are.
• Who you surround yourself with counts: you have to connect with people and they have to connect with you.
• People are responsible.
• Give people something they want to do and they will do a great job.
• Worry about the things that matter.
• Don’t allow yourself to get stuck; if you get stuck nothing happens.
• You must figure things out and go forward.
• You must make things work.
• Do everything you do at 150%.
• Don’t commit unless you can give 150%; don’t take on a job you can’t give 150% to.
• Shut off the noise that is out there.
• Find your purpose; that will help you shut off the noise.
• Surrender to the divine; that will make you fearless.
• Things are connected.
• If you do things connected to your soul [i] you will be relentless, [ii] doors will open, [iii] things will align, [iv] you will feel the energy of the earth.
• The feeling of connection is what it is all about.
• Only do what you know you are meant to do in your life.
• Make sure you have everything you want to accomplish on a calendar.
• Be ruthless in how you prioritize but don’t let your calendar run your life.
• You have to allow your life to happen.
• Don’t get stuck doing things out of guilt or responsibility. 
• You must have something you have to do in your life because nothing else matters.
• Who you are comes from what you do in the world.
• In order to build a standout company you must build a company you are willing to work in until you die.
• The best way to learn is by doing.
• Learn what you are good at by doing.
• Do what you are good at.
• You need to understand how the world works.
• You must do what you are really passionate about.
• IN LIFE AND IN BUSINESS: People want to connect with genuine people; people who are authentic.
• Who you are comes out of authenticity.
• The biggest thing in getting investors – in getting an investor – is who introduces you.
• If the right person introduces you to an investor, the investor is already “in” before the investor meets you or hears your pitch.
• Success is not an end point.
• Success is about being your most authentic self.
• Success is about giving yourself the freedom to live the life you want.
• Whatever she does in her life she has to do really well.
• If something she needs doesn’t exist, it is her modus operendi to make it exist, to create it.
• She/PAYAL quit Bain & Co. because she/PAYAL decided to go back to the root of who she is; she was determined to live on her own terms, to build something she really cared about.

Aside: Payal reported it took three years of relentless effort after she started her company ClassPass to get things right, it took three years of experimentation to get her product right and to get things to work right.

Copyright © 2018 by Gary Smolker, All Rights Reserved

Follow me on Instagram @garyspassion