Deena Malkina is the co-founder of KitNipBox, the leading subscription box service for cats. Today, Malkina directly supervises the operations, marketing, and partnerships of KitNipBox, nurturing the business' proven strength within the subscription box and pet marketplaces. Hailing extensive experience in entrepreneurship and Product Management within the technology industry, Malkina was previously the Director of Product Management at MarkLogic, one of the first and largest Big Data startups. Prior to MarkLogic, she reached industry leading conversion rates as the Founder and CEO of a successfully acquired social commerce website. Among her other achievements, Malkina oversaw the launch of new data center management products to market while running a senior PM team at Symantec, accomplishing vast customer adoption, growing the products' P&L, and outperforming revenue targets. Malkina has also held PM, Operations Planning, and Corporate Strategy roles at Level 3 Communications, where she managed a $75M P&L and had received recognition awards for her unrivaled leadership and outstanding performance.Malkina holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, as well as a MS degree in Engineering and BS degree in Information Systems with high distinction from the University of Colorado at Boulder.How has your life experience made you the leader you are today'I was fortunate to have had experiences that taught me to overcome adversity and work tirelessly towards success, against all odds, at a very young age. Growing up in the former USSR, I learned early on that, despite scarce resources, there is always a way to solve any problem. If one has the capacity to persevere, finding the best solutions is only a matter of time, effort, and creativity. With enough determination, my family and I were able to meet our most impossible goals - we just had to knock on many doors. I was also lucky enough to have a strong model of this type of behavior in my mother, who, as a single mom, attained a PhD in genetics while working full-time. This focus on problem-solving, perseverance, and seeing mistakes or failures as learning opportunities has stayed with me to this day. It's a defining part of who I am, both as a leader and as an individual.How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at KitNipBox'I've spent most of my career in Product Management, which was the perfect training ground for co-founding KitNipBox. In this capacity, I had the opportunity to launch numerous products and build them to profitability, which helped me develop the skills necessary to build my own startup. What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at KitNipBox'Like any growing startup, KitNipBox often feels like a rollercoaster, and the adrenaline is exhilarating. Some of the highlights include seeing floods of excited customer photos and videos each time we ship our monthly boxes; selling out of our co-branded holiday box with Reddit in 80 minutes; becoming profitable within just one year of operations; visiting our warehouse before shipping day and seeing towers and towers of KitNipBoxes as far as the eye can see; becoming the #1 player in our market segment; and the immense gratification of watching each individual on our team learn and grow in their roles.By far, our greatest challenge has been recruiting the right talent. Everyone currently on our team is fantastic at what they do and together we operate as one mighty machine. We value this tremendously, recognizing that each new hire is a critical contributor to our company culture and success. Therefore, my co-founder and I spend an immense amount of time recruiting. Our interview process and screening exercises are intense, and the vast majority of candidates don't make it through. We also have specific, measurable milestones defined for each month of the first 90 days of any new team member's tenure, as well as quarterly performance reviews after that. It has taken us up to a year to fill some roles, but we believe the folks on our team were worth the wait.What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry'Work hard and build resilience to stress. Running a startup will bring you the highest of highs, but you will also have to bounce back from deep lows. You must have the fortitude to persevere through rugged valleys and the conviction that no problem is unsolvable in order to enjoy the peaks. You will often have to make sacrifices and prioritize your company above many other aspects of life. It's not an easy road to travel, but it's also the most rewarding journey I've experienced in my career. Choose wisely. What is the most important lesson you've learned in your career to date'Relationships are the lynchpin of a successful career. Whether it's the opportunities or wisdom gleaned from one's network, bosses, employees, and peers, or personal support from outside of the office, the success and satisfaction in one's work require healthy, positive, and effective relationships across the board.How do you maintain a work/life balance'I start with the basics and ensure that, no matter what, I get enough sleep and food. I know that if this doesn't happen, I'll be less effective and this will only make it more difficult to strike a balance. Next, I prioritize aggressively. Since my to-do list is never-ending, it is important to know what the top priorities are and what can wait. I review my goals every day and highlight three of the most impactful items I can achieve that day. Everything else is gravy, and this perspective allows me to draw the boundaries necessary to stop working if I'm seeing that the day has gotten abnormally long. I also make plans to see friends and family ahead of time. This enables me to refrain from working outside of my normal hours, since I hold myself accountable for attending scheduled events or plans. Of course, there are some weeks when it's just not possible to strike a balance. I try to make up for those weeks when things aren't as hectic by making more time for my family and friends when the opportunity presents itself.What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace'I believe that the biggest issue for women in the workplace is dependent upon each woman's preferences and experiences. Most of the opinion pieces I read on this subject pick one specific perspective, whether it's leaning in, leaning out, having it all, the impossibility of having it all, etc. and apply it to all women generically. I think that different women have different goals, whether it's running a startup or being a homemaker, having kids or choosing not to have them, working part-time or 120 hours per week, or anything in between, and it should be socially acceptable to pursue any of these objectives. The more workplaces there are that treat each woman as an individual and understand her specific goals, rather than make broad assumptions about them, the better off each one of us will be. How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life'Mentorship has made an enormous difference in both my professional and personal life. I am forever indebted to the amazing mentors I had at Level 3 Communications, who influenced every facet of my experience. From helping me assimilate into American culture to encouraging me to attend business school, my colleagues at Level 3 have helped me find a path to a happier and more fulfilling life. I'm also grateful to my professors, colleagues from subsequent companies I've worked at, and peers in my network from whom I continue to learn. In a new business, there are challenging puzzles to solve every day, and there is nothing more valuable than learning from someone who has been there or bouncing off one another's ideas.Which other female leaders do you admire and why'The female leader I admire most is the VP I worked under at Level 3 Communications. She is brilliant, and my time with her made "having it all" seem possible, which is, of course, what I wanted as an ambitious 21-year-old fresh out of college. As one of the youngest members of the company's leadership team, she was promoted to SVP of Corporate Strategy, a key executive role at a Fortune 500 company. She also had three children, and despite so many competing priorities, she was perpetually calm and collected, well-respected and insightful, and a truly talented leader. I am now older than she was then, but I still aspire to "grow up" to be like her one day.What do you want KitNipBox to accomplish in the next year'In the next year, I'd like KitNipBox to repeat its 400% subscriber growth from last year and become a brand that is instantly recognizable by pet parents. Our team also plans to expand KitNipBox's partnerships with shelters and animal welfare organizations, aiming to quadruple the 100+ causes we currently support in the next year. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Click here to read full news..
