Meet Stephanie Alexander, Founder of En Soleil a commuters retreat | Taking care of your health
Welcome to the very first segment of our Female Founder Spotlight series! Every month, we connect with female founders who are inspiring us with their stories, letting their light shine and doing the damn thing.
This month we had the privilege of connecting with Stephanie Alexander, founder of En Soleil. We discussed her journey overcoming health scares, moving around throughout the U.S. and pursuing her company that’s going to save New York City’s disheveled commuters.
Q: Tell us a bit about you and your background.
A: Well I am originally from Florida, my dad was in the Air Force down there and just stayed there after he got out. I am the oldest of four and the only girl, I have three younger brothers, so I’ve always sort of had the bossy label. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that can be a positive thing, especially for someone who’s trying to get into leadership or starting their own company.
I went to college in Florida at Florida A & M. I'm super attached to FAMU because I learned so much and met so many awesome people. It’s a historically black university so it had so much culture and heritage. I met my husband there and we have a really strong network, even up here in New York.
Q: I understand you ran into some serious health challenges since you’re move up to New York, can you tell us about those?
A: Back in 2013, I woke up one night in the middle of the night and my heart was racing. I didn't know what was going on, I had never felt anything like it before so I went to the ER and they diagnosed me with atrial fibrillation. At the time, I had just got married and I ended up needing to have heart surgery which was something that was really unexpected.
I was born with mitral valve prolapse (which is different from atrial fibrillation) so I knew I had a heart condition my whole life. When I was younger, I went to the cardiologist every year and they said as long as it’s not causing you problems, you don’t need to do anything. But of course, after college I stopped going to the doctor as frequently.
About a year after my surgery, I went for another check-up and I could see it on the EKG, I just knew. My cardiologist called me and said the valve needed to be replaced. So, literally, I had two heart surgeries within a year of each other.
I think it was triggered by my current job, it was really tiring and I’ve never worked that hard in my life.
This was the wake-up call.
Q: We’re so happy to hear the surgeries were a success and you’ re healthy now!
How did the idea and vision for your company, En Soleil, come up in all of this?
A: Well the idea came about in 2008-2009 when I had first moved up here after college. I was a sales rep in Brooklyn and lived in Brooklyn. I remember doing my work, coming home and changing before going to a happy hour or something like that in the city (Manhattan). People would always ask me if I worked that day because I didn’t have bags and I didn’t look like I was coming from work. I’d say yes, I just went home and changed. I remember seeing a young woman—it was kind of frequent—on the train or walking up to the event with two bags and looking kind of disheveled. Not in a judgemental way but I thought, I’m sure she’d love to go somewhere drop those bags off, relax for a minute and freshen up before these events. I saw this all of the time and I knew people needed a place that could be like a home away from home in the city. That’s when the idea was born.
I kept my well paying job and made the move last year, starting En Soleil. I was so inspired by all of the women doing their own thing and I thought, “Why the hell shouldn’t I do this?” I had started a business plan a couple years before but last summer is when I was really like okay, I’m doing this. I filed for the LLC, made it official and really started working towards opening the space.
En Soleil offers a space for wellness and convenience. When you open the door and walk in, you’re not in the grind of New York City, you’ re in a place where you are taken care of that focuses on the inclusivity of our members.
The stress of being a working professional in NYC, out and about all day takes a toll on people mentally and physically. En Soleil is a break for your body and mind, to stop and breathe for a second. Being under stress constantly is bad for your health, I went through it first hand with my heart, for your mood and for how you interact with other people.
Q: Was there anybody in particular that you saw doing something that inspired you?
A: Yes, definitely. There were so many but one of my friends, Bettina, used to be a pharmaceutical rep but for the past two years, she’s been running her own company called Chloe Kristyn, it’s an apparel company. Another friend and sorority sister named Melissa has a company, Abielle Creations, paints and designs, and she’s really taken off. She started painting out of boredom and now she has her own line of spanx, underwear and bras. My first boss, Joan Kuhl, who actually hired me right out of college, she’s a speaker and author. After reading the book #GIRLBOSS, I was looking at the rally that they were having and my first boss was a speaker at the #GIRLBOSS rally. And I was like, “Oh my gosh, I know her!” So I draw inspiration from all of those women and the new people I’ve been introduced to. A friend of mine was encouraging me saying, “Steph, you know you could totally do that. It’s such a good idea.” I take a lot from people’s encouragement and the fact that I really think it’s a good idea. It never left my mind, after 10 years it was still there.
Even if I don't know the answer to everything, I have the Internet, I have people in my network. So why can’t we do our own thing or make our own way?
Q: What fears or setbacks have come up for you in the transition from selling for a company to selling for your company?
A: Oh that one is easy—what if people don't come? What if nobody really wants this? What if they’re fine with just carrying their bags around because that’s New York? That’s definitely been a fear. There’s also the fear down the road that if—or when—I decide to quit my job and do this full-time, I am literally providing for myself without the help of a company behind me. Not that I don’t have anything to fall back on but that’s definitely a fear because I don't want to be broke (haha).
But then I remind myself that we didn’t think we needed Uber, we just thought taxis were what we used. But now we use Uber.
Q: What message do you have for people out there thinking about starting a company?
A: I think starting something that’s unique, a first of its kind, and really growing a new market. Similar to Alli Webb, who started Drybar—there were already hair salons but she started this trend of just getting a blow out and now there are so many copy cats of it everywhere.
Something that’s helped me is to just pick one thing, and a timeline to stick to, that’s going to progress the business everyday. Don’t try to say you’re working on too much in one day because it might make you feel overwhelmed and unproductive.
I would also say reach out to people for help or advice. I started out with my computer, thinking that I was going to look up everything and learn everything on my own. Why would I do that if I know someone who is a good social media person? Most people are really open to helping and sharing their knowledge.
Stephanie has an MBA from Florida A&M University, and has spent 12+ years in the healthcare industry in sales, training, and management.
En Soleil—a commuter's retreat—was created with the social professional in mind. They provide a comfortable, luxurious space where guests can refresh, change clothes and securely store their bags after work in a relaxing, comfortable environment before heading out for an evening in the city—eliminating the need to commute home in between.
En Soleil is launching in June 2020 with a 3-month pop up at the beautiful Refinery Hotel. Their goal is to secure funding to open a permanent flagship space, and expand to multiple NYC locations as well as other major metro areas such as DC, LA, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, and major airports both domestic and abroad.
Visit the blog to learn more about Stephanie and En Soleil.
SIGNUP for EARLY ACCESS to En Soleil on their website www.ensoleilnyc.com.
Stephanie can be reached on Instagram @live_ensoleil.