Real Talk with Nicole Smith
Nicole Smith is the CEO and Founder of Flytographer, a marketplace that connects travelers with local photographers for fun vacation photo shoots in over 380 cities worldwide. Nicole left a 13-year-career in global marketing at Microsoft to leap into the world of entrepreneurship with Flytographer and has since built a multi-million dollar brand that connects to her “why” and connects to both female staff and customers alike. Read on to learn more about her advice for others continuing entrepreneurship and why it doesn’t have to be as big of a leap as you think.
YOU ARE PROUD TO HAVE A 90% FEMALE TEAM, WHAT DROVE THAT FOR YOU?
I love that our team reflects our customers, which are 85% women. Women are more often (but not always, of course!) the memory chroniclers in their families and as a result, often missing from the photos. Our business model and mission resonates deeply with our team.
YOU HAVE A WORKPLACE CULTURE THAT SCREAMS FUN FOR ANYONE WHO’S SEEN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA. WHAT ARE YOUR LEADERSHIP GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR KEEPING AN ENGAGED TEAM?
It’s definitely a fun place to work - we get to look at beautiful travel photos from around the world daily!
Beyond the fun, I believe an engaged team is the result of several factors. It starts with hiring for values alignment, having transparent expectations (we follow the EOS framework), offering growth opportunities, and giving regular coaching/feedback loops so the team feels supported and can realize their potential. We subscribe to the conscious leadership model and train all our leaders, managers and teams on this to deepen self-awareness and ensure we are staying curious and “above the line” when communicating with each other.
We also offer a 90/10 program to our customer service team, where they can spend 10% of their work hours on a growth project with another team in an area that they are interested in (marketing, dev, operations etc.) Sometimes it leads to new career opportunities, or it can help people clarify what they don’t want to do!
We also plan a fun annual company retreat so our team can bond in real life. This year we went kayaking together, sang karaoke and brainstormed big ideas for the future.
OVER THE LAST 12 YEARS YOU’VE EXPLODED TO OVER 375 DESTINATIONS, CREATED A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR VENTURE AND QUICKLY BECOME A GO-TO VACATION BRAND. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO CONTINUE EXPANDING?
I feel very grateful to be in the business of capturing priceless photos for travelers all over the world for the last ten years. The stories our customers share about how much these memories mean to them, and how much they enjoyed “learning city tips, and connecting with a local” is our “why”.
I love that we can bring more work opportunities to local photographers around the world and help them earn extra income, expand their portfolios and meet interesting people from around the world. The connections in our community inspires me, and I feel like I have friends all over the world.
CAN YOU NAME ANOTHER WOMAN WHO HAS HELPED INSPIRE YOUR OWN JOURNEY?
Sara Blakely, the visionary founder of Spanx. Sara created something that didn’t exist, to solve a personal problem. She got a lot of “no”s yet persisted and never gave up. She scaled her company to a billion dollar exit and did it in her own way, blazing a trail.
AS A WORKING MOM YOURSELF, HOW DO YOU THINK THE TOURISM INDUSTRY CAN BETTER SUPPORT WORKING PARENTS?
I think the best thing we can do is create systems for hybrid or remote work that supports and encourages flexible schedules. Technology has enabled async work and the ability to be productive from many places. It helps balance work with family obligations that leaves everyone better off.
WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED ON YOUR JOURNEY TO STARTING FLYTOGRAPHER AND FULFILLING YOUR VISION?
In the early years, the biggest challenge was defining a brand new space - we were the first global vacation photography marketplace. There was no roadmap, I wasn’t even a photographer -- so I had to figure everything out by trial and error and just listening to feedback from customers and photographers. I got shot down by so many investors who didn’t understand my vision, so I bootstrapped the business the first two years (even sold my car!) while I worked full-time at my corporate job.
The next big challenge was of course the pandemic. Our sales went to zero overnight in March 2020 — and that continued for months. We had to lay off 80% of the team and go into survival mode. It was such a scary and uncertain time for our entire industry and I focused on what I could control and just tried to keep lean and stay afloat as we all navigated that wild time. Despite the challenges, we emerged a stronger company in the end. We have been profitable for the past 3 years, streamlined operations and were able to rebuild our team with talent from across the country, thanks to remote work. Our business is now doing double what we did before the pandemic and I have a deeper sense of gratitude after we navigated that storm.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER WOMEN WITH A BUSINESS IDEA THEY CAN’T SHAKE WONDERING ABOUT TAKING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL PLUNGE?
If you can’t stop thinking about your idea, then take the first step. Then the next step and the next and just get started. Talk to your prospective customers, learn how you can solve their problems and just test, try, iterate. Throw up a quick Wordpress website to get feedback. I started as a “side-preneur” as I was a single mom and needed to pay the mortgage still. I couldn't just quit my corporate job. It took me longer to get traction, but I traded that for more financial security - living off ramen and couch surfing off a friend’s place wasn’t an option. So I did it slowly, kept testing, learning and eventually it was big enough I knew it was time to go “all-in”.
AS SOMEONE IN THE MEMORY-MAKING BUSINESS, WHAT TRAVEL EXPERIENCE ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS NEXT YEAR?
I look forward to taking my kids back to Europe next summer - my youngest son will be going into grade 12, so it’s his last summer in high school. We are just starting to plan the itinerary, but hoping to squeeze a F1 race in there somehow! Hiking in Switzerland is on the list, and hopefully some time exploring Italy.
ABOUT NICOLE
Nicole Smith is the CEO and Founder of Flytographer, a marketplace that connects travelers with local photographers for fun vacation photo shoots in over 380 cities worldwide. Flytographer has captured over 3 million memories and was recently ranked by The Globe and Mail as the 84th fastest growing company in Canada.
Nicole left a 13-year-career in global marketing at Microsoft to leap into the world of entrepreneurship with Flytographer. Prior to that, she worked as a product manager for a Seattle-based tech start-up, and is a graduate of SFU's business program. Nicole was selected as a member of E&Y’s “Winning Women Class of 2018” and featured in Mashable’s “Eight Women Shattering the Travel Industry’s Glass Ceiling.” In 2015, she pitched on Dragons’ Den, and in 2018 was the pitch winner at The Forum, Canada's leading pitch program for women entrepreneurs.
When she isn’t at work, she’s playing pickleball, doing pilates or cheering embarrassingly loud at her son's basketball games.