After attending law school and interning at a law firm,
she realized her real passion was in design
and she took the leap and well, it paid off.
So since, she's collaborated with Air Jordan
and was just named the first woman's creative director
at Foot Locker and has her own Streetwear brand,
that sells jewelry, apparel, accessories,
which have been worn by like Scissor, Alicia keys,
Lauren Hill, I've bought a lot of stuff at her store
actually, some of my favorite earrings in the world,
please welcome Melody Ehsani.
(audience applauding)
Hi Melody, how are you?
I'm doing so well.
How are you?
I love your brand so much.
Thank you, that's so sweet.
I was just trying to think about when the first time,
like my first memory of you.
And I remember I was in the sixth grade
and the first time I'd ever heard the term, it girl
was associated with you.
Oh.
And I remember thinking like, yeah, that's an it girl.
And I knew what it was instantly because of you.
Oh my gosh Melody that's so I...
cause you are such, um, you have so much street cred,
you started also doing a style
that is now the biggest trend here to stay,
which is Streetwear.
You are so ahead of the curve.
So to hear that from you, I'm blown away
because I've always admired you,
and I wanted to ask you took a big risk,
you were a lawyer, you had a dream, you felt in your gut,
a magnetic pole to do something else,
what do you say to people who feel that way
and are too afraid to leave the stability
of their job and chase a dream?
It's really hard,
but it's really the most important thing you can do.
I feel like it really comes down to the fact of like,
you have to ask yourself who you're living your life for.
And I really feel like it's our job to figure out
who we are and why we're here,
and you know, we're each little design.
So we need to unfold our design
instead of just repeat the past.
Woo oh!
I'm blown away by that statement.
It's gonna haunt me in the best way, all day.
It makes so much sense,
and sometimes you can't talk about a dream
until you really acknowledge reality.
'Cause then it's just all too lofty
and you found that dream, you realized it, you executed it,
and it's a huge success.
And I was wondering if you would give some wisdom
to a young, small business owner, um, in a segment,
are you ready Melody?
We're calling minute masterclass.
(audience applauding)
Okay, today we have Shaefer and she's a senior
in high school, who at the age of 16,
started her own clothing company called Hey Friends.
I love it.
Take a look.
Hi, my name is Shaefer Santos
and I'm the owner and creator of Hey friends.
Here at Hey Friends, we sell a bunch of graphic tees
and the occasional jean jacket
with a bunch of sayings and affirmations.
If you're wondering, this one is my favorite.
I started with clothing line almost two years ago now
because I have a huge love for fashion and business.
I also grew up in a family business.
Uh, so this is very inspiring to me
and I have a huge love for what I do.
And I, I feel very lucky that I found my passion so young.
Right now the biggest problem that I'm having is
that at the time aspect, I'm still a full-time student.
I'm actually a senior in high school this year,
and I have two jobs on top of Hey Friends.
So the day I can make Hey Friends,
my full-time career and job is my end goal for me.
And it's crazy and thank you so so much.
(audience clapping)
And here she is now.
Hi Shaefer!
(audience applauding)
Hi, how are you?
I'm so good.
I love your company by the way.
I was trolling your Instagram
and I just really, really loved your product.
And I think it's really beautiful
and uplifting and I'm an optimist,
so I really gravitated towards it.
I wanna throw this all to Melody
because she's the one who has truly done this.
So Melody, you'll have 60 seconds on the clock
to tell her everything you know
about being successful in business.
Are you ready for your minute masterclass?
I'm ready.
All right, Shaefer, what's your question?
How are you able to make that switch
from a regional to a national audience?
Go.
Well, I think to, we have social media right now,
which is the blessing you have.
So just putting as much content out there as possible
and word of mouth, women know how to spread word
about something they love around the world
faster than the internet.
So tell all your friends and trust that they'll tell theirs.
And as long as you keep your focus
and dedicate what time you do have to it,
slowly over time, you'll be able to
invest more and more energy into your passion
and less into the things that you have
to do to support your passion.
Exactly, and slow and steady wins the race
and keep going, keep your eye on the prize Shaefer.
I think what you've got is true to your heart
and you're passionate about it.
That's one of the biggest things is the passion,
that's what's gonna make you stay up at night,
work weekends and do everything it takes to get it done.
If that passion is not there, you won't do that,
and if you don't do that, you won't get the gig,
that's the way it works.
Um, okay.
Melody, I can't thank you enough for being with us today.
I have been an Uber fan for as long as I can remember.
It is such an honor to like do this with you
and Shaefer, keep going.
I'm gonna be on your Instagram.
We're gonna put you on our website as well
to honor that Melody mentality
of word of mouth and social media.
That prescription was so brilliant Melody,
I totally agree.
So let's help you foster that.
Thank you so much you guys.
By the way, minute masterclass, so awesome.
I love it!
Thank you so much you guys.
(upbeat music)