STEPHANIE TOURAND (MBA ’06)
“I learned sound business ideation and strategy backed up by a drive for results. This Midwestern work ethic is highly valued in the Bay Area, as is a grounded approach to value creation.” —STEPHANIE TOURAND (MBA ’06)
22 | UW–Madison Wisconsin School of Business
tephanie Tourand has an eye for beauty. Her passion for design and entrepreneurship drew her to the San Francisco area, where she became a founding member of Red Clay, an online platform connecting brands and independent product designers to manage the entire design process from idea generation to manufacturing. After overseeing the brand management of Procter & Gamble’s Olay Regenerist from concept to shelf, Tourand put her experience to work creating a platform that Red Clay’s independent designers and vendors could use to deliver products with integrity. As the head of client service and design, she shaped the startup’s own brand, platform, and aesthetic. Launching Red Clay with a team that included fellow WSB alumnus Kurt Kober (MBA ’07), head of business development, has been her most challenging and rewarding experience ever. “However many hours you think you’ll devote to a startup, triple it,” she advises. “Prepare yourself to be copywriter, salesperson, project manager, and mail room personnel. Failures and setbacks are a matter of when, not if. But with persistence, flexibility, humility, and creativity, you can redirect, reinvent, and recommit to your core business idea. The stakes are high, but it is also intensely personal and rewarding.” The Wisconsin School of Business instilled in Tourand the value of a “nononsense approach”—a commitment to authenticity. “I learned sound business ideation and strategy backed up by a drive for results,” she says. “This Midwestern work ethic is highly valued in the Bay Area, as is a grounded approach to value creation.” Now Tourand also consults privately with small businesses and service professionals looking for brand positioning, website creation, and customer acquisition. She plans to grow her consulting business, which gives startups a marketing springboard for success. She’s also interested in creating social media or online applications within the design space. Tourand advises professionals to play to their strengths. “Many times we devote our energy to improving our weaknesses or filling a blind spot,” she says. “Concentrating that same effort on the areas where you have real skill and expertise can propel you exponentially further.”
Stephanie Tourand photos by Jim Newberry.
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