Christina Mace-Turner

Do not believe in others more than you believe in yourself. And don’t be freaked out by setbacks; they are only permanent if you treat them that way.

 

Christina Mace-Turner is a true modern day alchemist and a consistent category disruptor.

She made magic happen at Apple where she developed and managed Apple’s global Business Affairs team overseeing many beloved launches from the app store to the iPhone. Prior to that, she founded and led Flipboard’s Partnership team, where during her tenure, active users skyrocketed from 2 million to 90 million.

After a prestigious corporate career, Christina, a longtime health and wellness advocate, co-founded and served as CEO of True Botanicals, a non-toxic personal care brand that quickly became a leader in the space.

Christina’s latest adventure is Mab & Stoke. As the Founder and CEO of Mab & Stoke, she seeks to revolutionize the herbal wellness market with the invention of Mab Tabs: fast-acting herbal super tabs that dissolve in any beverage. Mab & Stoke combines centuries-old botanical wisdom with cutting-edge technology. Simplicity and elegant product design makes Mab & Stoke ideal for wellness lovers and skeptics alike, enabling them to cut through the chaos of the herbal market. For each product sold, Mab & Stoke plants one tree, furthering the company’s mission to being “wildly alive.”

Where did the idea for Mab & Stoke come from?

I am a huge fan of using plants to stay healthy and enhance wellness, and I am an equally huge fan of great design and innovation. My previous company focused on providing plant-based alternatives to the toxins in most skincare products. With Mab & Stoke I wanted to enlist plants to help people feel amazing, and to do that, I knew I had to redesign the experience of herbal supplements. The Mab Tab is a customized herbal super tab, a beautiful little object you drop in a drink each day to unlock your super self.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

I wake up most days around 5 am, and because I’m running a young startup, my typical day is busy busy busy. I make it productive by surrounding myself with people who are incredibly talented and just as excited as I am about the products we are making and the people we are helping. We collaborate well, commit to pull one another forward and each take our individual areas of responsibility really seriously. We get things done!

How do you bring ideas to life?

Whether it’s a physical or digital product, I always start by picking apart the root problem that I’m working on. Where are things really getting stuck? How have they been unstuck in the past (if at all), and what’s the problem that keeps causing this stuckness? With Mab Tabs, for example, the problem was a failure to modernize the form factor and taste of herbal remedies that had been used effectively for thousands of years. People didn’t know what herbs to take, and what they did find and choke down was so unappealing that they rarely took a daily effective dose. Once I identified that problem, then I bought a higashi mold and made my first mab tabs by hand pressing powdered herbs and brown sugar into the molds. I gave them to some friends to try and very soon I didn’t have enough time in the day to keep up with demand.

What’s one trend that excites you?

The cultural embrace of imperfection. I love that we are trending towards a place where imperfection is being owned as a feature and not a flaw. Acceptance and flaunting of a person’s imperfection is the new super power.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Fifteen minutes of meditation in the morning. I use the Headspace app, and it’s been incredibly effective for me in grounding myself for the day.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Do not believe in others more than you believe in yourself. And don’t be freaked out by setbacks; they are only permanent if you treat them that way.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

Leonard Nimoy sings “Bilbo Baggins.” The best.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Do not give up. Ever. And don’t let anyone else tell you what you or your ideas are worth. As soon as you start looking to other people for that type of validation, you are lost.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Building community is key. This comes in the form of aligning with like-minded partners and customers, and creating opportunities for real connection. It also manifests itself through word of mouth. People trust their friends and family, and they are more likely to engage with brands that the people they know and care for engage with.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

To be honest, I don’t think in terms of work failures. There have been outcomes I haven’t wished for, but they have all provided the instruction for the next solution, and for that reason I really wouldn’t consider them failures.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Sustainable packaging!

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

Spent on saving koalas during the recent fires in Australia.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

Slack. I love it so much. My team is spread out, so we use Slack to chat throughout the day and manage all of our work streams.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

I love the Fountainhead. I’ve probably read it 10 different times at this point. Looking past what a misogynistic jerk Howard Roark was, I love the singularity of his character’s vision. Imitation is easy, but resisting convention to generate the iconography of the future is every entrepreneur’s dream.

What is your favorite quote?

Memory believes before knowing remembers. – William Faulkner

Key Learnings:

• Wild is wise.
• Trust yourself.
• Create what matters.