Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Vandenberghe. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Heather, thanks for joining us today. How’s you first get into your field – what was your first job in this field?

Pretty much every job I have had, I have chased myself. My first real job was the beginning of this trajectory. I was one year out of grad school, and at 25 had spent a year and a half working in PR agencies, my most recent stint being in high tech PR. I quickly realized I would only be good at marketing if a product excited me, and even better if I was a customer. I quit that job and spent days walking the Stanford Shopping Center contemplating my career, though I was often distracted by my favorite store – bebe. Maybe my career path was right in front of me? I suddenly was on a mission to work for bebe in their corporate office, and I started asking everyone I knew if they had a contact there. Amazingly, I managed to get the CEO’s direct line, and I cold called him every single day, hanging up if his assistant or voicemail answered. Finally, I reached Manny Mashouf, the founder and CEO of bebe, and on the spot I came up with my pitch : “I notice you don’t do much marketing and PR, ” I said, “and your business could really benefit from it. I am a communications consultant, and if you are interested I would like to create a plan for you”. He wasn’t interested. In fact, he told me he was doing just fine without marketing. I had to sweeten the pitch : “A full blown plan would normally cost $10,000”, I made that number up, this was my first time cold calling anyone about any sort of marketing plan. “I will do it for you for free, and if you like it you agree to meet me”. He finally relented and said ok – he was leaving on a 3 week trip to Europe and would look at it when he returned.
To this day that plan is one of the best things I have ever written. It was titled “How to put bebe on the map” and in the coming 3 years I would implement every single aspect of it. But first I had to convince Manny.
I had never worked a day in retail. I had zero fashion experience. But I had passion for the product, and the industry- and a Stanford degree in international marketing that gave me confidence in my business approach.
Three weeks later I called his direct line every day again, hanging up whenever anyone but Manny answered the phone. When he finally answered he said, “I almost never answer my line, but whenever I do, it’s you calling”. I told him it was a sign that he needed to meet me — he laughed and agreed to a short meeting.
When we met (me in a bebe suit, of course), I walked him through the plan and he was clearly impressed. What I didn’t know at the time was that he had just received financial results that for the first time ever showed his small business was in the red. He offered me a 3 month consulting project and a $10,000 budget to work with, to put bebe on the map. In those three months I staged the company’s first fashion show for a store opening. landed our clothes on the hit TV shows Ally McBeal and Melrose Place, and created look books for the magazines which soon would be publishing us in editorials and even covers. Manny was so thrilled with the results that he hired me as Director of PR, and soon after as Director of Marketing. That was the title I held 3 years later when bebe reached $250M in sales, launched a successful IPO and I put Manny and his wife Neda on the cover of Forbes.

The lessons from this experience that I have carried with me throughout my entire career: Believe in yourself. Chase your dream. Don’t take no for an answer.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am a former fashion executive with over 20 years experience at some of the worlds best known and loved brands : Louis Vuitton, Tommy Hilfiger, bebe. My 4 years at bebe taught me how to build a small brand and make it big ; my 10 years as the head of marketing and communication at Louis Vuitton taught me everything I know about building and protecting a luxury brand and how a healthy brand translates to business growth ; and my 3 years at Tommy Hilfiger taught me about working internationally and with wholesale partners. After 15 years in New York, I wanted to move home to LA and was thrilled when Westfield offered me the role of CMO, with oversight over 40+ properties. That role enabled me to learn about retail from another perspective, and introduced me to new categories like health and wellness, and food and entertainment. When Westfield sold in 2018, I was ready for a break and it was during that break when I threw out my back and discovered Flexpower.

Flexpower is the first and only scent-free pain relief lotion. The original product that I discovered through a friend (now called Flexpower Warm) is powered by glucosamine and trolamine salicylate, two well known anti inflammatories. The lotion goes on scent free, heats up quickly, and continues to warm the affected area throughout the day as you need it. This is why pro athletes all over the world and across all sports love this product and have used it for over 20 years.

After I joined Flexpower we developed our second lotion called Soothe : this one is all natural and powered by Arnica, with a touch of CBD to give it a tingle and a cooling sensation when applied. It too goes on scent free, and lasts for hours; it also is healing on the skin. This is my go-to lotion for every day aches and pains.

During the pandemic I was having extreme hip pain (that would ultimately result in a hip replacement) and was taking baths daily in epsom salts at the recommendation of my doctor. Soaking in Epsom salts is not the most luxurious experience, and after a long bath my skin would be dried out and the pain would quickly return. I started working with a team to develop Flexpower Bath, a line of bath salts that mixes the traditional epsom and sea salts with Arnica for long lasting pain relief, and Vitamin E oil to nourish and moisturize the skin. I gave a bottle of our bath salts to my friend Anne Sisteron and she loved them so much, she asked to create a bespoke version of her own using her favorite fragrances sandalwood and lavender.

All of our products are botanical based, and sustainably and locally made. They are vegan, reef safe and leaping bunny certified.

In the coming months Flexpower will launch a lip conditioner called Flexbalm made with natural ingredients to soothe and replenish the lips, and a sun line FlexSun moisturizing sunscreens that deliver key moisturizing and soothing ingredients for the skin while protecting it from damage.

Our vision at Flexpower is this: everyone deserves to feel good, every day, and we design our products with this in mind.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Believing in yourself and your product or business.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

When I left my last corporate job, as CMO of Westfield, I was excited to take some time off. As luck would have it, I was only two weeks into my summer break when I threw my back out. This had never happened before, and I felt paralyzed by the pain. I tried every over the counter topical I could find, and finally went to see my orthopedist who gave me a cortisone shot and sold me a $180 bottle of CBD lotion that didn’t work. I was taking percocet daily for the pain, when a friend suggested I try Flexpower. He rubbed the product on my back and it was like a miracle – after weeks of pain, I could finally get out of bed and move around. In less than a week, I was off pain meds and completely cured. I asked where I could buy more Flexpower and was told that I couldn’t — the product was only available through the distributor network used by pro sports teams. My friend was friends with the founder Rasheen Smith, so I asked for an introduction : I was going to convince Rasheen to make Flexpower available to consumers.

We met over lunch and I was riveted by his story – how and why he created the original Flexpower after being an NCAA athlete himself, and how the business had progressed to become the best kept secret among pro athletes. He was sort of stuck over what to do with it next. I had a vision that Flexpower could be so much more than a sports brand : that pain relief could and should be part of everyone’s daily routine, that we should all start our days feeling good. I also believed that an entire lifestyle business could be built around this idea. While I was informally helping Rasheen with his branding and a marketing plan, he asked me to join Flexpower as CEO. “This is my baby”, he said as he entrusted me with growing this business. I have never forgotten that, and am grateful that he has entrusted Flexpower to me and to this larger vision.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Flexpower.com
• Instagram: @Flexpower
• Facebook: @Flexpower
• Linkedin: @Flexpower