'How Did They Do It?' With Co-Founder of The Board, April Uchitel!
LA: What is one interesting thing that people may not know about your career?
A: I lasted only 3 weeks at PRADA! I knew in the first week that it was not a cultural fit, nor was the role what they said it was. They grossly underestimated the amount of travel and were not transparent about the rigid culture or how archaic their systems were. I figured I’d tough it out for a year as I didn’t want to jump around, but by the end of week 3 I was just too miserable. I did my pro / con list and it was all con except “It’s Prada”! My previous employer Max Azria called to say he’d heard I was unhappy and asked me to come back to BCBG. I decided to fail fast and quit even though I knew that once you move on it is really impossible to go backwards. A few months after I did - I got a call from DVF to join her team and ended up working with Diane for 9 years!
LA: During your professional journey, what is one mistake you made that you learned the most from?
A: I made the mistake of overstaying my welcome TWICE! I’m a creature of security and played it safe early on by staying far past (1-2 years) the time I should have left for new experiences. I let “the devil I know” mentality ultimately prevent me from taking risks that I regret.
LA: What are you most proud of at this moment?
A: I’m most proud of my new venture called THE BOARD and the incredible community of amazing freelance talent we are creating. The pandemic forced us all to re-evaluate what we want to do, how we want to live and work, and many realized they are no longer interested in climbing the corporate ladder, or idling at the top, but instead are looking to leverage their experience across multiple projects, and collaborate with passionate like minded builders. Businesses re-evaluated their org charts as the shift to remote work removed geography as a barrier, and has forever changed the way companies think about teams. THE BOARD was born out of COVID to bridge that gap.
LA: I wish people would stop doing this in business
A: Openly talk about their successes but not their failures. Also thinking that success is based on how much money they raise versus building mindful and profitable business. Not every business should be $100M +!
LA: The place I find inspiration is....
A: In nature. I love to hike with my dog Cash. He is playful and crazy and helps take my mind off of daily stresses and just be there in that moment.
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