We were recently introduced to Janel Molton Hertz of Dopple and fell totally in love with her and what she does to make all our lives a little bit easier. We sat down with her to get the scoop on what she did before founding her company, what her take on balance is and hear about her proudest moment.

 

 

What was the inspiration behind your amazing brand, Dopple?

The idea was first “conceived” when I was pregnant with my first baby Carmen six years ago. I had been in women’s fashion e-commerce for over ten years yet and when I started looking for clothes to buy for her I was floored by how limited (and basic) the childrenswear market was. I wanted to find cool unique product but also didn’t want to pay $100 for a onesie that she would wear once and destroy.

Now we know you have a daughter named Carmen, does she have any siblings?

Yup, I have Carmen, who is five and her little brother is Gustav, who is three.

What did you do before starting your company?

I majored in Art History in college but interned at two art galleries and didn’t feel as inspired as I thought I was going to be. So at 19, in-between my sophomore and junior year, I interned at W Magazine in NYC and fell in love with the fashion industry (even with the Devil Wear’s Prada type of experience!). After college I actually started my own designer consignment site before going to Net-A-Porter to learn from the best of the best until I then met my (now) husband and moved to SF for love. I then spent two years commuting to LA to work as the first Brand Marketer @Revolve (and launch FWRD by Elyse Walker) before we moved back to NYC (pregnant) where I headed up brand marketing at a wedtech company called Weddington Way.

Seriously impressed with your background! From your expert opinion what are the top three children’s clothing brands to look out for today?

So hard as we have hundreds of amazing brands! My current faves are Rylee & Cru, Misha and Puff, Malu Organic, Soor Ploom, Les Petit Carreaux, and Dagmar Daley, and Beau Loves. Super excited we just started working with Stella McCartney and Chloe and definitely obsessed :P.

Tell us about your proudest moment.

Proudest moment so far was when we closed our seed round of fundraising.  

CONGRATS on raising money! That is not easy to do. What is the most challenging thing about running your own business?

You can’t turn off, ever. The business is always first and foremost and it’s really challenging to disconnect (even momentarily) which is imperative for creativity which will inevitably drive the business forward.

Right! What does balance mean to you?

Nothing!  I hate the word balance when it comes to having kids and a career. There is no balance post children. Whether you work or stay-at-home, raising human beings puts you perpetually off kilter as you actually can’t control every moment, making everyday balance impossible.

How has being a parent changed you?

It’s forever altered who I am and want I want. It’s taught me unconditional love, it’s taught me total selflessness, it’s taught me unbridled passion. I’m forever grateful for those two beautiful beings!

Where do you see your company in 2023?

Holy moly — in startup world that feels like decades away. I see a lot more people believing in the Dopple dream 🙂

Where is your happy place?

With my closest friends, and mezcal.

Lastly, tell us about your ideal Saturday.

Sleep! I would give anything to sleep past 8am on a Saturday.

Instagram handle: @thedopple

Website: www.thedopple.com

To try Dopple just take the quiz and use the code FPCBFF to waive the service fee and try for free!