Momboss: The Mamas Behind The Cult Water Bottle Brand BKR
Written by James Kicinski-McCoy
Photography by Photographed by Vanessa Hellmann
Of course, we love and celebrate incredible mamas (and women in general!) here at Mother, but there is something so incredibly inspiring and motivating when hearing and seeing these ladies redefining what it means to be women in the workplace. Which brings us to our new column “Momboss”, where we profile those who are raising both businesses and children side by side.
We couldn’t think of a better duo to kick off this series than powerhouse, lawyers-turned-self-made-entrepreneurs, Tal Winter and Kate Cutler. Tal and Kate started Bkr, a line of eye-catching, bright, and beautiful glass and silicone water bottles in 2011. Since then, the brand has changed the way that women view drinking water, and is shaking up the beauty and wellness industry one impeccably-designed bottle at a time. Click into our interview, below, where we get a behind-the-scenes look into the Bkr offices and dig deep to find out everything from work essentials and go-to uniforms to combatting competition and that work/life balance.
-
- “Tal is the Founder, CEO, and CCO. She leads the larger vision of Bkr, as well as creative, brand direction, and new product development. Kate is the Co-Founder and Head of Strategy. She leads the global strategic growth of the company, including international distribution, ensuring that as we expand, Bkr remains true to its brand and mission.”
-
- “This is a difficult question to answer because luckily, we love almost everything about our jobs. We’re creating the kind of company we feel excited to go to every day. We get to make the type of products we love and feel proud of. We’re surrounded by a culture that we, ourselves, cultivated of super cool and talented people. We each get to work with our best friend every day, and we get to continue to dream and follow our passions. And, next month, we have to go to the French Riviera and Paris for work. It doesn’t get much better than that—knock on wood a million times.”
-
- “Tal was born in Beverly Hills, and grew up outside of L.A., which is appropriate because she says, 'I’m not a princess, but I do appreciate beautiful things.’ Kate was born in San Francisco, which is also appropriate if you know her. She’s a true San Franciscan and appreciates, knows, and loves all the city’s quirks and secrets. We were both lawyers in what we refer to as 'our past lives.' We met at UC Hastings Law School in San Francisco, and have been friends ever since. We were always the people in our group of friends who woke up the earliest. Before having kids, we’d meet and walk the whole city of San Francisco before anyone else had even gotten up."
-
- “We always knew that the prescription for gorgeous skin is sleep and water, but we found ourselves drinking from tons of plastic, disposable water bottles. We were cultured, intelligent, fashionable women drinking out of trash. And, it’s especially bad for women to drink out of plastic because of the effects of leaching chemicals and estrogenic activity. It didn’t make sense. We couldn’t find a reusable bottle we loved, and we didn’t like the experience of drinking out of metal, as it made water taste and smell awful, you couldn’t see into it, and you couldn’t put it in the dishwasher. So, we made exactly what we wanted: something beautiful, effortless, clear, pure, and chic. We knew if we wanted it, other people would, too.”
-
- Chic office decor, or low-maintenance office pup?
-
-
“Tal spent most of her law career advocating for abused children. She moonlighted at Bkr for years before she left her law practice a few days after Bkr launched. Kate spent 12 years working at prestigious firms around the city, but she felt it was time to embrace her creative side, and joined forces with her best friend.”
Tal wears an Isabel Marant shirt, R13 jeans, and sneakers by Golden Goose. Atlas wears a Gardner and the Gang sweatshirt, Huxaby pants, and Converse sneakers.
-
- “No, we never imagined that we’d be entrepreneurs. We felt we had a really good idea, and it was the idea that drove us to be entrepreneurs, not the other way around. We’re beyond happy to work for ourselves now. We often joke about how great our bosses are.”
-
- Decisions, decisions.
-
- “It means that you’re balancing two start-ups at once. Kids are the ultimate start-up.”
-
- “Madonna, Beyoncé, Diane Von Furstenberg, Michelle Obama, and J.K. Rowling—powerful, creative, inspiring, and badass women who did it all with children at their side.”
-
- “It’s a work in progress. We both try to be where we are when we’re there. If we’re home with our kids, then we try to be home. And, if we’re running around New York City doing press and meetings, we try not to think about what we’re missing back at home, and enjoy where we are.”
-
-
“Our ambitions and passions informed our career paths, but motherhood informs choices we make everyday along that path. You can be anything you want to be. Being a mom doesn’t change that, it’s just harder.”
Kate wears a Rebecca Taylor shirt and Rag & Bone jeans. Cooper wears an H&M shirt and jeans from Gap.
-
- “It gives you perspective, and it’s really easy to lose perspective when you have your own business. Before kids, we’d work very late, but with kids you realize there’s so much more to having a successful life than work success.”
-
- “Yes, it’s impossible. But, it’s not healthy for anyone to never take a break. We do everything we can to separate the two. Kids are usually the ultimate distraction, but if stress levels are high after they’ve gone to bed, reality television is a solid escape. If all else fails, a glass of wine always helps.”
-
- “We can tell you what it didn’t look like: vacation. But, no one’s looks like a vacation. On top of being exhausted and overworked by our new, tiny screaming bosses, we still had to be present and check in as much as possible. It wasn’t easy, but having two full-time jobs at once isn’t easy.”
-
- “Kate has all her family here and many lifelong friends, so, yes. For Tal, it’s harder. Her family is far away, and she lives downtown in a more isolated area to be closer to work. But, Kate introduced her former nanny to Tal, and she’s become part of the family. Tal’s mom comes to visit for extended periods of time as well.”
-
- “There is no perfect mom, wife, or entrepreneur; believing this is half the battle. Women are so hard on themselves. It’s most important to do the best you can, and be happy. It’s also about finding what does and doesn’t work for you, and having boundaries. Kate once missed her son’s birthday for a press trip, and realized it just wasn’t worth it. She didn’t want to do that ever again.”
-
- Office goals.
-
-
Tal: "Because I’m the Founder, CEO, and CCO, my days are very different depending on whether I’m primarily focused on leading, creating, inspiring, imagining, recruiting, directing, presenting, or producing. Most mornings, I meet with my creative manager and figure out how much time I can get alone in my office to read, write, think, strategize, and meet with Kate. I take at least one or two executive meetings a day, work through roadblocks, and make decisions that drive the business forward. I usually take the creative team to Barneys, Sephora, or the SFMOMA for inspiration whenever it’s needed, and begin the process of imagining future campaigns, packaging, projects, products, and collections. We have four weekly-planned creative meetings that methodically move about a hundred balls forward. I always spend a little time every day trying to improve flow, and ensure everyone at Bkr is happy, focused, and thriving."
Kate: "First thing, I catch up with our international distributors—whether it’s Stockholm, Sydney, or Dubai, we discuss how the brand is growing, the doors we’re opening, and what support they need for success in their territory. Sometimes, it's marketing assets or an interview with Tal and me for local press. We all eat lunch together at Bkr at a big communal table in the kitchen. It's a good way to check in with everyone, and talk to the people I may miss during the day. Then, I’ll look at PR or marketing initiatives for a new collection, check in with our operations team regarding progress on special projects, work with sales on distribution and long-term strategy, and spend time with Tal to look at new products and visions for the future. I also review all our legal agreements and cover risk management. When you’re a founder, you get pulled into a lot of decisions, and in a lot of directions. Every day is different, busy, and challenging and that’s what I love about it.”
-
- “Big Bkrs, M&Ms, and sparkly pens.”
-
- A rainbow of Bkr!
-
- “When we feel uninspired, we like to go outside and take a walk. There’s always too much to do, so on the off-chance that we're feeling unproductive or uninspired, it’s an opportunity to take a break and either get a manicure together, or grab a frozen yogurt with sliced bananas on top.”
-
- “It’s very hard when it’s your own business to be entirely unplugged. We work hard to separate from work when we’re with our kids, but text messages, emails, and calls after they’re asleep are pretty standard. And, when we’re traveling, we’re good about taking advantage of it and taking some time for ourselves to enjoy wherever it is we are.”
-
- “Tal usually has a Caesar salad with chicken, and Kate’s husband packs her a sandwich and random little treats that everyone makes fun of, but wants.”
-
-
“For Tal, it’s tennies or slides with torn jeans, oversized t-shirts, rose gold jewelry, and a tiny ‘w’ necklace. Kate wears skinny jeans, flats, tailored tops, bling-y bangles, and a delicate ‘4’ necklace Tal gave her when Bkr turned four.”
Tal wears a Raquel Allegra shirt, R13 jeans, and Golden Goose sneakers. Kate wears a Robert Rodriguez shirt, Rag & Bone jeans, and shoes from a small boutique in Rome.
-
- “Building a luxury beauty brand centered around a water bottle, and the concept that drinking water is the foundation of your beauty regimen, has been the biggest collection of challenges, especially in light of the fact that we’ve done this all without funding, MBAs, or experience. We’ve had to teach ourselves literally everything. Our experience and foundation as lawyers gave us the confidence in ourselves to take the initial leap, and the resilience to stick with it and succeed.”
-
- “We’re super lucky that it worked out so well for us, but the best piece of advice is: ‘Don’t do this alone, and choose your partner wisely.’ Make sure that whoever you start a business with is someone you could imagine sitting with in the back row, middle seat of an airplane for twenty hours. A business partnership is basically a second marriage. One of the reasons we’ve been successful is because we do like each other so much, and work together so well.”
-
- Big Bkr plans in the making.
-
- “Our advice is to make sure you really love and believe in your idea, and are prepared to stand behind it and fight for it no matter what. Put one foot in front of the other every day, and if you find that you don’t know what you’re doing, well, welcome to the club. If you’ve resolved to never give up, then you can figure it out. You might not sleep for few years, but it will have been worth it.”
-
- “We’ve always had a very Coco Chanel attitude: ‘I don’t care what you think about me, I don’t think about you at all.’ We are much more focused on what we’re doing, where we’re going, what our customers want, and building our brand. We can’t waste time worrying about what everyone else is doing. Looking left and right doesn’t move you forward.”
-
- “As moms, we have to be incredibly efficient, while we’re at the office because in addition to an entire team of people, there are also little people at home depending on us. If you know you have to be at Back-To-School Night at 6:30 p.m., there’s no option to procrastinate. Also, we try to avoid meetings like the plague, but that doesn’t always work.”
-
- What's on the schedule this month?
-
- “We still do everything for ourselves—book travel, get coffee, manage our calendars, and clear our inboxes—all of it. We’re both very hard-working and self-made, so even when we need help with grabbing lunch, so we can make it to a meeting on time, we still feel badly asking someone else to do it.”
-
- “Driven, strong work ethic, creative, smarter than us at something, and cool.”
-
- “Only the most fabulous, sparkly collection coming this holiday season. 100% of the net profits are going to charity and we only made a very limited number. We’re already turning down retail orders. Anyone who wants the perfect gift for the Bkr girl who has everything should sign up to be a Bkr VIP because we expect to sell out on our site very quickly.”
Share this story
