11. Olivia Landau & Kyle Simon | The Clear Cut (engagement rings & fine jewelry)

Olivia Landau and Kyle Simon are the Co-Founders and CEO/COO of The Clear Cut. 
Olivia and Kyle are a dynamic duo power couple who met during their time studying at GIA, the Gemological Institute of America. A few years after graduating from gem school, they started noticing a lot of their friends were looking to get engaged and would often ask them for help, tips and even to design their custom rings. What initially started as an educational blog to help people better understand the do’s and don'ts of ring buying, quickly turned into a frenzy on the internet, with people from all over the world wanting custom rings and jewelry.
At The Clear Cut, Olivia, Kyle and their team have built a direct to consumer diamond engagement ring and fine jewelry powerhouse. They’ve taken what has traditionally been known as a mysterious, pay to play to industry and completely disrupted it, adding a layer of amazing customer service and transparency with their customers. Their goal is to be the end-to-end jewelry brand for the digital age. 
This was an inspiring interview that taught me a ton about the diamond industry and shed light on one of the best new brands in the space. 
Tune in to hear Olivia and Kyle's story!
EPISODE TOPICS: 

• (2:02) What does The Clear Cut look like today (mission, vision, products, size)? 
• (2:39) What is your background and what were you both working on before starting The Clear Cut? 
• (6:40) What's the difference between buying a ring from The Clear Cut vs another jewelry store?
• (11:00) What type of information does a prospective customer typically share when they come to you?
• (13:49) What was your Techstars experience like?
• (17:33) What marketing strategies have worked for you?
• (21:44) What are some business challenges/struggles you've had?
• (23:12) How do you think about hiring?
• (26:16) How do you think about competition? 
• (29:24) What type of engagement rings are popular today?
• (31:00) Where do you want The Clear Cut to be in 5-10 years?
• (32:22) What's it like co-founding a company with your significant other?
• (37:35) What is your approach to fundraising?
• (32:04) What's the biggest investor lesson you've learned?
• (40:21) What out of the box marketing strategies did you try that didn't work?
• (43:09) If you could teleport back to when you started, what would tell yourself?
• (52:50) What resources would you recommend to others? 
• (54:00) Olivia and Kyle's startup manifesto 
• (56:08) Olivia and Kyle's founder nomination 

The Clear Cut - www.theclearcut.co

• Follow The Clear Cut (@theclearcut) on Instagram // TikTok
• Follow Olivia (@olivialandau) on Instagram // LinkedIn // Podcast
• Follow Kyle on LinkedIn
• Olivia and Kyle's learning and resource recommendations 

The Founder - www.thefounderpod.com 

• Follow The Founder (@founderpodcast) on Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn // Facebook