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Founded with an entrepreneurial spirit, HSN prides itself on bringing new products to a large television audience. HSN Vice President of New Business Development Dara Trujillo gets up every morning energized by the prospect of finding the next innovative entrepreneur. As she sifts through hundreds of great ideas at trade shows around the country, she focuses specifically on finding entrepreneurs who are passionate about the products they create.
On this week’s Retail Gets Real episode, Trujillo discusses how the company elevates entrepreneurs through business education, guidance and exposure.
Dara Trujillo (front left) with co-hosts Katie McBreen (back left) and Bill Thorne (right)
Trujillo is familiar with what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Personality is just as important as the product and “passion is something that you cannot teach,” she says. Although passion, perseverance and persistence are common entrepreneurial traits, she stresses that there must be a willingness to receive feedback in the business development process and recommends that entrepreneurs link up with mentors to receive constructive feedback.
HSN’s American Dreams Academy, a travelling two-day workshop for those currently developing a product, is a great source of feedback. The company finds eager entrepreneurs through a variety of strategic partnerships, often finding new products in the process. “Education is something you have to give entrepreneurs,” she says, “and it’s not something that’s necessarily found in schools.” The next training session runs January 24-26 in Tampa, Fla.
Listen to the episode to learn about how HSN is helping entrepreneurs bring their products to market. To keep in touch with podcast news, sign up for the Retail Gets Real newsletter.
Katie McBreen is a co-host on NRF’s Retail Gets Real podcast. Meet all the co-hosts and learn more about the show.