How She Gets to Bed: Vanessa Bruce, Co-Founder & CEO of Dough
How She Gets to Bed is a deep dive into how women who kick ass during the day spend their night. Tonight, we’re excited to feature Vanessa Bruce, co-founder and CEO of Dough, an e-commerce company that empowers shopping women-owned brands. She co-founded Dough to help create economic equity for women by creating a community and visibility platform for women founders. Without further ado, here is how she gets to bed. 💤
About Dough
Last September, Dough launched its marketplace, which has quickly grown and currently offers more than 1,000 products from 200+ founders, to further our mission and help drive dollars to women-led businesses. Dough was inspired in part by my own experiences as a woman working in tech and at startups. It was also influenced by my upbringing and personal relationship with finances. Realizing that less than 3% of venture capital money backs women-owned businesses was the tipping point and served as the challenge Dough would address. I’m passionate about entrepreneurship and mentoring women, and leading Dough allows me to engage daily in a meaningful and impactful way with fellow women who are growing their businesses.
Vanessa’s Background
Industry: Retail
Occupation: Co-Founder and CEO of Dough
Age: 33
Location: Boston, MA
Awake by: Between 8:30 AM and 9:30 AM
Asleep by: Between midnight and 1:00 AM. I’m a night owl.
On the Day-to-Day
It depends on the day of the week! I block Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for calls, and I have six to eight calls on those days to connect with the team, women+ founders and Dough corporate partners. In between meetings, I clear out my inbox.
Activities to Relax
I typically read or watch an episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer or Angel, the Buffy spin-off series. A cup of tea, a candle and a hot pack are essential in helping me relax.
I’m intentional in the companies I support, and I shop women-owned whenever possible, so many of my favorite products are from independent, women-led businesses.
I love The QI Shangri-La Rose Tea and Beloved Packs’ Hot and Cold Therapy Rice Pack. My go-to candles are from Spoken Flames, NaturalAnnie Essentials, Modern Theory, and Erin & Avery Studio Co.
Products to Get Unready
Post-‘90s cult classic, every evening, I use The Nightcap Face Moisturizer by TAYLOR + tess.
To get to sleep, I use thisworks’ Deep Sleep Pillow Spray and Apothecary Company’s ABRACADABRA SLEEP ELIXIR.
I sleep with Baloo Living’s Weighted Blanket .
Late Night Snacks
I have a serious sweet tooth. Recently, Sweet Loren’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough has been my snack of choice.
Nighttime Routine
My husband is asleep by 9 p.m., so I typically take break from work between 6:00 PM and 9:00 PM to spend quality time with him before plugging back in around 11:00 PM.
11:00 PM — Power down laptop, brew a cup of tea
11:15 PM — Stream or read
12:00 AM — Moisturize, pillow spray, roller
12:15 AM— Fall asleep to a podcast, relaxed under my weighted blanket
Follow Dough on Instagram (@joindough) and Twitter (@joindough)! Support women-owned brands by shopping on Dough!
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