Rachel Neill’s background includes extensive experience in and national recognition for building exceptional teams, facilitating fundraising, and scaling companies. In 2017, determined to reinvent the staffing process and create better alignment between top-tier companies and best-in-class talent, Rachel left her comfortable gig and a regular paycheck to launch Carex Consulting Group, a career matchmaking firm. Prior to founding Carex, she worked as an executive at Nordic Consulting and helped to build it into one of the largest nationwide Epic consulting firms. Talent acquisition and company culture is Rachel’s jam, and she’s proud to be an entrepreneur, a connector, a working mom of six, and a dog lover. She’s also never met a Peloton run she didn’t like. During the pandemic, Rachel and Co-founder Chris Roepe launched Figgy Play. They are no strangers to playtime: as veteran parents (and expert picker-uppers), they’re in constant go-mode. But when it came time to find a proper playset, everything fell short. They wanted something that would not only enrich their kids’ lives, but also make things easier on them.
So Figgy was born.
Figgy sparks creative playtime while checking boxes for parents; it’s easy to clean up, fits seamlessly into any living space, and is infinitely versatile. Better yet, it doesn’t hurt when stepped on, is an alternative to oh-so-tempting screen time, and gets out ‘the wiggles.’ It’s a raft for the high seas, a rocket-ship to the moon, or a cocoon for reading hour. It’s anything and everything, and our adventure is just getting started.
FWM: You are a self-made entrepreneur. When did you discover a passion for entrepreneurship?
I had a rough start to adulthood, coming into it as a single teen mom. However, it taught me how to break down barriers, and not to give up when I heard the word “no”.
I learned to hustle hard. After college, my first job was at an emerging startup that grew to over $150 million in revenue! I loved wearing many hats, and watching my contributions be part of that growth.
That’s when I fell in love with the early stage of startup growth- it was very exciting, and I knew not enough women were a part of it, so I wanted to give it a shot! I decided to raise capital and start my own company, and from there I never looked back! I love that entrepreneurship doesn’t require a certain upbringing, degree, gender, or race to be successful. I hope I can inspire more women to get into the space.
FWM: What challenges have you faced along your journey?
Entrepreneurship is full of high-highs and low-lows. I’ve been through it all. I think the personal struggles I’ve overcome as a teen parent helped me really weather the storms. I do my best work when my back is up against the wall. I can remember not having enough money to make payroll, and needing to ask a friend for a loan. Another huge lesson was dealing with unpredictable international supply chains- that was a major unpleasant surprise and headache! You have to think creatively, be humble, and power through. Building a solid network of mentors has been critical to overcoming obstacles.
FWM: Tell us about Carex Consulting Group. What sets you apart?
At Carex we are different, our approach is refreshing, we took a traditional recruiting formula and decided to shake things up! By coming into the staffing & consulting industry through an alternative channel, we were able to see, and think about things differently- that’s really contributed to our success.
At Carex, we bring transparency around pricing (we share our bill and pay rates), we don’t work on a commission basis, and we really live by our motto: Care. Be Real. Have Fun.
We also don’t take ourselves too seriously, having the right culture fit is key to a successful company… no matter how good someone is, if they don’t fit in with the company culture they can’t be on the team.
FWM: Share a few reasons why remote work is a game changer for aspiring female entrepreneurs.
Remote work, or even more so, the flexibility that comes with remote work is a total game changer for so many women. As a mom of six, having the ability to be home to nurse a baby, or cutting a couple hours from my daily commute makes a huge difference.
Our society hasn’t changed enough to fully support working women/working families. Childcare costs are higher than any other country, and we don’t have enough support for breastfeeding or pregnant women at work, who may need extra time for appointments, or to pump.
Also, women are still being paid less than men (today, we are still only making 82 cents for every dollar that a man earns). And it’s not right that many women are forced out of the workforce once they have a family. Remote work helps to reduce the stress of having to manage family responsibilities.
FWM: What trends are you seeing?
Contrary to what many people think, remote work is here to stay, and many people are still rejecting hybrid roles. Despite rumblings of a recession, salaries remain high and the unemployment rates are low.
FWM: Tell us about your recent venture, Figgy Play.
Oh Figgy! The Figgy is an awesome kid’s play couch that adults also love! I came up with the idea during the pandemic when I wanted my kids to put the cell phones and tablet screens away, and be more physically active!
I wanted to test the idea before launching, so I used the website Kickstarter as a low-risk platform to see if there was interest. We raised over $40,000 in just eight minutes, and then were off to the races!
In the last year, we’ve grown the brand, and you can find us selling in retailers like Nordstroms. It’s been a lot of fun to learn about the product industry. As an entrepreneur I love new challenges… Although launching during a pandemic was a lot harder than I thought, there were so many supply chain disruptions and that required quick thinking and pivots.
FWM: Last year, Figgy Play made its first million. What do you contribute your success to?
I love to run lean startup practices, and test different methods. This was crucial to our growth the first year, and as we navigated uncharted waters with the pandemic. We always thought about the future, and reminded ourselves to zig when others zag, and to reach out, seek advice from mentors when we were stuck!
