Celebrating 15 years in business! 🎂

Meet Alyssa, our founder and leader here at fyb Jewelry. We’re celebrating 15 years this month, and couldn’t think of a better woman for September’s In Her Bliss feature. She started the brand her senior year of university, then moved to NYC and grew fyb into the flourishing business it is today. As a soon-to-be mom of 2 and entrepreneur living in one of the most exciting cities in the world...she’s learned a few things in her time. And she’s gracious enough to share that wisdom with us.

If you could go back and tell yourself one thing before you started, what would it be?

"There are honestly endless things I would go back and tell my 20-year-old self, but the one thing I would definitely say to her is, "stop holding yourself back from things you're afraid to do". Speak on that panel (even if you feel like you're not an expert yet), do that trade show sooner, find manufacturing partners to help you scale earlier on.

I think many of us wait until we feel "ready" to take the leaps we know will get us to the next level, but I don't think there's ever truly a "ready" moment. Knowing what I know now and talking to mentors and friends at all different stages, we're really all just figuring things out as we go. Might as well take those risks earlier on- fail fast, learn fast, and pivot fast if you need to!"

How has your idea of success changed since when you started?

"I started fyb when I was in college 15 years ago - which might as well be a lifetime ago! The brand has grown and evolved with me in more ways than I could count. 

I think success to me at 20 years old was more in the traditional sense - financial abundance, accolades, and recognition. It was shiny and influenced by the "girl boss" era of that time which celebrated hustle culture and needing to always be doing the most. The busier we kept our schedules, the more successful we felt, even if that meant lots of burn out.

Success to me now as an (almost) mom of 2 is quite the opposite. It's freedom of time, and the luxury of getting to be pickier with it. It's more about appreciating my day-to-day work-life balance, having low-stress, feeling genuine happiness in my career, and so much gratitude for my team and pride in what we're building together.

It's about how I actually feel versus what I'm accomplishing in the eyes of others. It's more inward than outward. 

If you're able to do meaningful work, if you love the people you do it with, and you're able to make a living doing it - you are already successful. It's important to keep pushing yourself to achieve new heights, but to also be proud and grateful for where you are now too." 

What's next - what does the next chapter of fyb look like?

"The next chapter of fyb is focused on brand world-building, elevating our collections, and reshaping our customer experiences in new ways. We are hoping to host more in-person events in 2027 and partner with more like-minded brands on fun collaborations. We have so much in store that we are dreaming up. 

Each year just keeps getting better and better, and in many ways I feel like our journey is just getting started."