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Balance With Meg He, Founder of ADAY

One of our friends and partners in our fall giveaway is Meg He, co-founder of ADAY. They consciously design technical staples with a sustainable supply chain in high-tech innovative fabrics.

Their aesthetic is all about clothing designed for simplicity. Yet, as many entrepreneurs and people know, it’s far easier to talk about simplifying and balance than actually strip away to the basics to have a healthy work-life balance.

We caught up with Meg, who recently visited one of our cabins, and chatted about deleting Facebook, her puppy German shepherd, learning, and deep work.

 

Tell us your story.
I was born in Beijing, then lived in Wales (lots of sheep), to Berkshire (one hour west of London), Oxford (college), London, Stanford (Business school), then landed in New York after starting ADAY with my co-founder, Nina Faulhaber. Our clothing is beautiful and cool and you can do a lot of things/anything you want in them. It’s created to bring simplicity and versatility to your wardrobe.

My background is in venture capital, finance, and technology—I used to work at Poshmark, a mobile fashion marketplace, and I’ve always been fascinated by brands and e-commerce.

I loved living in northern California and when I moved back to London, I went with a road bike, my yoga teacher training, and my rock climbing harness. This time was transformative especially since I’d spent almost no time in the outdoors or being active until then. It also raised the question for ADAY: what does a wardrobe that brings versatility and simplicity look like?


What occupies most of your time during the day?
How can we raise the quality and the standard of the apparel industry? How can we create delight when a customer interacts with ADAY? How can we make people’s lives easier, while having a deeper impact? How can ADAY be a force of good in the world?

I aim to create (mostly for myself), teach (the people around me) and inspire (to spread the word). I think about how I can have the most impact and, like ADAY, aim to be a force of good in the world. And I always hope to learn and grow every day.

What occupies most of your time during the weekend?
The aims above (create, teach, inspire) are how I try to reframe life.

I love to explore the outdoors and learn something about the world and myself each time I’m outdoors. I love the Catskills, Yosemite, and the Julian Alps. I love music and play the piano, violin, sing and I’m learning the doumbek, a Middle Eastern drum. I also love plants and we have nearly 100 plants in the crevices of our apartment, from indoor ones to herbs and vegetables. I think I’ve overused the word love but that’s okay. It’s important to love, to try things new, and to help others and the world.

What do you wish you had more time to do?
Learning and deep work. It’s so intellectually satisfying, enriching and interesting and that’s how I hope to frame my days, by growing every day.

What do you wish you did less of?
Distracting others. Empathy is something that does not come easily to me and it hurts when I’ve missed a cue from others.

What is your favorite non-digital activity?
Spending time with my rescue pup (Helix) and my partner (Gene), preferably outside. Helix is a 5-month-old German Shepherd mix and Gene is a professional dancer and martial arts practitioner and teacher. Seeing Helix learn to move and play and fight and run and hike with Gene’s influence has been magical. Even a short walk outside can often feel transformative and I always wonder how to approach life from Helix’s perspective.

I dislike my relationship with Instagram, but we are too involved with each other to break free.

What is your favorite tech or app that helps you balance your life?
Google Home—we have one in each room and they’re magical.
Sleep Cycle—I snore cute.
Trello—for complicated projects.
Clue—because I would never remember which day is what otherwise when the doctor asks.
The new Google Inbox.
Deleting Facebook.

I dislike my relationship with Instagram, but we are too involved with each other to break free.

 

If you could have a day off to spend anywhere with anyone, what would you do?
I would go to Paris with Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel prize-winning economist-psychologist. I would persuade him to work on an intro to a book or a short post. His work is deeply impactful and I think it’s important to help enable better decision making. Paris because it’s the perfect balance of work and play for two international folks like him and me.

What would you pack in a suitcase if you had to live with only those items for the rest of your life?
Just my passport. I would busk, negotiate and hopefully charm for the rest.

What do you think you’d be doing in a world without technology?
I would live in a cabin in the forest with my dog and create art, make music and tell stories. We’d hike and hike and hike and hike every day (and swim). Perhaps my partner would be allowed to come along. The end 🙂

Who are your favorite writers?
Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro, Haruki Murakami and I’m lately loving non-fiction in psychology, neuroscience and behavioral economics. David Richo is someone you should read now, pls.

When and where are you happiest?
When I’m not thinking. Instead, I try to “be” because overthinking is kinda dangerous.

How do you create balance in your life?
If I don’t want to do something, I just don’t. This helps a lot. I also try to keep things boring, because I have a natural gravitation towards the risky-spontaneous-adventurous. They’re good too, just in balance.

Which living person do you most admire?
There is not one person in particular that I admire, but I can genuinely bring up something I love about everyone. For example, when I think of my friend Cyrena, I think of her blonde hair (really helped conquer my fear of Asian bleach), adventure and badassery. So instead, I ask myself: what can I learn from every person I meet?

Enter our giveaway with ADAY here, or directly escape to one of our cabins to find balance in your own life.