Meg Resnikoff: Co-founder of YouTube Channel "What's Up Moms"

Introduction

Meg Resnikoff is the co-founder of the YouTube channel “What’s Up Moms” where she has made short form content for mothers for the past 9 years. Her journey to where she is now was a winding one, having graduated during both the 2002 economic crisis and the 2008 recession.

Overview

She graduated from Stanford with a degree in architecture and urban design in 2002 and began her career working in distribution for Gap Inc. through a rotational program. After 2 years Resnikoff left Gap Inc. to move to LA, accepting a distribution offer with NBC Universal. After working in distribution, NBC suggested she pivot to finance and strategy, which she did and ended up loving: “that was the first time I had a role that was bigger picture thinking and wasn't just about one release of a video. And that was what I liked a lot. I liked the challenges. I liked the type of thinking you had to do.”

This affinity for strategic thinking inspired her to apply to business school and she ended up going back to Stanford. Initially after graduating, she wanted to try her hand at the restaurant business and interned with Danny Myer in New York. However, Resnikoff learned pretty quickly that she didn’t want to go into the restaurant business, “the restaurant industry business was not going to be a match for me. I knew I wanted to have a family. All those people were working late nights Friday, late nights Saturday.”

When she graduated from business school, she was met with yet another economic crisis, the 2008 recession. Getting a job during this time was notoriously difficult, but Resnikoff managed to secure a position at Disney, working on their first Disney ride wait time app for their parks. Working at Disney was “really cool because it was something that was trendy and new, and I was working with really smart people, like big picture thinking on things I had never thought I would do.” Less than a year later though, Resnikoff was laid off from Disney due to the recession. At four months pregnant, she knew she wouldn't be rehired, so Resnikoff decided to take a break from her career and focus on family.

“You can't come in thinking, you know what you're doing. You have to always be asking the questions.”

After having two children, Resnikoff wanted to start working again. She always assumed she would work at a big company, but after having children she knew the corporate world was not for her. Resnikoff was intrigued by YouTube, which was gaining popularity at the time. She asked an acquaintance from Stanford who was making YouTube videos if she could pick her brain over lunch. “Maybe like two weeks later we ended up filming our first video. She came over, she shot the video for me. She knew exactly what she was doing,” Resnkoff notes, “and that’s the story of What's Up Moms, we just kind of started.”

Growing up, content creation had never crossed Resnikoff’s mind as a possible career. However, it is truly the perfect job for her because it “combines [her] career and [her] family life.” What’s Up Moms allows Resnikoff to collaborate with her children, work around her schedule, and most importantly, is about motherhood.

Resnikoff has experienced ups and downs with What’s Up Moms, but the incredible moments outweigh any challenges. These include the first time she got recognized in front of her children (because her children don’t think she’s cool) and dancing in Target with New Kids on the Block, her favorite band growing up.

“That’s the story of What's Up Moms, we just kind of started.”

Mentorship

When asked directly about mentorship, Resnikoff shied away from the idea that a mentor was a singular make-it or break-it figure. Instead, she embraces a community model of mentorship, but acknowledges that at times, those who you think should be your mentors may not always be able to. For example, while her parents could answer most questions she was curious about growing up, once she was an adult, it was difficult for them to advise her because they lacked background on her interests. Resnikoff didn’t have mentors until she attended business school, and until then didn’t even know that structured mentorships were prominent. She preferred talking to friends, classmates, and professors to gain exposure; it allowed her to gather a variety of information. She loved the open endedness and fluidity of conversations because they guided her to decide what she wanted to do.

For Resnikoff, opportunities exist through relationships. And relationships are the foundation of mentorship. A lot of her mentors were groups of people, which allowed her to lean into each person's strengths. Through talking to all these people, Resnikoff has found that the most important skill is curiosity. She sees value in constantly asking questions and trying to learn more.

When Resnkioff first started YouTube, Resnikoff’s partner served as a mentor for her even though they were technically partners. Her co-founder taught her the basics of YouTube and helped build Resnikoff’s credentials. As a business founder, she encountered many challenges and through those challenges she leaned on her community. Resnikoff strongly believes that the end project is always better when people collaborate. She finds it advantageous to work with others; for example, more creativity and memories come from group work.

Giving Back

Throughout Resnikoff’s career, she has constantly come back to the idea of openness and curiosity. Resnikoff believes, “You can't come in thinking, you know what you're doing. You have to always be asking the questions.” Being confident when fostering partnerships is important as well, “I think you have to be a little bit fearless in asking people for collaborations and not taking it personally when they say no.” At the end of the day, YouTube is a community of highly talented and collaborative people so having an open mindset about learning and the persistence to find partnerships that work is key.

When asked about what makes a good mentee, Resnikoff states, “a receiver of advice. As a mentee, I have no respect for you if you can’t be like, wait, I don’t understand that, or I don’t agree with that… It’s not that I need to be constantly debating things, but I want someone who’s smart enough to know when to ask the right questions and push back.” To Resnikoff, a good mentee isn’t someone who blindly follows, but someone who can craft their own destiny with true agency.

Resnikoff believes that a good mentor will insert themselves into all aspects of the mentee’s life. She notes, “it is rare to have one person who is so similar to you on so many levels.” Instead, she finds groups of people that inspire her and allow her to pull all their best traits.