Tawnya Falkner - Founder of Le Grand Courtage
Ladies Who Launch is incredibly excited to partner with Tawnya and Le Grand Courtage for the 2021 Launch Program. With a generous donation from Tawnya we are able to provide additional grant funding to this years selected applicants.
From Tawnya:
“I personally know how difficult it can be for female entrepreneurs and the data continue to show the unique challenges women face. By teaming up with similarly minded partners like Ladies Who Launch, and pooling our financial resources, intellectual capital, and networking communities, we will be able to provide meaningful immediate and long-term support.”
Applications for the Launch Program are open NOW until Sunday, April 11th at midnight PST!
Tawnya Falkner (she/her/hers) is the definition of an entrepreneur having co-founded three different companies to date. She understands the pain points and realities of building, scaling, raising capital, and trying to differentiate. After a successful career in redevelopment and lobbying for affordable housing, Tawnya then launched a firm focused on housing policy and economic development, and now has taken a very different direction in creating Le Grand Courtâge, a French sparkling wine company and Très Chic Rosé, a Provence style rose.
In each of her companies, there was a theme of taking an uncommon approach to the respective industry having seen the lack of representation, and very male-centric viewpoints on development, policy, branding, and/or even team building. She is a dreamer and innovator who sees possibility everywhere. She believes you must have the audacity to believe and learn to quiet the naysayer. She also firmly believes that you are never fully ‘ready’ to take the plunge into entrepreneurship and there will always be fears so it is more an exercise in dissecting the fear, re-framing it, and then it’s sometimes just taking the leap and trusting your gut.
Given her experiences and having weathered economic downturns, and now Covid, Tawnya created Elevate, an annual grant & mentorship program which will include a rotation of partners and projects throughout the year to address the challenges and needs of women. They partnered with Ladies Who Launch because Tawnya believes that by teaming up with like-minded partners and pooling financial resources, intellectual capital, and networking communities, the aim is to provide meaningful immediate and long-term support.
Her Story & Why
She grew up in a 3-street farming town across from the general store and some of her fondest memories are Sunday dinners and backyard barbecues. Those small-town beginnings evoked a wanderlust and a passion; and after seeing different parts of the world, and living in Asia and Europe, she realized that food & drink are the common thread that brings friends and family together.
Le Grand Courtâge was built on the premise of community, meaningful connection, and reminding people to find the joy in life’s simple pleasures, like a meal shared or a relaxing bubble bath with a book. With the stresses and busyness of life, Tawnya wanted to create a company focused on bringing people together and encouraging people to slow down occasionally and focus on simple pleasures.
Tawnya ultimately took the leap and moved to France to create wines that embody the French spirit of ‘Joie de Vivre’ after seeing a gap in the category on price, palate, and packaging. As most French wine is traditionally branded, packaged, and styled, she saw an opportunity to re-envision the category and offer something with a French cachet and elegance combined with an American appeal and price point. Since champagne is expensive, she wanted to create balanced, fruit-forward wines that delight the palate and offer affordable luxury to both elevate and celebrate every day and remind people to ‘live joyously’.
Favorite motto or quote that keeps you inspired?
“Have the audacity to believe, and never let 'reality' get in the way of your wildest imagination.”
Book(s) that inspire you/your company?
Invisible Women by Caroline Creado Perez
Is there any other content, music, anything that is inspiring you right now?
Music is always on and I'm a huge fan of Podcasts to inspire and provide new perspectives.
How do you hope that your company can create a better world?
With busy schedules and technology, people have lost a sense of connection. Our goal is to remind people to elevate and celebrate the everyday and really value the benefits of human connect and find joy in the simple pleasures.
In your personal life, what is one daily practice or habit you have to keep you centered and grounded?
I use the Calm App and do a meditation to ground me at the start of each day, and I have a gratitude practice as I go to sleep. I also try to paint regularly as I find the mixing of the paint and the brush strokes to be very calming.
Who or what was the biggest motivator for you when you started your business?
An opportunity to create products designed by women, for women and take a different (EQ) approach to building a company and a team by thinking of the whole person
What is one piece of advice you would give to early-stage founders?
My advice is to not discount your ideas or abilities and act confident even if you are shaking in your shoes. From a young age, I have always dreamed big and been willing to take risks. In truth, while I am extremely confident that I can handle virtually anything, I believe success is equally a component of a) believing in myself and b) pushing past the fear.
Your favorite other women-led businesses we should know about?
Favorite business tools that your company uses?
What has been the biggest highlight of running your own company?
I love that I get to create and be creative, and I so appreciate that my company essentially requires me to interact with a multitude of different people filling my life with interest.
What are your top three goals for your company this year? AND! How can the LWL Community support you in accomplishing them?
1) Rebuilding post-Covid, but doing so with a focus on efficiency and far more balance
2) Work on new products
3) Be of service and help other female entrepreneurs with the pain points. The LWL community can help by telling others about the company or buying a bottle to share with friends!