Tell Us Who You Are! 

Hi 👋🏻! I’m Courtney Toll, the co-founder of Nori, a clothing care brand that’s designed to increase the longevity of your clothing and keep you wrinkle-free, no matter where you are. (In case you missed it: Nori is iron spelled backwards!) 

It all began when I was starting a consulting job in New York City. I wanted to make a great first impression with a crisp, clean-looking outfit. The problem? I didn’t own an ironing board. Plus, I hated using a steamer, and I definitely couldn’t afford dry cleaning. At the time, my solution was to just iron my clothes with… a hair straightener! 

This dilemma, while stressful in the moment, ultimately shined a spotlight on a massive market that hadn’t seen any innovation in decades, and the idea for our next-generation Nori Press Steam Iron was born. 

Now? We’re one of Oprah’s Favorite Things, and have been featured in the likes of Vogue, Forbes, Town & Country, and more. We officially launched in 2021, and in our second year of business, we earned eight figures in revenue. 

We’re so excited to keep growing. Come along for the ride and follow us on social media!

7:15 AM - 8:30 AM  → My (Quick!) Morning Routine ☀️

Most days, I’m awake by 7:15 because that’s when my fiancé is up. 

When it comes to my beauty routine, I’m really into heatless curls. (Making them look great takes trial and error for sure! But once you figure out the wand, it really works.) It’s not cute when you go to bed, but in the morning it’s a look and a huge time-saver. 

8:30 AM - 10:30 AM → Office O’Clock 💼

I typically make a quick coffee at home and then I take it to work at the office with me. I head to our WeWork on Madison Avenue and get in around 8:30. 

10:30 AM - 11:30 PM → Daily All-Hands 💻 

We have a standing team meeting every single day at 10:30, where we like to take the time to catch up. 

Honestly, we’ll often start by chatting about what’s going on in our lives and what’s on reality TV. Doing this helps the day not feel so overwhelming or scary. Startup life can feel all-encompassing! So it’s great to have these breaks throughout the day to keep it light. 

11:30 AM - 6:30 PM → Eyes On The Prize… 👀

After our all-hands, we (of course) have more scattered meetings throughout the day. That said, I try to do as much revenue-generating activity in the morning as I can. 

Like any entrepreneur, though, I get sucked into various side tasks, like my inbox, and putting out mini-fires until it’s time to head home. 

6:30 PM - 9:30 PM → Restaurant & Relax! 🍽️

I leave the office around 6:00 or 7:00. After work hours, I’m really into having dinner with friends or with my fiancé. 

I just feel so lucky to be living in New York, so I want to soak it all up! Plus, I have a big friend group from college here, so we really try to get together all the time. 

You didn’t have fundraising experience when you started Nori. How did you find the confidence to ask for money?

The way people talk about fundraising is very unapproachable. The secret to my success was finding other founders who would sit down and talk me through it. I got very into cold calling big name, very successful founders for help. 

I’d make my emails super personalized by listening to podcast interviews they’d done. Then, I’d write to them about what we had in common, detailing what I wanted to build, and asking for just 20 minutes of their time. 

You’re living proof that you can run a successful business and still enjoy your life! How’d you learn to relax?

Honestly, after a certain amount of time—especially after working for several hours straight—nothing I do will actually be productive! Continuing to work would literally have diminishing returns. I think part of being a good founder is knowing when to stop. 

One of the founders that I look up to the most once told me that he’s typically done working between two and four in the afternoon. And I just remember being like what? That feels early. But it’s your company. You can make entrepreneurship flexible. 

Running a business can be chaotic. How do you stay so organized?

I live in Google Calendar and constantly jot down ideas in the Notes app. I also love making manual lists. (I’m the kind of person who will write something down just so I can highlight it and check it off!)

When it comes to running Nori, I’ve also been having our team set an overarching goal for the week. Then, when we have 10 things to do, we can look at that list, decide what is most aligned with our goal and prioritize it. It’s been a major help, even if we don’t always stay on task!

My go-to advice is…

Writing a fantastic email will open up so many doors! Be bold (but polite!) and just hit send.