[MUSIC PLAYING]
I think Laura and I have worked long enough now
that we truly don't have a separation between work
and friendship.
We try to make sure that we make decisions
that doesn't sound swayed because we're friends at work.
But it is the beauty of having somebody
you trust so much, is not caring that the lines get blurred.
I think anybody who has hesitation
with that is because there is a little bit more
unpacking to do before you start working with that friend.
And if you're ready to do that, and want
to unpack whatever is needed to be
unpacked before you start working with them,
I suggest you do it.
Because it's not going to go away.
And your friend is going to see a different you in the work
environment.
There are definitely many times
our marriage or friendship has been in jeopardy
because of our work.
For me, it's when because of our actions our team's not happy.
If someone doesn't want to work for us anymore,
that's kind of, like, a checkup point for us.
Like, Fernando, this person is really upset
and it's because of us.
Like, whatever you did wrong, whatever I did wrong.
And we argue.
But we're both very, like, you know what?
That's my fault. We should change that.
Yeah, I have to say, we allow each other to grow.
And that means admitting a mistake.
Saying you're sorry is very important.
Understanding why you're sorry is even more important.
I do think we have a similar end goal,
like, what we want to achieve in life, in our career
and our friendship.
So that does make it much easier.
And like he said, unpacking is really necessary.
And I feel like our friendship only
gets better as we grow older,
[MUSIC PLAYING]
You have to be very honest with your business partner
to have a good relationship.
Understanding what each other is aiming for.
And even if the goal's different,
you could make it work.
Because you do need a support, so it's
about just being honest, having open conversation.
And looking at the reality, not lying to yourself
when someone's telling you that they don't want
to do something.
It's mostly Laura who doesn't want to do it.
Yeah, it's actually me always, like, no, I'm not doing it.
No, but that's true.
And I think you have to not lie to yourself.
You know when your friend is, perhaps, dragging their feet,
or or being hesitant.
Sometimes they're shy and you have to just listen and respect
body language and understand--
And it's not what they want.
If that's not what they want, you have to listen.
I wouldn't say that there's an art to delivering,
you know, blunt truths to your business partner or your best
friend.
But there is a time and a place.
And there will be a window whenever
you have to make that point that you
want to make in the middle of a really tense time.
It'll come in a natural way.
And when that person's ready, and receptive, and open,
which is not the case for us every hour of the day.
We make each other feel like it's coming from a good place.
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
We've both had our bumps in our career,
like, when we weren't inspired and we weren't delivering 100%.
And it was really important that we
were honest to each other, saying, Fernando,
you're not delivering.
You need to step up.
Like, this is not going to be OK if you continue this way,
and vice-versa.
Like, you told me, like, oh, you have to be more creative.
You have to step it up.
Like, I think those honest conversations is truly
what makes us good partners.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
What I admire most about Laura is her ability
to understand everybody's end goals, very perceptively,
very quickly.
It's sort of a very nurturing and perceptive quality that she
has that I think make people gravitate towards her.
Because they feel heard when Laura is around.
What I really admire about Fernando--
It's a very simple question.
It's taking her two hours to come up with an answer.
This is something I actually talk about with our team
without you being there.
Oh, great.
When he has a goal, he goes for it.
Like, nothing distracts him.
It's actually really incredible to see
him getting what he wants.
It's like someone put a wall, and he can't see anything else.
And he does get things that I could never
imagine I could get.
And every time it happens, like, I talk with my team.
We're like, wow, that's pretty impressive.
That's a focus.
That's a drive.
And Fernando comes and kills my cockroach
whenever there's a cockroach in my apartment.
New York City has a lot of little bugs, and they're scary.
It's always a lovely phone call
in the middle of the night.
Screaming.
Shrilling, screams.
And that is so brave.
My purpose in life for Laura Kim is a cockroach killer.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
We both are on the same page that we
want to have you a personal life now, at this point in our life.
So that means we have to step up our game at work
so that we deliver 10 times faster, right?
I feel like that allows us to understand why, maybe, we're
accelerating a little bit more this month and not--
that connection makes me feel aware of how her brain is
feeling that month or whatever.
Well, I was thinking more about,
like, what we want in life in general.
Like, what we want to be when we're 80 years old.
We've never not been on the same page there.
I feel like--
That's what I'm saying, that we were always
working towards the same thing, similar things, similar values.
That's why it's easy for us.
We're not looking at two separate--
Where do we want to go?
I think, I mean, honestly, like, I wish I can say like,
I want to become this, like, most amazing designer
in the world.
But it's not.
We just want to have a happy life.
Like, good friends--
Balanced.
I think that that is the goal.
And to have each other.
We want to have a balanced life, yeah.
I think if, like, one of us were more ambitious
in a certain way, or wanted something else,
this relationship can't work as a working partner.
Yeah.
You got to have a similar sense of ambition, I think.
Something that, you know, not everybody is the same in.
And you don't need to judge anybody
for the level of ambition that they have.
That's who they are.
But as long as you pair yourself with somebody
that is in a similar wavelength as you,
you'll be more successful.
And also in our personal life, we want kind of similar things.
Like how we want to have a relationship with our family,
with our friends.
Because that all kind of calculates into your time,
how you spend your every day.
How you plan your weekends.
And we're on the same page.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
And I think there's also understanding.,
like, whatever more fun thing's coming our way in our future,
it will be more fun together than on my own.
Definitely.
Yeah.
[APPLAUSE]