wedding-industry
(3)
Cameron Hardesty Found a Startup Idea in the White House Basement
A White House side door led Cameron Hardesty from political communications to flower farms, startup logistics and a bet that wedding florals could be clearer, fairer and more creative.
Carl Skanderup
Carl Skanderup is the CEO of Carats & Cake and Bliss & Bone, two wedding-tech brands he runs with his wife Cindy. A former Wells Fargo director who once managed more than $1 billion in real-estate loans, he traded corporate finance for the messy craft of building companies in the wedding industry. His through-line is a hard-won lesson: the product is rarely the problem, the marketing is. He writes about it publicly on Substack, part confession, part field notes from 15 years of building and running businesses.
Monica Ashauer
Monica Ashauer is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Birdy Grey, the direct-to-consumer bridal brand that put stylish bridesmaid dresses on the map for under $100. A Wharton-trained, ex-McKinsey strategist, she paired with best friend Grace Lee Chen in 2017 to fix a broken category - the six-month wait, the non-returnable polyester, the $300 dress worn once. The result: a hybrid made-to-order model that built reverse working capital, crossed $100 million in revenue by 2024, and made Birdy Grey a wedding-season staple. In 2025 she stepped from President into the Chief Strategy Officer seat and joined the board as Executive Chairman.