Months after Reese Witherspoon’s media brand Hello Sunshine acquired The Home Edit, co-founders Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin reflected on the deal, noting that it “synergistically felt right.”
“Hello Sunshine, they’ve been part of our ecosystem for a long time,” Shearer said during a spotlight conversation moderated by CNBC Correspondent Julia Boorstin at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit. She added that the company has been “natural, incredible supportive partners.”
“It evolved from one simple conversation with the CEO Sarah Harden, and the next thing we knew they were great partners,” Shearer said.
For a women-lead brand like The Home Edit, Hello Sunshine, which is owned by Candle Media, aims to take on projects that amplify female voices and storytelling, seemed like a perfect match as both a partner, and eventually as an owner.
“The mission of Candle Media is to really be at the intersection of content, community and commerce, which again is so much of what we do,” Shearer said. “It synergistically all felt right and again, having Reese Witherspoon be your boss is not bad.”
Despite the widespread success of the lifestyle company’s acquisition and the sustained popularity of their Netflix show “Get Organized with The Home Edit,” Shearer faced a personal tragedy when she was diagnosed with breast cancer weeks after the deal was inked.
“We were acquired on February 18 and I was diagnosed in March 8, so I did not even get a minute to celebrate,” she said. “It has been a very, very challenging year but also I’m so lucky. I’m like the luckiest person in the world.”
After being introduced to each other on a blind lunch date, Shearer and Teplin formed a partnership to bring the world of organization to Instagram, much like other interior design companies.
“We can make the world organized, more beautiful and we can focus on bringing the form and function, marrying such high quality and putting our signature stamp on things and using social to promote it,” Shearer said.
The Power Women Summit (PWS) is the largest annual gathering of the most influential women in entertainment, media and technology. The event aims to inspire and empower women across the landscape of their professional careers and personal lives. This year’s PWS provides two days of education, mentorship, workshops and networking around the globe – to promote this year’s theme, “A Time to Unite.” Learn more here: thewrap.com/pws.