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LEHI — Seasoned tech leader Joana McKenna is bringing a new, stylish perspective to Utah's Silicon Slopes.
Last year, McKenna was named the CEO of the Lehi-based company Jane — an e-commerce marketplace offering the latest trends in fashion and home decor.
The company was founded in 2011 as a women-focused platform for female entrepreneurs to scale their businesses while connecting them to like-minded customers. Since its founding, Jane has received over 30 awards and features more than 2,000 sellers on its site.
Recently, Jane was ranked on the Utah Business Fastest-Growing Companies and Financial Times America's Fastest-Growing Companies 2022 lists. With over 20 years of experience and leadership roles at Walmart eCommerce, Johnson & Johnson and Amazon, McKenna is working to make Jane a household name.
Top of McKenna's list? Transforming Jane from a three-day deal model to an evergreen model. Previously, a product would be featured on the site for three days before the deal and product expired. Now, the platform is shifting toward a model that allows sellers to choose how long to feature their product in the marketplace.
"Having the ability to come back to shop — often, to shop the same product — to really be curated to and have an experience on the site, that was really the reasoning," said McKenna. "Our sellers actually love it because it allows them the flexibility to plan in advance in terms of inventory, in terms of engagement across different marketing initiatives that we have. And then it allows us to really, again, curate and create that unique experience for each customer when they come to the site."
The shift in strategy reflects a wider shift in the industry, an industry that McKenna has helped build. As Jane undergoes a transformation in strategy, the executive team of the company relies on brand awareness in a shifting retail environment.
What's in a name?
Beyond the name of a company is its brand, and Jane has carved its brand out well. The "very special niche" that sets Jane apart from broader companies or retailers is its focus on women sellers and women-focused brands, McKenna said.
"We welcome all sellers on Jane, regardless of gender or anything else, but we want to give a platform to women-owned businesses because we know that there isn't one. We know that they're fighting against every other brand and every other businesses that sell similar products on other channels," said McKenna.
Along with its female-focused niche is the careful curation of the platform itself.
"We also are very explicit around the categories we plan. We play in soft lines, which is anything around apparel, accessories, shoes, etc. We play in home decor and consumables, specifically in skincare and makeup," explained McKenna. "And because of that, we can really be hyper-focused on the experience for the customer and how we can make that unique to her when she comes to shop on the site."
The curation extends to the company's marketing and brand strategy, with two stylists observing upcoming fashion trends and highlighting products on the website. The company also works to ensure product quality by its sellers and locality, ensuring that production is overseen by the business owner.
"It's become a family affair. I think that's really important, knowing that the people who sell on our site, some of them have multimillion-dollar businesses, some of them are tiny little entrepreneurs that are starting out and Jane can support them wherever they are in their growth journey," said McKenna. "But when you buy something on Jane you buy into something: You're buying into a woman, into her entrepreneurial dreams, into her company and into the community."
Women-led, women-focused
The women-focused mission of Jane is clear, with 90% of sellers being businesses owned or run by women and families. The intentional messaging of Jane and its brand has contributed to the overall success of the company. That message has been shaped and curated through Jane's corporate team.
Women have been working to break the executive-level glass ceiling throughout industries for a number of years. This year, for the first time in history, women CEOs run more than 10% of Fortune 500 companies.
But Jane is ahead of the curve, and maybe even ahead of some of its neighboring tech companies in the Silicon Slopes. Women comprise 69% of the entire Jane team, including 70% of its senior leadership team and three C-Suite leaders: CEO Joana McKenna, chief financial officer Krista Kochivar and chief operating officer Laura Ravo.
The makeup of the platform's sellers and corporate team has shaped the overall culture of the company in a full circle.
"I have been in male-dominated industries my entire career. And during my career, both in oil and gas, and in timber, I was always the only woman at the table. I was fortunate enough and worked hard enough to get a seat at the table, but I was always the only woman there," said Kochivar. "Jane is the first organization I've ever been at where I look around the table and there're more women than men. It just feels different."
One of the differences Kochivar pointed to is adapting her communication style and combatting gendered stereotypes.
"What drew me to Jane was the entire mission. I'm a big believer and supporter of women, and the fact that there was a platform specifically dedicated to supporting women sellers and to empowering women was really — it was just really meaningful for me at this point in my career," Kochivar said.
And while the technology industry is a male-dominated one, Kochivar adds that Jane can't be discounted as a force within the Silicon Slopes.
"Jane is a technology company. We just happen to be a technology platform that sellers can use to go ahead and share their goods across a much broader audience than they would typically have access to. And at the end of the day, it's all driven by code," she said. "Our workforce may look different, or office may look different, but we're still solving the same technological challenges, just in a different way."
