good morning, everyone. coming up on msnbc's "your business," how you expand your business across the country. the owners of a healthy meal vending machine company show us their game plan. model and actress brooklyn decker becomes a business star with her digital wardrobe company finery. and protect your business from a starbucks situation. what you need to know about implementing anti-bias training in your company. when it comes to making choices for your business, we have your back. so let's grow fast and work smart. that's all coming up next on "your business."

>> msnbc "your business" is sponsored by american express. don't do business without it. >> "your business" is sponsored by american express. don't do business without it. hi, everyone. i'm jj ramberg. and welcome to "your business," the show dedicated to helping your growing business. there are all kinds of ways companies can expand from their local area to becoming a national brand. and one of those ways is through partnerships. we headed out to chicago to learn how two food-related companies have joined together to help them both grow. ♪ >> we started in new england. we're here in chicago as well with plans to move down to new york city and d.c. baltimore over the course of the coming year. >> shay cokely is co-founder of

boston-based food box, a vending machine for fresh food. >> thank you for your purchase. >> and he has big dreams, dreams that extend way beyond his home base in boston. >> our goal is to have a lean box in every state in the united states and change the way the workforce eats. >> we have great envisions to scale the company way past two cities. >> nancy sharp is the founder of food for thought, a multimillion midwest catering company. recently she and shea formed a partnership called lean box great lakes. it's the first step toward make leanbox a national brand. >> it is always a little nerve-racking sort of letting your brand into the hands of somebody else. but i really can't think of anyone that i can trust more than the team that we found here in chicago. >> we're going to hit a home run here and then we're going to take it to the next market and the next market. >> together these two hope to

create a template for building similar partnerships around the country. marrying local food preparers to the lean box technology system. >> i think the way that we have done this with chicago will have to be replicated in every major city. it's more of a farthpartnership a franchise. >> the goal is to have mid-sized office. the company is too small for a full fledge cafeteria but big enough to need fresh meals delivered to their workplace. >> we want stuff in the fridge we would eat. so something to get at trader joe's or whole foods or a natural grocery store. >> that's why shea and his team developed their own refrigerators and delivery software that coordinates inventory through point of sales data, track supply and demand at each location, collect payment and control waste. >> our technology is really technology ecosystem. what someone sees in their office is our tip of the spear. >> after several years of development and trial and error, they produced a workable system

which was ready to go. >> the first plan for us was 25 machines, two drivers, two routes. the next plateau was the driver, up to 50 sites. >> today, a year and a half after installing the first 25 machines, shea says they have nearly a thousand clients in new england and are ready to take on the country. but how? there's no road map, no playbook. >> we really wanted to test out the ability to go into a new market where it basically had no connections and start from the ground up knowing everything we knew from the first two years of our experience. >> then he got a call from nancy sharp. she was looking to expand her offerings into office food service and the lean box caught her eye. >> she called up and said, i like what you have been doing, we have been following you guys. as a start-up guy, that gives me the warm fuzzies. they said, this is a market we want to get into. >> i knew we were kindred souls right then. i said, i wish i was 40 years

younger and would do it all over again with them. the energy, the excitement around building something. >> their personal chemistry was key to opening up the dialogue, but establishing an effective partnership requires much more than the warm fuzzies. lean box seemed like just the thing nancy was looking for. >> because of the changes that were happening in the workplace, we were getting asked over and over again to put fresh food in the workplace. but how do you keep it refrigerated? how do you have unattended pay? all the details lean box brought to us. >> it's really taking a strong business model that exists in boston and being able to jump onto the strong foundation that exists in chicago. that was the perfect match that really helped us treat the market in a very good way. >> matsu masumaro was working for her back then. today he's managing director for the recently formed lean box lakes partnership. >> it would be fair to say if we

started from ground zero and didn't have an infrastructure in place, it may have taken much longer. >> after eight months thanks to nancy's understanding of the chicago market and her network of vendors and blue ribbon client least, lean box stations are now being introduced across chicago. >> this morning i tried the breakfast burrito, which was excellent. and yesterday afternoon i had the turkey sandwich. >> dan horton is president of the horton group, a third-generation owned chicago insurance brokerage firm. his company recently installed the lean box in their break room. >> i think as an employee having something in the office encourages people to stay here and to congregate. >> for us, it also allowed a lot of employees who used to never leave their desk for lunch to actually come into a common area. >> michelle trueblood is like hr managers in today's shifting work environment. she finds on top of all the other duties, she's in charge of welcoming a corporate environment. >> it's something that we have taken great pride in at the

horton group. >> lean box zeroed in on hr managers like michelle as their primary customers. >> we really focus on the office manager, that hr manager, that now has been given this pretty broad responsibility of developing a food program. and our product is very focused on how do we make that person's life easier. >> with the well-defined customer base and a protoetype partnership with a well-established local food service, it now looks like lean box has identified the beginnings of the national playbook. >> you have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run. and i want to light this thing on fire and grow as fast as possible. this week starbucks closed 8,000 stores across the country for a few hours to conduct anti-bias training for their employees. the training comes on the heels of an incident where starbucks manager called the police on two african-american who were waiting for a friend. bias, conscious or unconscious is indeed an issue in our society. and we should all take a hard look at how they may be showing up in our companies.

gail britton is a consultant on this issue for businesses of all sizes. so good to see you. >> thank you. thank you. good to be here. >> and so i'm glad we are talking about this because it's a complicated topic. >> absolutely. >> and i believe as i have been reading the feedback on starbucks employees and both good and bad about the starbucks training is, how do you get the conversation started in your company? i think there's no question that we need to be having these conversations. how do you do it so it doesn't become just another training exercise that goes in one ear and out the other? >> it's different with every firm. you need to understand what the firm is talking about, but it's important to start the conversation with the leadership so that it's a top-down approach. and the leadership can adopt the language of the training you use with the associates. >> actually, let's take this a step back. so in our audience we have company that is are one person, we have companies that are thousands of people.

if you are on the smaller side, you may think, not a problem in my company. why do i have to worry about this. do you? >> absolutely. especially if you are consumer facing. starbucks had someone that represented them to the world or all their employees represent them to the world. so you absolutely have to make sure they are on the same page with how you're thinking about culture, with how you're thinking about race and how you're thinking about women. pick an ism, you want to be sure that people are clear about your values and they express the values to your customer. so whether you have one person under you or a thousand. you need to be in sync with that person and it's important before you hire somebody to have a conversation about how you want to have customers treated and don't assume. because i dare say that woman has probably exercised something similar before she put out those two men. >> so i'm the leader of a

company, right, let's say i have 50 people working for me, do i need to go get a formal training program? or is this something that i can do a little more informally in my company? i think if it's the latter, you risk doing something wrong that is offensive when trying to be inclusive. >> so that's why i would suggest, it's self-serving, but i suggest you get someone to help you and you make certain that you are delivering the message all the time consistently. so it's like feedback. no one ever wants to give feedback, but it is so critical. so if you hear someone say something, you know, you need to pull them aside and speak to them about what they said that you don't appreciate. i remember many years ago there was a training that went on and there was some guys in the back kind of heckling. and what the manager did at the close of the training was, he said to them, can i speak to you guys after this is over? so while he didn't embarrass them, everyone knew when he spoke to them it was going to be about the heckling they did

during the diversity training. so there are ways you can do subtle things, there are ways to do more implicit things, but it has to happen. and the tone comes from the person that's the leader. >> and what happens during diversity training, right? what happens that truly does change behavior or change aware sentence. >> i think one of the most important things that happens is you start to show people the history of racism. you start to show people how privilege sets in and how everybody has some level of privilege. and you get them to stop and think about what they're doing. and if you can get people to hit the pause button in their daily life and examine the decisions they're making in the things they say, you can make progress. so it really is creating this awareness about what happened to people, what happened to african-americans from the moment they got here and how they have experienced racism and continue to experience racism on the daily.

microaggressions, macroaggressions. certainly what happened to dante robinson and he shawn nelson, that was macro. but little things happen to people where they are not waited on in stores. you know, where people look around them and say, who is next? those kinds of things, and that is what you want to disrupt with your employees so that your brand is protected. >> so it is the first step to understand that there are two kinds, there's conscious bias and unconscious bias, and we need to attack both of these. and if we want our companies to succeed as well as our humanity to succeed, we need to be thinking about this. >> yeah, i know this is a show about business, but i think that i would reverse that and say the humanity. because then the business follows. >> well, thank you for all the work that you do. it's so important that there are people out there like you who are thinking about this and talking to people and getting it out there. i'm so happy you stopped by to talk about it. >> i'm very happy to be here. thank you so much. both on and off the runway,

model turned actress brooklyn decker does not shy away from leading with her fashion sense. now this biz star is using technology to help other women be more efficient and sustainable when putting together their outfit of the day. ♪ she's a model, an actress, wife to tennis player andy roddick and the mother of two. for brooklyn decker, there are not enough hours in the day. >> i'm all about productivity, especially as a new mom. anything to give me time to do the things i love i'm a fan of. >> so when it comes to shopping, her priority is efficiency. >> i shop 99% online. i'm a big online shopper, i don't have time to do it in person. i hate trying things on, i just want it in my house. >> so when her friend told her about creating an online receipt, create a digital inventory of your closet, brooklyn instantly got it. >> it looks like a shopping website. when you think of the processes

you go through during the day, the wardrobe is the one thing antiquated. the closet is the one thing you can't bring with you. >> the concept seemed like a winner to the duo. >> it was a product i felt and really wanted that was missing from the space. >> this tech has been applied to other fields just not the wardrobe. and it took females to create it. >> when it came to the name, whitney looked back to her former career. >> whitney is working with dan rather who has a formality about him that's very old school. and he would say to people, oh, aren't you dressed in your finery today? and she's like, dan always talks about his finery and feel like that's perfect. like, wearing your best, your sunday's best and it just stuck. >> finery was born. but like with so many companies, the product they launched with turned out to not exactly be the thing users wanted. >> for us, we thought it would come when you saw your wardrobe, to see, i purchased this ten years ago and forgot it was in my closet. but once we had the wardrobe,

the users said, okay, great, now what? style us, tell what you say to buy and what to get rid of. so we had to find ways to do that. we're using a lot of machine learning, a lot of new technology, image recognition, for example, to basically give women ideas on how to wear their stuff. >> this quick loop of feedback and development is something brooklyn says she was used to from acting. >> i think when you are acting, you have to deal with rejection really well and you have to be able to pivot quickly. your users will give you feedback right away. our users are incredibly vocal sending us instagram messages and e-mails and are chatting with us. >> for the two founders, nothing is precious other than what the users think and how finery is making their lives easier. >> for us, it's all about user trust. >> there's very little technology that is applied to the pinpoints of women. very little technology out there. and to be able to make a lot of headway in that space and say, we're building something to give you your time back.

that to me was huge. and to be really able to invest in something and build something, that could change the way that women are interacting with their stuff. it was exciting to me. >> right now finery is free as they try to build up their users, but their goal is to have the company become every woman's perfect fashion accessory. >> i think if you look at the entire business model, we really want to own all of the space. so really closing the retail loop. if you start, you want to see what you have. then you want to really get smart recommendations and fill your wardrobe gaps. >> i hope that when women are thinking about getting dressed, which we do every single day, or think about getting ready for the date night or the wedding, finery is the first place they go. we are in the middle of our second season of our podcast, been there, built that. and this week i'm talking to jessica herring, the founder of

stella & dot. she tells me why she's running her second business different from her first. and what a taxi driver told her in her early 20s that changes her risk. if you get a chance to listen to it, if you do, please do me a favor and give me feedback. we love to hear from you. go listen to it now for free. again, it's called been there, built that. find it on apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. i'm here with this week's elevator pitcher, designer paris gordon. so good to see you. and you brought your model, kelly powers, great to see you also. >> great to be here, thank you. >> you both look beautiful. these are your designs, yes? >> yes. >> tell me the name of your company. >> style and grace. and the name of the label is pg by paris gordon. >> and is this self-funded or have you looked for funding before? >> this is self-funded. >> is this is the first time you pitch to potential investors? >> this will be the first time. >> how do you feel? >> great.

>> you will do great. they will give you two advice. the first one is the co-founder and ceo of zola, an online wedding company. the fastest one in the industry. and mad is the founder and president of fleet financing based in dallas. we'll go see what they think. >> hi. i'm paris gordon. and i'm introducing you to every girl's best friend. the pg by paris gordon. i'll hand you this so i don't strip, but i want to show you the inside to show you the line that has shapewear built inside. we smooth, lift, contour and support you with a bra. and it all stays in place with this silicone lace hem. these are all made with rayon on the outside and the spandex on the inside to comfortably support you. we dress 18 to 80-year-olds. and it's a $21 billion market. so i think we are really on to something right now and looking for $300,000 in funding. >> i'm going to trade with you

here, matt. i need two numbers from you guys. one to ten, the first one is what do you think of the oduct? the second is, what do you think of the pitch? i'm going to start with sharon because this feels like something your audience is looking for. you talk to brides all day long. so what do you think? product and then pitch. >> for the product, i scored it with an 8. i think shapewear is the secret weapon for every woman the world over. i think the product that you just showed is one that feels very high quality. and so i think as a potential business and the potential to be a huge business it's got a lot of potential there. the one question i would want to ask is, more details around the traction in the business so far, as well as how is this defensible beyond the patent. >> and the pitch just quickly went, what were the three points

missing? what could she have done better? >> the pitch, i would have loved to hear the global market opportunity as well as hear a bit more about how you think you're going to grow the market and grow your business over thed grow your business over the coming year, but overall i loved it. >> matt, what did you think? >> for someone who has never worn spanx before, this is pretty interesting to me. >> turn it around. >> i gave it an 8 on the product. my wife loves this type of product line, and kelly looks fantastic in it, and you do as well, paris, so i think the product is a winner. >> what could she have done better on the pitch? >> i want to hear the problem your product addresses and i missed that. that was almost three-quarters in before i began to hear the problem that your product is addressing is. and i also didn't hear the price point. i wasn't sure, are you high end, are you low end, are you middle? i would challenge you to do both of those. tell me the problem you need to

solve and tell me the price point. >> you two hit on problem, solution and traction. those are the things that pique people's interest. you guys did a great job. fantastic product. thanks so much for sharing it with us. good luck for everything going forward. to all of you female entrepreneurs out there, listen up. we have a great opportunity. if you have an amazing business but you need a little help getting the word out, then here's what we've got for you. she knows media is a lifestyle digital company. it has 50 million social fans and followers. we have teamed up with she knows for you to show your product or service in front of 2,000 bloggers this august in new york city. that means you get to be in front of all these people who could write about you. send us your pitch or your video

of your one-minute elevator pitch to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. tell us about your business and why you think you're a perfect pitch. when we come back, what you should look for when you check out a business you may want to buy. and the dangerous mindset any business owner could have. the line between work and life hasn't just blurred. it's gone. that's why you need someone behind you. not just a card. an entire support system. whether visiting the airport lounge to catch up on what's really important. or even using those hard-earned points to squeeze in a little family time. no one has your back like american express. so no matter where you're going... we're right there with you. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. don't live life without it.

we have this e-mail from lindsey. where can i find a great company to buy and how do i evaluate if it's a good company? >> you want to understand their passion for this company because passionate companies as partners is a huge driving factor in success. in addition to that, you really want to understand the totally addressable market and opportunities for this business. is it global, is it local, and can it serve many different areas as opposed to just one narrow area because that will really determine how much you're willing to pay or how much you would want to invest in the company. those are two crucial points, total addressable market and customer passion.

we now have the top two tips you need to know to help your business grow. chanlin ma and matt moore is back with us. matt, you have a new book out. >> i do. >> and the name of it? >> "you need more money." it's a very personal story. my brother-in-law passed at a very early age and was unfinancially prepared. it's a wake-up call for people to get their money right. >> you give personal advice and actually good tips on how there are things we just simply aren't thinking about now that we could be. >> two parts, the wake-up call, second part, the road map. what are the steps you need to take. >> now to grow your business. let's start with you, shan, because you started your company from nothing, and it's now a growing company in your space. congratulations for that. >> thank you. >> what are your tips? >> my tips are not to take no

for an answer. everyone starting a new business want to hear positive feedback and your family and friends really want to give you positive feedback and support for your idea. what i found most valuable was to seek out people who are unrelated to you who are your end customers and ask them why they may not use your product and service. listen to why they're telling you no and then go out and solve those problems. >> i think it's a smart thing to think about, because friends and family who even say they're being honest, and by the way, even strangers you're talking to one on one, it's hard for people to say, it's a bad idea. it feels uncomfortable to say it, and that's why it's always a great idea to stick them in front of whatever you can as a customer and make them put down money if you can and see what they really think, not what they're just telling you. >> absolutely. and over time i've learned that if you can do this, and we've done this every month for four years, this has been the biggest reason why we've had people

telling all their friends to use zola and why we've grown so quickly. >> because you've gotten rid of the bad stuff. you thought it was great but it turns out nobody likes. matt, you're up. >> my tip is to stay out of #falsepositive. it's when you think you're doing better in your business than you really are. it's a dangerous place for an entrepreneur to live, so my tip is have a very specific, clear what i call a litmus test. how do you know if you're on track or off track? most entrepreneurs will get caught in the cocktail conversation that says, we're doing incredible. they start using adjectives like, we're killing it. it's unbelievable. we're growing like wildfire, right? what does that mean? so many of us don't know what it means. >> you need to have benchmarks? >> you need to have benchmarks. one would be what i call the

1-3-5-10. in your 20s, and this is more on the personal side, not the entrepreneurial side. in your 20s, you should have two times your net worth. in your 30s, you should have three times your net worth. in your 40s, you should have five times and in your 50s, you should have ten times. >> you may be doing well because the economy is doing well, you just hit it on one particular thing, and as a result you do not see all the problems bubbling up in your business. i think it's important to kind of strip away the success sometimes and say, okay, if everything fell apart, are we strong enough to survive this? >> beta test it, keep it honest and stay out of what i call a false positive. >> congratulations on your book, on your company. it's great to have your advice. thanks, guys. >> thank you.

>> this week your business selfie comes from noel and natasha benitez who run unpa unparalleled eye designs. take a selfie right now of you ask your business and send your business to yourbusiness@msnbc iyourbusiness@msnb yourbusiness@msnbc.com. if there is anything neat about your business you would like to share, we'd love to see that, too. we love, love hearing from yo if you have any questions, you have comments, you just want to say hi, send an e-mail to yourbusiness@msnbc.com. i promise you we read all

e-mails. if you missed anything, head to our website. we put up all of today's segments plus a whole lot more for you. and then, of course, don't forget to connect with us on our social media and digital platforms as well. one last reminder, check out the podcast, been there. built that. you can find that wherever you get your podcasts. we look forward to seeing you next time. i'm jj randolph. and remember, we make your business our business. it's pretty amazing out there. the world is full of more possibilities than ever before. and american express has your back every step of the way- whether it's the comfort of knowing help is just a call away with global assist. or getting financing to fund your business.

no one has your back like american express. so where ever you go. we're right there with you. the powerful backing of american express. don't do business without it. don't live life without it. welcome to "politics nation." kim kardashian walked into the white house this week to speak with president trump about prison reform and to seek his pardon for alice marie johnson, a 62-year-old black woman serving a federal life sentence without parole for first-time non-violent drug offense. less than 24 hours after kardashian's meeting with trump,