When Theresa Krier decided to leave her corporate job to focus full time on the couture tea company she started after a flash of inspiration backstage at a fashion show, she was surprised by the loneliness she felt.

“Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely career, at least starting out,” said Krier, a Kelley MBA graduate. “You’re basically on your own with few, if any, colleagues. While I’ve always felt confident in my own ideas and strategies, it’s always more powerful to have other people to bounce ideas off of. So, I’ve made it a point to spend time with and actively network with other entrepreneurs and like-minded people.”

Krier’s mission at Big T NYC is “to shatter tea’s reputation as a bland liquid served in dainty porcelain cups.” Her bespoke signature blends and highly curated pure teas and tisanes are carefully sourced and crafted. Likewise, Krier brings a signature style to building business relationships.

Big T NYC: A Couture Tea Experience
Theresa Krier (MBA’09), founder of Big T NYC, wants to change the way we think about tea. Collaborating with doctors and sommeliers, Theresa has designed two distinct “collections” of teas and tisanes, turning the act of hydration into a truly couture experience.
Learn about the care and craft—and organic ingredients—that go into every cup at this successful tea startup.

“I’ve never been comfortable with traditional networking. It never felt genuine to me. I view networking as a way to develop real friendships that may evolve into professional relationships. I found that’s the best way for me to make authentic connections with people.”

Connect with like-minded people.

One of my first experiences with retail was doing a holiday pop-up in SoHo. I met so many amazing entrepreneurs, including a fragrance designer, whose company was in a similar stage as mine. We quickly became friends and talked about doing more pop-ups together. She connected me with two other women entrepreneurs who were also running new startup companies. We had one meeting together and instantly connected. We shared a similar goal—to create a new type of retail experience that would empower and elevate female founders, and connect their incredible stories directly with consumers. We launched a three-month pop-up concept store in Nolita called Nude House, and featured exclusively women-founded brands.
We bonded over 16-hour workdays, blood, sweat and tears. In addition to remaining close with those trailblazing women, I also spend time with entrepreneurs in the food, wellness and fitness spaces, as well as people in the corporate world, which enables me to stay connected and informed across industries.

Empower and celebrate other women.

When women celebrate each other, they empower each other. I love that this idea of celebrating women has become a sort of movement, as evidenced by the many trending hashtags in social media. It’s so important for women in business, and in life in general, to support each other and build each other up, not bring one another down.

Find mentors who care about you and your success.

The importance of finding the right mentors cannot be overemphasized. I have been fortunate to meet and connect with amazing, successful people who have evolved into my mentors. They are my go-to for major career decisions and have played an important role in my personal and professional growth.

Always remember that networking is a two-way relationship.

A critical part of authentic networking is understanding that it’s a two-way relationship and that you must give as much as you can to the people in your network. Regardless of how busy my day is, I take time to be supportive of people who need me—listening to their concerns and offering feedback, connections or support in any way that I can.

Krier earned her MBA from the Kelley School of Business in 2009 and now serves on the East Coast Advisory Board for the Johnson Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Her unique take on the ancient beverage of tea has received extensive press, and Krier was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine's 15 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2015. Her organic teas are available at select luxury hotels, gourmet coffee shops, restaurants, natural beauty retailers and online at Big T NYC and Amazon.

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