Meet Martine Resnick: Co-Founder of The Lola. A Womxn’s Club, Workspace and Digital Community

We had the good fortune of connecting with Martine Resnick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Martine, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started working for big companies, “corporate America,” right out of University, and that was great for a long time. I grew up in the UK and lived in London, then New York for 10+ years before moving to Atlanta to get married and start a family. Corporate life can often be a grind as you don’t always have control over your schedule and technology means you’re “always on,” but it was after having my two children back to back that the cracks really started to show. I was exhausted and drowning in my to-do list, I realized the traditional corporate environment no longer fit my life. I started to notice the same feelings of frustration from my friends and peers, so while I was making my exit plan I also started studying the problem, looking for solutions and building out ideas. My search led me to the conclusion that the way we work is outdated, women are taught to fit into a world that isn’t built for them in the first place, and conforming to these socially accepted boxes isn’t working for any of us. The workplace too often lacks the space, strong culture and support systems women so badly need to thrive, also, quite frankly, the imagination around what a typical work week can look like when supporting different types of people and their personal needs. I was ready to make a change and inspired by the social climate, so I set out to create a meaningful space, vibrant and active community of professional women through The Lola. We have women as young as 23 and as old as 78 from many different types of industries, backgrounds and walks of life. Knowing that the start-up world isn’t a walk in the park either (and old habits and ways of working die hard) I was very intentional about finding a business partner, whose was aligned with the vision and whose skills complement mine, I couldn’t be more grateful for my Co-Founder, Eileen Lee. We’re not only building something for ourselves but also for the women coming up behind us. The name The Lola is inspired by my young daughter and the next generation of women she represents.

What should our readers know about your business?
The Lola is a womxn’s club, workspace and digital community with a mission to amplify the voices of all womxn. We have a 5,000-square-foot space, spread across two levels in Atlanta’s Historic Old Fourth Ward. The space, designed with womxn in mind, is made up of communal and quiet work areas, meeting rooms, a bar/café area, a private mother’s room, a beauty room and event spaces. Our space is safely open Monday through Friday for Members to work from and we currently host our events and programming through our digital platform until it’s safe to gather in person again. It was our intention from the start to build a diverse and inclusive community, we can’t say we’re for womxn until we’re for all womxn. Our goal is to shift hearts and minds, to fuel womxn to challenge the status quo and drive change in their lives so they can thrive, while collectively stepping up to advocate for all womxn. Starting any business isn’t easy and opening a physical space takes capital, and we all know the stories and challenges womxn face when raising money. Knowing we wouldn’t be able to raise money quickly or in a traditional way, we decided we would just start building community anyway. Thanks to the wonderful team at The Hotel Clermont we were able to make the newly reopened hotel our home for the first year so we could gather and host events while we built the business. The community came together in the most amazing way signing up for Memberships before our doors even opened, it meant we were able to open our doors with 300 Members and not stress (too much!) about the monthly rent that was now our responsibility.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Atlanta is a food mecca! So when my friends and family visit from the UK we always have a healthy lineup of places to eat. There are so many great ones but I’ll give a should out to some of our Lola community favorites, Bellina in Ponce City Market, El Ponce, Vinoteca, East Pole Coffee. I also LOVE Nam Phuong on Buford Highway, Nuevo Laredo on the westside is another old favorite and Sun In My Belly in Kirkwood (for brunch or dinner) is home. I’m an outdoors girl at heart, so after we’ve eaten ourselves silly, I’d get everyone out of town hiking, biking, horse riding, rafting and out in nature. I realized through the pandemic Georgia is a state park mecca, Cloudland Canyon State Park is on my hit list this summer.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
America and western culture often prize individual achievement, grit and stamina (no matter the cost) above all else but the older I get the more clear I get in the belief that we can not (and should not) try to do life alone. There are of course so many people that are part of my story and so many people I’m grateful to and also there are pivotal points in your life that stand out as moments where you grow, change or see the world differently, so I will name the people who were there for me in those moments. My dad always taught me to get out into the world and chase my dreams and not to worry too much about what other people think of you. Sylvie Kilduff, who hired me from across the Atlantic and sponsored my work visa when I wanted to move to the US, giving me a shot at a new life in New York. My husband Erik for being a rock, encouraging and supporting me to quit corporate life and start my own business. Finally, our Lola community, for supporting us before we even opened the doors to our new space and for sticking with us through a global pandemic.

Website: the-lola.com

Instagram: thelola_women

Linkedin: The Lola

Twitter: thelola_women

Facebook: thelolawomen

Youtube: thelola

Image Credits
Mushaboom Studios