Pied piper

LISA RICHARDS, RPZL and Piper

WORK • Tuesday Routine

LISA RICHARDS • founder and CEO • RPZL and Piper (investment and marketing firm that funds beauty and fitness start-up ventures)
Neighborhood you work in: Rockefeller Center
Neighborhood you live in: East Village

It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace? 
Every morning it’s a balance between work, my girls (16 and 18 years old), and working out. I get up at 4:45a, check my phone, then work out. I do a combo of running (outside and inside) and using Cacti Wellness App and the bands. Then I go back to my apartment to make breakfast for my youngest daughter, and have a staff call at 6a to review the day. 

Fortunately, my apartment, home office, gym, and warehouse are all in the same neighborhood, so I make the rounds with my dog Coco. I make sure to stop by the warehouse every day to check out new inventory for all the brands that I own, as well as what we’re sending out to clients, media, and influencers. I also try to facetime my oldest daughter (who’s a freshman at Emory) before she starts her day. I normally run through my marketing plan to get her POV (you need to have every generation involved to deploy an effective marketing and press plan).

What’s on the agenda for today?
This morning we’re sending out PR packages for our new RPZL Home Collection with Forbes Functions (a boutique event company). The collection is a range of velvet bow napkin rings in holiday colors. Then, I’m off to RPZL in Rockefeller Center to host press and influencer appointments. We’re hosting them throughout the month, but I try to pop in on the busier days. They’re treated to blowouts and get to review the RPZL holiday collection (including those velvet bow napkin rings). After a full day of meetings, I’m off to meet friends for a 5p reservation at The Corner Store in Soho. I always get the earliest reservation so I can be home by 8p to check emails again before bed. I don’t go to sleep until every email for the day has been answered.

Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
On Mondays we do family dinner at Strip House on East 12th Street, our favorite restaurant in the city, and order the same meal every time: breadbasket, two filets, two bone-in ribeye steaks, bearnaise, creamed corn, charred broccoli with miso butter, potato puree, brussels sprouts, and if we’re celebrating something special, the 24-layer chocolate cake. On Tuesdays I have a standard staff meeting with my business, legal, and finance team at Hillstone (who doesn’t love the spinach dip?). This weekend, I’m headed to parents’ weekend in Atlanta for my daughter, and I’ve booked The Optimist, Gunshow, Umi, and Canoe, all of which come highly recommended.

How about a little leisure or culture this week?
I grew up in the Hamptons, so I always love going out east. I like to stay at Gurney’s in Montauk. The first night, we always eat at Scarpetta Beach (best breadbasket and pasta). Then drink and dessert at the firepit at Gurney’s. We also love Anthony’s Pancake House for breakfast, a pick-up from Round Swamp Farm for lunch, Tutto il Giorno in Sag Harbor for dinner, and both Buddhaberry and Big Olaf for ice cream (our family is split on this, so we do both). On Sundays, we do wine tasting on the South and North Fork. I like Channing Daughters Winery, Kontokosta Winery, Paumanok Vineyards, Bedell, Sparkling Pointe Vineyards, Paumanok Winery, Lieb Cellars, Macari, and Wölffer. And then go on the Founders Oyster Farm cruise for fresh oyster shucking and champagne.

What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love? 
After every milestone, I get a new Cartier bracelet (or Van Cleef necklace, or a watch — something that appreciates in value, that I can pass down to my girls, especially if the milestone involves them). I engrave it with that milestone too. I just purchased one when I bought out RPZL from my business partner.