Live together, Parent together, Work together and Stay in Love?

Is there such a thing as too much togetherness?

A few months ago, as I was getting to know Joanna and Michal, it became clear to me that they had an unusual approach to work and life together. One afternoon, we had the opportunity to sit down for a conversation about their business, their life together and their take on combining the two. 

Joanna and Michal will say that when they first met, they never dreamed they’d end up working together in Joanna’s family skin care company {save}. But, as they started planning to have children while Joanna logged long hours as CEO, it seemed that the only way to realize that dream was to bring Michal in to work at the company alongside her. Being in business with your spouse is not for everyone, but for Joanna and Michal, it couldn’t be more natural, and they seem to see it as the key to their success.

Joanna and Michal are an unconventional couple in today’s modern world.

They work together all day, parent their kids together after school, and still find time to connect as a couple. When I asked them how they maintain the boundaries between home and work life, they said “We don’t. It’s all blended together. It would be artificial to create a boundary- now I’m at work, now I’m at home. “ Both Joanna and Michal grew up in Poland, both in households where it was the norm to have parents and grandparents who worked together in a family business. Culturally and historically, this way of life has always kept families close in Poland.

“I think we just discuss so many things and we really value each other’s opinions, I know that Michal is the smartest guy I ever met, and he’s the only person in the entire world who is able to say something to me honestly. We talk a lot, we spend so much time together, and we value each other, we are best friends. This is why it works.” Michal says “You can only get us as a bundle, getting only one of us is useless, we need to ask each other things.” Joanna and Michal know that they are fortunate to have employees that they trust 100%, and it’s just different with the relationship between a married couple. “We can only expect our employees to be available from 8-4, but with each other, you have 24/7 access.”

Joanna and Michal recently moved to the US with their two school age daughters to launch their line of clean skin care products to the US market.

Manufactured in the EU, {save} products adhere to far more rigorous safety standards than personal care products manufactured in the US. When you sit down to talk with Joanna and Michal together, it’s clear why {save} is perfectly positioned to become a leader in the clean beauty space. Joanna and Michal have an easy, honest way with each other. They’re not afraid to disagree, and will passionately argue their perspectives on an issue, in service of the absolute best possible outcome. They are demanding and single-minded in their pursuit of developing safe, high quality products and spreading their passion for clean beauty throughout the world. They don’t take themselves too seriously, and every business meeting they have is usually peppered with laughter throughout (Michal is mostly responsible for the comic relief).

Joanna and Michal have created an environment of trust, safety and transparency, at {save}. It’s a unique life in today’s world for sure - working together and maintaining a happy relationship as a couple.

But Joanna and Michal’s brave choice to work together, has helped them to bring those same principles of trust, honesty and safety from their home life to their work life - and the women who use their safe, clean products are the beneficiaries.