Meet Juliette Blake, Founder of Miss O and Friends and Miss O Cool Girls
A brand for girls by girls is the hallmark of the Miss O and Friends website and app. Created by Juliette Blake as a way to help her sister, Olivia (aka Miss O) during middle school, the brand quickly expanded to include their social app (Girl2Girl Wall) and scripted original series (“Hyperlinked”) as well as Miss O Cool Girls, a collection of over 600 hand-drawn characters, offering 10,000 character options to represent what modern, real girls look life. As Juliette stated, “We are here to flip this narrative and ensure that girls are given the tools they need to become the next generation of builders and creators in web3 and beyond.” Read on to learn more about her and these awesome brands for young girls below:
Westchester Family: How did the idea for Miss O Cool Girls and Miss O and Friends come about?
Juliette Blake: The Miss O and Friends brand has been around since 2005, starting as a hobby for a while when I was in high school to help my sister Olivia (aka Miss O) and her friends through middle school. It turned into a business after receiving significant investment from Procter & Gamble.
Through the Miss O and Friends website (#1 tween girls website, 100% safe COPPA compliant), Girl2Girl Wall app (only safe chat app for tween girls) and YouTube Originals series, Hyperlinked, Miss O and Friends is a safe socialization brand that is dedicated to changing the current narrative for girls. Miss O Cool Girls is a natural extension of the Miss O and Friends, and is founded by a mother-daughter team. The Miss O Cool Girls celebrate that there is no one definition of what it means to be a girl.
Featuring unique and diverse traits of young teen girls – acne, braces, gap teeth – the mission is to empower and build self-esteem in girls to continue to offset how current media and social media consumption are leading to toxic bullying, trolling and negative role models.
Westchester Family: How did you start by curating the content and finding community when you started Miss O and Friends?
Juliette Blake: We have always been by girls, for girls by staying true to that motto, the Miss O community has found a real home. Instead of us thinking we know what our demo wants, we let them direct us, which is why nearly all of our content is generated by our community. We know that by giving girls a safe place to express themselves, that’s how we can build confidence and self-esteem and empower this next generation of changemakers.
Westchester Family: We love the message behind Miss O Cool Girls, how did you find the right design to fit your mission?
Juliette Blake: The Miss O Cool Girls art is an extension of the original Miss O and Friends IP that has been on our website, app, and series. Instead of having just 6 characters, Miss O Cool Girls will have a total of 10,000 pulling from over 600 diverse and inclusive traits. It’s important for us to showcase the wide variety of what it means to be a girl today, and enable girls to see themselves or others through our art.
Westchester Family: Why is this work important to you?
Juliette Blake: Current media platforms are leading to detrimental effects on kids, especially when it comes to girls. Girls consume negative and potentially harmful content daily and are often not included in creating, building, and engaging with new technology.
We are here to flip this narrative and ensure that girls are given the tools they need to become the next generation of builders and creators in web3 and beyond. As an entirely digital native demographic, technology is not intimidating for most of Gen Alpha. We want to make sure that girls face a healthier relationship with technology as it begins to expand and evolve. We have the upper hand as we’re early in shaping how they engage with new technology and its potential, and we want to ensure they use it to their advantage!
Westchester Family: How would you define the Miss O and Friends girl?
Juliette Blake: The members of our community are called “Moxies.” A Moxie means you are a force of character with a courageous and determined spirit- someone who can’t be stopped and won’t give up. We encourage our community members to tap into their Moxie and show up for themselves in every aspect of life. By fostering a sense of fearlessness and self-assurance in girls, there is no limit to what they can do!
Westchester Family: What are some things you do in CT or Westchester when you’re not working?
Juliette Blake: I have three kids so my weekends are usually packed with birthday parties, sports or family time. We love the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk and the Stamford Nature Center and a trip to Costco entertains everyone! I love going for walks with girlfriends to get coffee and a croissant at Raphael’s off Greenwich Avenue. We also belong to The Milbrook Club, which is one of the most family-friendly clubs in Greenwich. There’s always a BBQ or event happening, and I’ve recently taken up tennis there to get outside and move, while socializing at the same time.
Westchester Family: What’s next for you and the brand?
Juliette Blake: We’re currently building out the next gen social media ecosystem that is building a healthier digital future for girls, safely powered by blockchain technology. We will be combining our web2 and web3 platforms to create MoxiesX, which will empower girls to be bold and authentic by creating a collaborative, personalized and inclusive environment that fosters community and ownership. With MoxiesX, we are building a more equitable future for girls in a fun, playful, safe, authentic environment where content, community, and commerce intersect.
We also recently launched Miss O Cool Girls BUIDL, a free educational resource lowering the barrier to entry to web3 for girls. We had our first IRL event in April for girls and their caregivers. We will continue to explore more partnerships and provide opportunities for girls to learn about web3 technology and how they can get involved. Learn.missocoolgirls.xyz
