Where you see socks, Jenni Lee sees opportunity. The Comme Si founder is betting that women want more from the accessory than just something to slip into their shoes every day. Her first collection, rendered in Italian silk and Egyptian cotton, proves that she’s on to something. On the cusp of her second season, she’s looking to the next steps for the business, as well as who she wants to work with along the way.

Speaking with fellow Wing member Natalia Oberti Noguera, founder and CEO of Pipeline Angels, Lee was able to get another supportive perspective on the areas of the business she feels are too critical to compromise on, from using top-quality materials to hiring an inclusive team of women and people of color. Here’s what she learned about why good partners can make all the difference.

“Now that the brand is out there and I have real customers who are reacting to my product and my brand, it feels like the foundation of Comme Si is established. I personally can see the huge opportunity in where it can go and how big it can grow. It feels like this stage of a business is the right time to look for investment, when you know who your customer is and how you want to grow, and you just need the capital to move forward and do that at the pace that you want.

“It was reassuring to hear Natalia confirm that if there are values and certain things that are really important to me, I should not sacrifice them, and I should look for partners who also care about or want to get on board with those same things.”

“We talked a lot about what she calls ‘smart money:’ You shouldn’t be looking for just the money. You should be looking for money, plus, what’s the network that this person has? What skills and expertise and background do they bring to the table? What are the values that they care about? Which was really great to hear, because it's something I’ve been thinking a lot about—that if I were to take on investment, that is what I’d be looking for.

“I forget who told me this, but apparently the average relationship between a founder and an investor usually spans 10 to 12 years, which is longer than the average marriage in the U.S. It’s interesting to think of it in that way—they are someone that you will work with for a really long time, and so it makes sense that you should make sure your values align. You should make sure you want the same or similar things.”

“I will say, it’s very important to find a really good accountant and a lawyer. It’s been mostly friends, or people that I know who have started businesses, who I’ve asked, Who do you work with? Who would you recommend? Who would you definitely not recommend?’

“That whole idea about social capital is so important. And it’s so true: If there are people who have gone through it before that you really trust, I find that those recommendations go so much further than if you’re navigating it on your own.

“Natalia was really kind, too, saying, ‘If you’re looking for anything from accounting help to legal help, I know great women who are in senior positions who want to support female entrepreneurs that I'm happy to recommend you to.’ I think continuing that network effect of women continuing to support women, it’s so important.”

Worn throughout: Veronica Beard blazer, The Line by K bodysuit, Vince shorts, Poppy Finch earrings, Musier shoes