LIVELY, MICHELLE CORDEIRO GRANT: The Everything Bra

The pandemic accelerated the rise in e-commerce, with it bringing several direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands to the forefront.  In this saturated marketplace, companies that stand out have developed brands that appeal to the heightened social awareness of consumers, choosing to champion values that transcend the confines of the products that they sell. Lively, launched in 2016 by Michelle Cordeiro Grant, as an intimate brand that brings a fresh perspective to an old industry by seeking to inspire and empower women of all shapes and sizes. Lively develops products that fuse the comfort of athleisure wear with the function of lingerie in a new space, Cordeiro Grant calls, “leisurée”. 

Michelle Cordeiro Grant’s upbringing seems distant from the life she leads today as the founder of an intimates brand headquartered in the US’s largest city, New York. A first-generation American, she was raised in Amish country in rural Pennsylvania, where, as she describes, “there was not even a stoplight”. She recounts that she was always creating and building. This was perhaps in part due to her parents, who were somewhat “tinkerers” themselves. Her father, a chemical engineer, experimented with the polymers used in computer screens and her mother was a cancer researcher. “So, I would see my mom on a microscope and I would see my dad in a lab creating things,” Cordeiro Grant comments.

Michelle Cordeiro Grant, Founder, Lively.

“[Entrepreneurship] was not in my vocabulary growing up, but I was always creating and building.” - Michelle Cordeiro Grant

Though she cannot recall any childhood entrepreneurial endeavors, Cordeiro Grant’s natural industriousness and penchant for building things did not take long to come to fruition. At her first job out of college, frustrated with sedentary desk life, she developed an under-the-desk stair stepper to stay more active during the workday. She pursued the idea, only pausing when she realized that a similar product had already been patented. A few years later she was at it again working with a friend’s grandmother to develop a foil-like material to line the interior of purses to prevent identity theft. Though these early ventures did not pan out, they demonstrate Cordeiro Grant’s proclivity for developing and launching ventures. This, coupled with the experience that she built in the retail industry, would eventually come together for the launch of her own brand - Lively. 

“I quit Victoria's Secret because I knew I needed more.”

Michelle Cordeiro Grant first started working in retail at Federated Merchandising, directly after completing her undergraduate degree. There, she helped to launch brands around the world before deciding that she wanted to get closer to the end-customer by working for a vertical brand. She transitioned to a role at Victoria’s Secret. At Victoria’s Secret, Cordeiro Grant began to notice the dated content was still driving sales and that social media was not part of the strategy at all, though this was becoming an increasingly important channel for consumers to engage with brands. Cordeiro Grant comments that though she “was wearing stilettos and push-up bras every day and it was exhausting,” the real AHA moment was more personal and occurred when she got married. “I realized my husband loved me for all of my flaws and uniqueness - I was like where is the brand for that? There was no one telling me to love [me].” She left Victoria's Secret soon after, joining a startup to learn the inner workings of launching a business, before pivoting to launch her own.

“You need to find ways to hack, switch, and make better. We took a category that was dated and not celebrated and made it one that people love.”

Cordeiro Grant’s time in the retail industry played a critical role in the launch of Lively. She was introduced to a supplier via a connection from Victoria's Secret who had the capabilities to manufacture brands. Coupled with Cordeiro Grant’s experience launching brands, it felt like a natural partnership. After an initial investment in 2015, Lively was born.  ‘Lively’ was selected as the name of the brand as Cordeiro Grant did not want one person’s name to encapsulate the brand. Instead, she searched for a word that made people feel a certain way. When she came across the word ‘lively’, meaning active, outgoing, energetic, she knew that was it. It represented perfectly how she wanted to make the women who wore her apparel feel and the target customer she wanted to attract.

Michelle Cordeiro Grant quickly built the business - going from product concept to development - to selling their first products by April 2016. Lively launched with 6 bras, 3 undies, and a bodysuit, as Cordeiro Grant comments, “that is all we needed ''. Through this time, Cordeiro Grant built the business impressively as a solopreneur before bringing on a small team that included: Sarah Sullivan (creative and design), a graphic design intern, and Ali Alquiza (Director of Brand). As Cordeiro Grant puts it, “we were really jacks of all trades”. 

In the increasingly crowded lingerie space, from newcomers, ThirdLove and Parade to new big brands entrants including Gap and American Eagle,  Lively differentiate itself with a fresh product and attitude. Lively’s intimates leverage the materials and comfort of athleisure and swimwear, combined with the functionality of bras. The features are more logical than the traditional bra we are used to today. For instance, the adjuster to manipulate the length of a strap is located in the front, not the back (game changer!). Beyond the product, the brand seeks to empower women and tear down the decades of stereotypical women represented in lingerie advertising and build a community of “smart, strong women doing the things they love with the people that they love”. This mission is resonating with women across generations and socioeconomic backgrounds - who are all purchasing Lively products.

Lively’s approach to growth has been dissimilar to other brands over-investing in social media and paid advertising. As the costs associated with digital advertising increase exponentially, Cordeiro Grant thought about how brands were built before social media, when “you had to spend time building lists and getting grassroots”. She started from the bottom relying on community and word of mouth and instead investing in PR. For their initial product launch, Lively ran a “refer-a-friend” campaign. The campaign led to the company collecting 133,000 emails and 300,000 visits to their splash page from shoppers around the world. Lively has continued to build its community via an ambassador program. The program, now boasting 150,000 ambassadors, provides unique links to the Lively webpage for each ambassador to sell products. In exchange, they are awarded points that they can swap for merchandise and early access to launches, among other perks. These tactics seem to be paying off, as the Lively community is highly engaged. Ambassadors share content on average 2-3 times per week and Lively uses user-generated content from the community in their own advertising campaigns. 

“I would be the obstacle to the business growing if I did not embrace the idea of team and invest[ing] in people.”

The road to launching and scaling a successful startup is not without hurdles. From a strap developed to be silky smooth that did not stay on in the application, to launching a new website only to realize that this would delete all of the organic searches that the company had built, directly before one of the largest days for US retailers - Black Friday. These are situations that often can cripple an early-stage retail startup, where cash is critical to the continued existence of the company, or as Cordeiro Grant puts it, “any kind of cost was a bullet to the heart,” at this time. She took these hurdles in stride as learning opportunities were needed to scale her business. For Cordeiro Grant, the hardest issue faced has been people. Two months after launching, Cordeiro Grant became pregnant with her son and had to learn how to let go of some of the business and delegate. She came to the hard realization that she, “would be the obstacle of the business growing if I did not embrace the idea of team and invest[ing] in people.” This is reflected in the various business decisions she has chosen to make, including selecting to reduce advertising costs, so that she could, “invest in [her] people”.

“Entrepreneurship is a mental game - start with inside and physically -  so you can push through.”

The Advice

Cordeiro Grant shares some sage advice for those looking to launch a fashion business: 

• Start with a very tight assortment and figure out how to market that. Once that is figured out, then expand beyond there (Lively launched with just 6 bras, 3 undies and a bodysuit - that was it!)

• No need to invent, just figure out ways to hack, switch, and make better.

• Being successful externally starts from within: “I learned the hard way that not feeling good and burnout do not add to efficiency, greatness or any type of success. I have become much more selfish about taking care of my body and family, so I can kickass at work.”

• Cordeiro Grant recommends picking up a copy of Blue Ocean Strategy and listening to other founders on podcasts, such as How I Built This.

Today, Lively is available for purchase on their website, 4 stores, and via Target and Nordstrom. If you are interested in becoming an ambassador or placing your first order, check out their website here and use code RADICHE10 for a 10% discount! Offer expires on March 31, 2022.

Photo courtesy of Lively.

Written by Simmone Seymour.

Simmone is a member of BLK VC, an organization that aims to increase the number of Black Venture Capitalists. A retail and consumer goods enthusiast, she works in Strategy at Nordstrom and writes about the topic for StartU, Radiche, and on her Medium page. You can follow her on Twitter @SeymourSimmone.

WEARABLE X, BILLIE WHITEHOUSE: Haptic Clothing

At-home fitness is more important than ever, with most consumers working out from home and companies like Mirror, Peloton, Whoop, and more raising the volume on the tech-meets-athletics discussion. Founded in 2013, Wearable X was their first, introducing people to the idea that hardware can improve performance by directly interacting with their body as they work out. Haptic technology (sometimes called kinaesthetic communication), is any technology that can create an experience of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. Wearable X makes athletic clothes with haptics built-in, to physically cue and guide the wearer through an optimal yoga flow. Think of it as an Iron Man suit for your sun salutation. And yes, they are machine washable! 

We talked to founder and CEO Billie Whitehouse about how Wearable X sprung out of her work with a condom company of all things, and her vision for the brand after 7 years of growth. 

“Touch is one of those extremely interesting senses that we have. It’s one of the fastest reaction times - we react faster to touch than we do sound,” Billie said.

Billie grew up in Australia, with parents who have backgrounds in the design and athletics industries. She characterized herself as a highly entrepreneurial child, facilitating raffles for small objects and drumming up money however she could. Her teenage years were filled with jobs coaching sports, everything from softball to hockey to cricket. Billie’s undergraduate studies in design and more in-depth graduate program in Italy set her up to enter the design world through her mother’s practice.    

“I was working at my mother’s design business and got a strange message to my personal email saying ‘hey, we’re interested in speaking to you’,” Billie said. “Like with many agencies, you have your first call in October and they don’t reach back out until February and they’re saying ‘great we want to start tomorrow’!”

That agency was Havas Creative, who tapped Billie to concept and build Funderwear, an experimental line of haptic underwear in partnership with condom brand Durex. She worked directly with the agency and a team of designers, software engineers, and apparel manufacturers to build out the product line that lived under the Durex name. The Funderwear products allowed partners to communicate touch with each other via wearable tech connected to a mobile app. Fun indeed.

Founder, Billie Whitehouse above. Original image credited to Refinery29.

The Aha Moment 

Off the back of the success of the Funderwear project, Billie set out to start Wearable X, which officially kicked off in 2013. The company was originally bootstrapped and has since brought on strategic investors. They began with in-depth research and development on their intended segment: yoga.

“We had a huge community of yoga instructors and participants come into the office and test the product. The reason I personally wanted this product to exist is because I wasn’t very good at yoga and I wanted that personal attention,” Billie said.  

Currently, the Wearable X products offer what Billie describes as an at-home yoga experience, with leggings that provide posture monitoring and vibrational guidance. Legging pants are equipped with five different accelerometers that measure the body’s movement and positioning. Audio instructions from the Wearable X app and haptic sensations from the garment guide the wearer into a series of yoga poses.

“As you move through the different steps to get into a pose, you feel and hear sensations to guide you. At the end of each movement we use IMU data to understand if you actually made it into the pose. We let you know if you made it, or if you should go back and try again,” Billie said.

The course is less of a traditional vinyasa flow and more of a focused, instructional practice intended to ensure bodily alignment and true completion of each pose. 

“There are 30 different poses that you work through, and it’s much a slower approach to work on poses diligently. It’s not about learning them; it’s about truly understanding the pose.” 

“Our big vision is to always design products that help you connect to how you feel. I think that covers multiple layers of feeling. Whether you’re feeling and understanding your body, feeling or understanding your loved ones, or connecting with your environment, all three of those are the three pillars that are the most important to us.”

The Challenges

Wearable X was first to market in the wearable athletic tech category, especially thinking direct-to-consumer. 

 “There was a challenge there, being early in the market and the first people communicating with the customer,” Billie said. “There were technical challenges - washability was super hard to achieve. [We spent time on] the ergonomics of how and where you add these pieces of hardware.”

Marketing Highlights

Billie has an acute understanding of what Wearable X’s best sales channels are. The highest conversion rates come when Wearable X gets press in publications like Refinery 29 and Business Insider.

“Those are our highest converting audiences – it’s the at-home community, ages between 28-48,” Billie said. “Then we have a huge interest in our products which are also B2B. The Durex partnership, Fox Sports, Oakley.”

As for what’s on the horizon, Billie keeps her cards close to the haptically-enhanced vest. With the kind of tech Wearable X builds, it makes sense that projects need to stay in stealth mode for a while. We see huge potential for wearable tech in the realms of physical therapy, wellness, healthy work environments, and posture.

“We have exciting partnerships [in the works], but they are products that won’t be out for another two years,” Billie said. “We want to build technology to help us feel more human.”

The Advice

Billie is a founder truly paving a new path in a new space. We got her advice on how to face your entrepreneurship fears:

• You’re going to get a lot of nos - sometimes not everyone knows best and you have to push through and believe in your vision for a product.

• You have to have a product in the market to know how your customer is going to use it. Hypothesizing can only take you so far. 

• Honor your mentors and the time that you have with them.

• Don’t take sh*t from anybody!

Looking to improve your yoga skills and get the cutting edge of wearable tech? Check out Wearable X and their Nadi X leggings. 

Photo courtesy of Wearable X.

Written by Kendall Embs. 

THURSDAY BOOTS, CONNOR WILSON: Successfully Bootstrapped

Boots, not the UK pharmacy, but the fashion accessory you wear on a daily basis. They come in all shapes and colors, but the relationship between quality and price tend to be disproportionate. In hopes to fill a gap in the market based on a personal problem, Connor Wilson reimagines the working boot at an affordable price with unbeatable quality. Welcome, Thursday Boots. 

Jessica Simpson had it right when she said “these boots were made for walking”, and walking is not all they shall do. Connor Wilson, co-founder of Thursday Boots was of a similar mindset when he moved to New York to reimagine the working boot with a fashion twist. “When I got to NYC, I was wearing a pair of cowboy boots and decided it was a good idea to get some regular lace-up bottom boots for winter since I didn’t really fit in with my look. I bought a random pair of boots and within 2 months they were wrecked. The leather looked terrible and I had to throw them away. I was very disappointed. I never went back for another pair because they were expensive and the list goes on as my customer problems”, says Connor. 

Thursday Boots is a high-quality footwear brand that combines aesthetics and function at an affordable pricepoint. They cater to both men and women and was originally built for the streets of New York City. Connor tells us how he went to Columbia University for grad school to get his MBA in hopes of launching a business before graduation. 

Co-founders, Nolan Walsh (on left) and Connor Wilson (on right).

On Finding a Co-Founder

“ I met my co-founder, Nolan Walsh on the first day of class at grad school. This was back in 2013. We both raised our hands when the professor asked who wants to become an entrepreneur and there were only four of us in total, so we all went out for coffee afterward.”

At the time, Connor was working with a startup that ended up getting acquired by Walmart. “Nolan and I entered business school wanting to leave with a business. That focus helped a lot. We wanted to build a business that really mattered, do something that was authentic to who we were, and provide us with the flexibility to make decisions. We went on vacation together to Nicaragua and discussed our alignments on goals and values. By the end of the vacation, Nolan was at a bar and complemented some guy who was wearing boots, who had mentioned he gets them made from a small village in Central America. That led us to think omg, we can build our own boots!”

Jumping to May 2014, and Thursday Boots steps into the footwear market via Kickstarter. Connor was still in business school at the time. “I was getting four hours of sleep a night. I would wake up, answer emails, fall back asleep, and do it all over again. Our first hire was for customer service. People just came to us which is how we grew our early team.”

“We are insane about getting data.”

When it comes to Thursday Boots marketing, Connor and his team are obsessed with data, data, data! This is what allows product brands to scale and garner venture capital funding. “We try to find as many data points as possible. We read all pieces of feedback whether it is coming from social media, emails, etc because it all allows us to make improvements”, says Connor.

Thursday Boots has experimented with many marketing channels and likes to get a laugh from the public every once in a while because sometimes you should do things that are fun and engaging. “For April Fools day we did an invisible boot one year, which we made available for sale. It was a campaign, but there was no actual boot created.” 

However, word of mouth marketing has been their main source of revenue. “We launched on Kickstarter ourselves and treated our first customers as kings. We had 3 models, 3 colorways, and viewed the product quality as our marketing spend, and wanted the first couple of hundred customers to love them!” For those wondering, Thursday Boots was as you might assume, bootstrapped. The founders put in a total of $20,000 and did everything themselves. 

“The reason why we wanted to start our own business was to grow as business people. So, when it came to branding, product design, marketing, hiring, website design, and customer service, we worked all of those jobs and have done it all so that we can bring an amateur view to those spaces. This has been very helpful to approach problem-solving differently.” 

“We want to bring quality back to footwear.”

Connor faced a lot of challenges in the early days. Some of them include finding the right suppliers. “We knocked on a lot of doors. If you work with the best suppliers they help you find other amazing suppliers and the cycle continues. We are also very big on tight time cycles in production. We run small batches and have spent a lot of time with our factories to create a responsive system.” They focus on finding the highest quality suppliers - one of their biggest tanneries, US-based Horween, is so environmentally responsible that their filtration systems end up pumping out cleaner water than they take in from the City of Chicago.

Scaling has also been another challenge. “You have to reinvent yourself and the organization because the things you were doing 6 months ago need to change (org chart, processes, roles). There comes a point in time where you need to trust people to do things and learn from their mistakes versus you telling them what to do.”

The Childhood

Hailing from Lone Tree, Colorado, Connor is a CFA charter holder and in his previous career, he was a public equity investor at Thornburg Investment Management. He grew up attending Highlands Ranch high school and was on the varsity track team. “I was always putting in the work, and was extremely curious.” His first job was at the age of 14 when he worked at an ice cream shop, followed by being a waiter at a restaurant at the age of 16. He attended Harvard for undergrad and majored in Government as he was always interested in how the world fits together. Fun fact: he has been wearing cowboy boots since the age of 6 and originally sold shoes on the internet with his buddy back in undergrad in 2004. 

The Advice

The culture at Thursday Boots can be best described as data-driven, humble, hard-working, and self-criticizing. As a founder with a rigorous understanding of how things work, Connor provides us with his feedback for those looking to launch a product based company:

• You have to lead by doing to create a culture and by the time you start talking about those things, the culture is already set. 

• When it comes to the early days of feedback, use your gut to find what you are looking for.

• Get critical feedback from friends and family and lean into the things you need to get better at. 

• Money is a means of financing the mission and the mission is to serve the customers. You need to find out what you are doing that is going to add enough value to a customer’s life. 

• How do you provide value? This should be the question you are always answering. 

Available in over 50 states and 60 countries, Thursday Boots can be purchased here. 

Photo courtesy of Thursday Boots. 

Written by Alysha Malik.

HOLDEN, ANDREW & SIMON: The Ring Bearers

I do. Two simple words that bind a couple together for a lifetime. And to represent their love, humans have turned towards jewelry as a symbol of their connection. However, did you know that jewelry has one of the highest markups as a product category? Meet Holden, a customized wedding ring company that removes the middle man and offers personalized engravings without breaking your bank.

Co-founders of Holden, Andrew Lim and Simon Zhang, met in 2010 during Marketing 101 at Dartmouth College and became fast friends. Their friendship later expanded into them interning at MBI before embarking on a venture together. Simon tells us how “at the time I was marketing jewelry via direct mail at MBI and ended up tinkering with designs to create beaded bracelets that I liked. This turned into my first company, MUJO, for which I asked Andrew to join me 6 months later.” It was through running MUJO, an online fashion jewelry brand that the boys met many customers who were inquiring about customized wedding bands and so, Holden came into existence in April 2018. 

“Our core hypothesis is that the experience is broken in the jewelry industry and we want to improve that.” 

When it comes to choosing a ring, couples can be overwhelmed by design, price, and having that pushy salesman breathing down your neck trying to sell you on his new iridescent collection or even worse, judging your choice of partner. Andrew Lim and Simon Zhang wanted to create a new shopping experience where couples feel safe, attended to and satisfied with their purchase. Every ring on their website is below $900 (including lab-grown diamonds). Simon further goes to say how “at first, we didn't realize how big of a problem this was. If you look at the fine jewelry industry, it is worth $51 billion, but yet, it has not been disrupted in a very long time.” 

The Customer

“When we first launched we thought we would mainly target Millennials on the coast. However, what we found was that our customer is spread out across all 50 states and mainly consists of younger couples who are getting engaged or older couples who are renewing their vows. When customers enter the Holden experience they are able to opt-in for a free ring size kit as well as choose all of the features they want in their perfect ring. Hence, customers feel a stronger sense of attachment to their purchase.”  When analyzing the jewelry market, Simon and Andrew noticed that only one type of inclusive couple is portrayed. Holden redefines what love means by highlighting diverse couples and relationships through their website. 

“In the beginning, we spent most of our time online with our early customers to figure out product-market fit.” 

Setting up a company is challenging. While most entrepreneurs tend to complain about production issues, figuring out product-market fit should be your highest priority and tends to take time to unfold. Andrew tells us that “in the beginning, there are so many things you have to figure out and prioritize. Make sure to give your early customers a lot of attention and understand why they liked your product, what got them interested and what would retain them.” As a result, Holden’s future product development is now based on customer feedback.  

The Advice

“Figure out funding through other means.” Holden launched as a bootstrapped company and has remained cashflow positive since. They just closed their first seed round and will be using the funds to ramp up marketing as well as expand into other product categories. The boys were also able to secure previous funding via winning pitch contests. When asked for advice on launching a D2C business, Andrew and Simon shared the following:

• Set milestones you want to reach and within each milestone create objectives you want to hit. You should always be prioritizing the tasks on this list. 

• When finding a co-founder you should both have a similar design aesthetic in addition to your skillsets complimenting one another.

• During pre-launch, you should play on your customer's emotions and the brand story. 

• In the beginning, try to do press yourself by reaching out to writers directly. They appreciate when you put a little bit of effort into knowing their topic of interest. (Holden was able to be featured in both Forbes and Business Insider for free).

• Look for scrappy ways of launching that yield better results rather than needing a lot of money before proving anything. 

About to pop the question to a special someone? Visit Holden in NYC to meet Simon and Andrew and let them know we sent you! Fun fact: Simon is 6”5 and can say the ABCD’s backward while Andrew is a coffee connoisseur and can brew coffee in 10 different ways! 

Photo courtesy of Holden. 

HARPER WILDE, JENNA & JANE: The Heavy Lifters

As women, we live in a lingerie world laced with frills, embellishments and sexy cuts. Most of these products are actually created by men and targeted to women at an extremely high price with high margins, and high sex appeal. But what if you’re just a regular gal looking for a simple solution at an affordable price? Say hello to Harper Wilde, a women-run company that is simplifying the bra shopping experience and finally giving support back to the girls by doing the heavy lifting!

Co-Founders Jenna Kerner and Jane Fisher met during their MBA at Wharton and bonded over their love for beef jerky, and humor. With no previous experience in retail, these ladies have shattered the glass ceiling and built a company with a core mission: to empower the girls. We were able to catch sarcastic, witty and thoughtful Jenna for a quick playdate to chat about how she got started and her advice for fundraising. 

“I always loved building things and never thought that I wanted to be an entrepreneur.”

Jenna grew up in a house filled with laughter and discussions around science and healthcare. Most of her family members were doctors and growing up she always thought she would work in the same industry (she refers to herself as being pretty nerdy as a child). “ I always wanted to do something in healthcare, which is ironic because now I am making bras.” With a major in Neurobiology from Cornell University, Jenna started out working in consulting and transitioned to a wearable technology startup since she wanted to be closer to the consumer. “You could say at my core I have always been into helping people.” Fun fact: she is afraid of flying. Talk about slaying all of those short work trips while working at Deloitte, #BossBabeInFlight. 

Testing The Market

Jenna and Jane came up with the concept for Harper Wilde in the fall of 2015 and launched in June of 2017. “We tested out the market by doing a focus group with over 100 women to gather market feedback and see what issues women were facing. We also emailed manufacturers overseas to see why bras are so expensive and found out that the margins are just really high. We also felt that a survey would not be enough so we mocked up our entire business plan, bought 400 bras on a credit card, and invited 50 women to do a free home try-on experience. We had 5 different styles of which you could choose 3. We would then charge these customers via venmo for what they kept. Luckily we saw that 50% of them converted to purchases from this experience, so we didn’t lose any money.” Using this data, Jenna was able to create future designs and raise seed money from friends, family and angel investors to go to market. 

“Talk to actual consumers and understand where they are spending most of their time and money.”

Marketing, marketing, marketing! Today there are so many platforms and channels to choose from. If you are looking to grow brand awareness, we are a big believer in partnerships (hence, RADICHE’S ability to connect brands for future collaborations). When we asked Jenna for her top marketing highlights, she mentioned a partnership with the car-sharing app, Lyft in October 2017. “Any rides taken with our code would result in a donation to provide education to girls in 120 countries.”

The Challenges

“In the beginning, we would get a lot of advice from experts in different fields, but had to make decisions that were best for us at the time. I would say, learn to trust your instinct in areas where you don’t have experience. Finding the right manufacturer has also been a challenge for us as empowering women is our core mission. When we found the top manufacturer for lingerie (based in Sri Lanka), it was more about convincing them to work with us, but now they are our biggest partner.” 

The Advice

Harper Wilde recently raised $2 million in June 2018 for their Series A (wohoo!). In a male-driven VC market, it was difficult for the ladies to make them see eye to eye. Their secret sauce? Humor. Check out Jenna’s advice for those looking to start their own consumer-facing company:

• Find a co-founder that aligns with your values.

• Trust your gut when it comes to developing your strategy.

• Test every marketing channel in a small measured way before scaling it. 

• Don’t get bogged down by others opinions.

• Conduct a price point experimentation: find out what your consumer is willing to spend, married with your COGS and what would create a sustainable business in the long run. 

• When it comes to finding investors, look for firms within your field, not the top recognizable ones, and get a warm introduction. 
  
  
  

Harper Wilde aims to be the go-to everyday bras for women. Priced at only $35, shop their products here and let them do the heavy lifting. 

Photo courtesy of Harper Wilde. 

VOICE OF INSIDERS, JESSICA & QING: The Fashion Insiders

The word “smart” has filtered into almost everything in our lives. Smartphone, smart home, smart boyfriend and even smart fabrics now. Identifying a gap in the fashion market, Voice of Insiders creates genderless streetwear combined with technologically enhanced fabrics and timeless design.  

Co-founders, Jessica Appelstein and Qing Huang met two years ago during their Master’s at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York City. Jessica tells us how she “never imagined herself creating a brand” but was partnered with Qing for their Capstone project and saw big potential in this category as she is also a dancer.

“We have seen smart fabrics being used in activewear for many years, but no one was bringing this technology to the streetwear space.”

According to Qing, we are moving towards a streetwear culture with brands such as Public School, Vetements and Off-White popping up. Due to the whitespace between activewear and streetwear, Voice of Insiders was created in February 2017 to combine performance-based fabrics and timeless high-quality designs for the genderless modern consumer. As fashion becomes more casual and “fast-fashion” slows down, niche brands finally have an opportunity to capture new market share. 

The Fabrics

Sourced from Korea, Japan and Taiwan, we got deep and dirty with Qing about the different smart fabrics used in their collection and how each piece holds a uniquely “smart” characteristic. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know:

Celliant: This is currently being used by the likes of Under Armour in their pajama line with Tom Brady. Celliant is an FDA approved technology that helps recover energy in your muscles by increasing oxygen flow to give your body that much needed boost. It is also used to treat minor aches and pains and is widely loved by athletes and dancers. 

Tencel: Tencel is one of the most environmentally sustainable fabrics. It is obtained from the eucalyptus tree and is grown on farms. Because of the nature of this material, the processing never requires bleach. As a result, it has been awarded the “European Award for the Environment” by the EU. Tencel is also known to be extremely soft, moisture absorbent, and wrinkle-free.  

Outlast: Outlast technology was originally developed by NASA to store and release heat for optimal comfort. This capability allows it to regulate temperature control. 

“As an emerging brand, you have the power to redefine the message, culture, and interactions with customers, unlike larger retailers.”

Wanting to do things differently, VOI has been gaining a lot of attraction in China where they took part in fashion week and receive a majority of their orders from. “We just did a collaboration with Parsons Dance school in NYC and took the same concept to China by working with street dancers to debut our latest collection instead of engaging in a typical fashion show.” VOI also works with agents in China on a commission basis to sell their products and given Qing’s local connections, they have been able to get into known stores and build a name. 

When it comes to their distribution model, VOI is both a direct to consumer brand and a wholesaler. They currently sell on Amazon, their own website and are seeking upcoming boutiques in NYC (want to get them in your store? Holler at us!). 

The Hurdles

“Finding the right wholesale distributor is a challenge. It is tough to find someone who aligns with our vision and style.” Like most fashion companies, inventory management and storage also seems to be a challenge for VOI. To overcome production MOQ’s, Qing relied on his trusted Chinese connections from working in China back in the day. As a technical designer within large factories who would produce for private American and European brands, Qing was able to give attention to unique patterns and cuts within VOI. Fun fact: Qing got placed in an Apparel Engineering major during college and worked as a technical designer in China for many years. It wasn’t until he moved to New York and applied to FIT that he gained an educational experience in design. “Everything I knew about fashion was from an industry perspective.”

The Name

“As insiders of the industry, we feel that we see everything. The glamour, the reality, the highs and the lows. We wanted to share our voices through our brand and came up with Voice of Insiders or as we like to say VOI for short.” 

The Advice:

• When trying to source factories, sell them on the idea of your brand and it’s mission. It is very important to partner with a vendor who shares your beliefs and wants to grow with you. This is also how you will overcome the minimum order quantity hurdle.

• Don’t sell yourself short by sticking to one country. The world is your oyster. Look for emerging markets and capitalize on your unique selling proposition or brand heritage.

• As an entrepreneur, be prepared for the worst results but still strive to be your best.

Priced between $45 - $400, VOI produces everything from leggings, t-shirts to hoodies and down jackets. Mention code “RADICHE” for 15% off. 

Photo courtesy of Voice of Insiders. 

DENIMRUSH, APARNA AVARASALA: The Denim Artist

Whether it was Piet Mondrian who inspired Yves Saint Laurent in the 60’s or Gucci’s recent revolution with art murals up everywhere, fashion and art have mated for years. Some artists use empty walls as their canvas (hello, Banksy!) while others consider negative spaces on objects. But, there is one thread that stays in common: Art is what you want to see. Capturing this emotional sentiment and finding her own canvas in the threads of a denim jacket, Aparna Avarasala created DENIMRUSH.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Aparna Avarasala always had a creative inkling, whether it was painting or having “weird” ideas. While her parents didn’t allow her to attend an arts school, she graduated from the New York School of Interior Design in 2016 with a close enough match, Interior Design.

Although her early career gigs were within the hospitality and design sector, Aparna Avarasala found her calling by intersecting an expertise in design with her vision of converting art into wearable fashion. Pursuing her true love for painting, she launched DENIMRUSH in early 2017 to create one-of-a-kind wearable fashion pieces that celebrated art in a unique way. Handmade in New York with a lot of love, DENIMRUSH today offers denim jackets for men and women, ranging from $150 to $200, with some priced at $300.

The Aha-Moment

In a world full of fashion brands, how did Aparna get her start you may ask? In [typical New York] fashion: at Brunch! Yes, that’s correct. Aparna rocked a personally painted Wrangler jean jacket to brunch and her friends were all over it. 

In fact, it was during her senior year at college while she was finishing her thesis, working at a design firm and freelancing at creative jobs, that the idea truly came about. A painting expedition on a stretched canvas made Aparna realize how the fabric bended and reflected light, confirming that the same could be done with denim. This plus the fact that “I didn’t want a boring jacket and wanted to do something cool with denim” led her to the first DENIMRUSH jacket.

“We want everyone to appreciate art as a part of fashion and lifestyle.”

While Aparna initiated the brand with her own creative expression, she now collaborates with other passionate artists. With DENIMRUSH, she says, “You are like a walking gallery. You are a conversation starter. It’s that cool factor that only your jacket can have.”

Indeed, each DENIMRUSH collection has its own vibe with most jackets that are one-size-fits-all. The process begins with vintage pieces that Aparna sources from “some guy” that she then treats, paints on and treats again. For efficiency, she also mixes pre-treatment with her paint so that it can be used on any fabric canvas easily.

What drives her collections? Color! “My typical process when I paint starts with a color palette, getting inspired by codes in nature (flowers/trees/etc.) and then looking at a room to see the negatives and what colors will enhance it. I also get obsessed with a color when I find it and move on when I have found another.” It’s like cheating on color, over and over again!

Marketing Highlights

Collaboration is the name of the game. Although Aparna had no idea how the brand would evolve, she thanks her incredible partnerships with WeWork, Denim Days Festival, Covergirl and many other cool platforms for her early success. As a direct to consumer brand, she also says that Instagram has been the best outlet for reaching influencers who can speak directly to your target audience, giving a better ROI than a “Shop Now” prompt.

Why the Name?

Like most brands, a name has a journey and with DENIMRUSH it began with “brushed art” that metamorphosed into “brushed denim” and finally decided to drop our favorite letter, the "r", settling into DENIMRUSH.

You're probably thinking of the Gold Rush right now, yeah? We were too! Fun fact: Workers used to wear denim as their uniform when mining for gold and that is how this staple fabric entered the fashion industry.

The Advice

Aparna has been a go-getter since the age of 14. “My parents wanted me to focus on studying but I took on my first job as a Subway sandwich artist!” As a sole entrepreneur working round the clock since then, here are some quick tips from the denim artist herself:  

• Don’t be afraid to f*** up! You will only learn from your mistakes.

• Make sure you have a schedule.

• Keep a photo collection of what happens throughout your business. It’s important to go back to those little moments.

• Take photos of everything! You never know where inspiration comes from.

#JointheRush and shop the latest collection here with promo code: RADICHE for 10% discount. Have an interesting collab idea for Aparna? Email us here and we’ll put you in touch!

Photo courtesy of DENIMRUSH.

THEY, JACK LIN: The Rooted Sole

In order to know where you are going, you need to know where you come from. History matters, because it is only once we know our roots that the correct seed can be planted. Co-Founder of a footwear brand, THEY, Jack Lin grew up in an industrial family. Despite his rejection to adopt a business education, he pursued the design “root” to learn the required fundamentals of footwear. 

As a sneaker obsessed city, we, New Yorkers, all own a pair of walking shoes stashed in our totes for our morning commute. Riding the high tides of the white leather sneaker game down to the Nike and Adidas rivalry, finally, there is an option for the others. You know, the ones who appreciate the empty space, the posters on the billboards, the art at The Armory Show and the simple things in life that are sometimes too simple to even take notice. But “THEY” take notice and this one is for you.

“I was always into drawing and design. Even in high school, while others were playing sports, I was very much into the arts.”

We were able to sit down and chat with Jack Lin, co-founder of a footwear brand, THEY, at their current pop up located at 224 Mulberry street in NYC. A sibling duo like some of our other Makers, Jack and his sister Angela were two seeds planted from the same tree that ultimately grew into their own forest. “I grew up in Taiwan where back in the day, it was known for manufacturing 80% of the world’s umbrellas and footwear.  My family was part of that revolution. My grandfather started his own footwear factory when he was in his 20’s and would produce products for Japanese clients such as Asics (you know since Taiwan was a colony of Japan).”

Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, Jack always knew that he wanted to do something on his own. Despite popular demand to pursue a business education, Jack decided to attend the School of Visual Arts (SVA) as an advertising major and worked with an ad agency for a year before launching THEY and running it full time.

The Aha-Moment

“I wanted to create something that brings out the aesthetic of a new style that I really enjoy. I designed the first pair of shoes with my family’s factory overseas and was heavily inspired by playing with negative spaces as followed by Muji’s creative director, Kenya Hara. I also looked at architecture and interior design to craft the aesthetic of the brand. Once I received my first sample in July 2016, my sister encouraged me to grow this into something bigger.”

As self-funded entrepreneurs, Jack and Angela Lin currently reside together in New York where Jack handles production, design and creative direction while Angela overseas public relations and brand communications. Unlike most sneakers (where the upper portion and the sole are created separately and then pieced together), THEY sneakers are crafted by hand-aligning the shoe’s upper half with its custom-made bi-color rubber sole, for the perfect uniform connectivity. Not to mention, their leather is the softest we have ever witnessed!

“We wanted to create a high-end, luxury, minimal sneaker. Not just another shoe that you put in your closet, but a piece of modern art that could be framed.”

Speaking of modern art, does anyone remember seeing celebrities, Jamie Dornan or Jordan Peele wearing a pair recently? By partnering with celebrity stylists and a PR agency, THEY has managed to increase its exposure in a very short amount of time. However, when it comes to Instagram (12.2K followers), Jack tells us that “we don’t do a lot of paid social due to budget constraints and only post twice a week or when we have something to share.” 

The Challenges

As newbies to the fashion industry, Jack and Angela are on a steep learning curve as they tackle new challenges every day. Their main concern: how to keep the conversation going each season? While stock management and inventory control have been one of their key challenges, the siblings have just been accepted into FIT's entrepreneurship program where they will be exposed to mentors who have been in the industry for over 20 years.

The Advice

• Always use professional models, despite your budget constraints. This will make all the difference!

• Engage in pop-ups as you will be able to gauge who your customer is and receive first-hand feedback.

• Use all of your resources wisely; Jack reached out to his college friend to come onboard as their photographer and used his campus’s studio room for their photoshoot.

• Start off selling via wholesale to increase reach, but know that your margins are going to be very low. Hence, write this off as a marketing cost and don’t sweat it!

Interested in trying on a pair of sneakers? Priced between $285 - $359, mention code: radiche for a 20% discount or visit their Pop Up at 224 Mulberry St, in SoHo. Let them know we sent you over! Offer expires on March 31st, 2018.

Photo courtesy of THEY.

FELIX GRAY, DAVID ROGER: The Eye Protector

Ever wondered why the sky is blue or why blue LED light is bad for you? Infamously known for having shorter wavelengths, blue light collides with air molecules more frequently than any other color of the EM waves emitted from the sun. This collision causes the blue color to scatter everywhere making our sky appear blue. On the other hand, blue LED light also has longer and stronger wavelengths that bypass our cornea and deteriorate our retina (ouch!). On a mission to battle the side effects of using our screens, Co-Founder, David Roger launched Felix Gray, a fashionable eyewear brand. Looks like mom was right when she said not to watch too much T.V.!

When we think of blue light, most of us imagine an EDM concert with blue laser beams flying everywhere. However, the reality is that blue light tends to do more damage other than coloring our sky. It makes sense for us to wear sunglasses on a bright day, you know, to protect our eyes from the harmful rays of the sun. But when it comes to our screens, we wear nothing. As the first generation to truly understand the side effects of blue LED light, David Roger took it upon himself to combat digital eye strain and seize the day with protective eyewear for the modern consumer via Felix Gray.  

“Our glasses exist to provide two functions: filter blue light and eliminate glare to create a happier experience in front of your screen.”

We sat down to chat with the co-founder of Felix Gray, David Roger about the healthy perks of wearing filtered glasses and how his company is ahead of the curve or as we like to think of it, Warby Parker 2.0. “We are the first generation that has been in front of an LED screen all day. Hence, the repercussions are very new and we are only now starting to understand the long-term effects. It’s great to see an increased focus on this category and consumers are starting to take notice and relate.” 

So what are the long-term effects you might wonder? As an avid screen watcher, you might be familiar with staring at a screen for over 8 hours and thus have experienced digital eye strain. Some of the symptoms of digital eye strain include blurred vision, headaches, as well as itchy and dry eyes. In addition, blue LED light is also known to suppress the secretion of melatonin produced in your body, reduce the quality of sleep you receive and correlate to the long-term development of cancer, depression, and diabetes. Talk about discomfort!  

Launched in May 2016, Felix Gray experimented in beta mode from January to April. They initially created the product and marketed it to friends to gain early feedback from customers before going public. “We did an office trial program in which we would go to offices such as Uber, Linkedin, WeWork and Spotify to provide employees with up to 50 pairs of glasses for a 2 week trial period.” This sampling method allowed David to get a 20% conversion rate and direct feedback. Back then the lens came in a yellow tint, which due to popular demand was later removed. 

“If you have a great product and a great service, you’re going to grow due to WOM.”

When we asked David what Felix Gray stands for (because every brand should have a purpose), he mentioned “we want to be the brand of happiness and productivity in the digital age. We have created a product at the intersection of fashion meets function and want to sell the idea of comfort.” It is also important when brands create a marketing strategy to make sure that customers are receiving the same message and experience via all channels and platforms. “We put a lot of money into Facebook advertising, Google Adwords, Instagram ads, influencer partnerships and podcasts, which have worked really well for us. Therefore, it becomes more about identifying the channels, scaling them and maintaining the message.” 

Upon launch, David initially thought that their customer would be someone working in banking, tech or law. But really, it’s everyone and anyone who sits in front of a computer all day. From 16-year-olds to 50-year-olds, we are all the same. It also helps to be a pioneer in a new category as receiving press and engaging journalists to share the Felix Gray story has come naturally to the brand. 

Why The Name

“Felix Gray is named after a character from my favorite book, Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. Felix is a scientist in the book with an IQ equivalent to that of Einstein’s. Speaking to the same sophistication of intellect and wisdom we decided to include an owl because it is an embodiment of our vibe.” David wants to incorporate an office lifestyle component to the brand and has also named all of the brand’s frames after famous scientists and mathematicians. 

The Man Behind the Lens

A graduate from Cornell University with a major in Industrial Labor Relations, David refers to himself as a generalist. “My life is a poorly designed question. I always gravitate towards intuition and exist at the intersection of being analytical and creative.” During his college days, David started a newspaper at Cornell called the Odyssey for which he built out a sales team, sold advertising space and marketed it on his campus. He later worked in Digital Marketing upon graduation. 

“I was introduced to the CEO of Zappos, Tony Shay back in the day who wanted to build the downtown community in Las Vegas. It was my job to evaluate projects that the operating team was working on and to come up with creative solutions. I was behind a computer all day long and my eyes would get exhausted, which is how Felix Gray came into being,” proving that from small cubicles can come large ideas. 

The Advice

When we asked David what advice he had to share with the younger generation he mentioned:

• Believe in yourself enough to execute your vision and take signs for when you need to pivot or iterate.

• Just do it! You’ll land on your feet and if everything fails, you will still end up being a much better person due to the experience you would have had.

• Take cues from the market as to whether your product is needed or not.

• Build a really good team because at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what you do as a part, but rather how everyone functions as a whole.

Interested in avoiding digital eye strain? Priced at $95, get yourself one of these bad boys and shield your eyes! Felix Gray currently does not offer prescription glasses so only those who wear contacts or have perfect vision can use their products. But don’t worry for the nerds out there, it is on their list for next season! 

Photo courtesy of Felix Gray. 

PER/SE, MANDEEP & HARDEEP: Two Of One Kind

Two becomes one, in the words of Spice Girls, when twin sisters Mandeep and Hardeep Kaur come together to create mindful magic. Hailing from the same intellectual, curious, fashionable breed, they are trying to redefine the notion from “less is more” to “less is better” through their ethos-driven brand, PER/se. What started with a design-inspired outerwear coat has now evolved into a thought-provoking journal with only more incredible products in the making. 

London natives with North Indian heritage, Mandeep Kaur (MK) and Hardeep Kaur (HK) launched PER/se in July 2016 as a brand backed by thoughts, actions and singular objects.

Yes, you heard right – they launch one product at a time with a clear point of view summed up as #JustOne – it takes just one person, one thought, one action to make a difference. Following no seasons, trends or collections, each of the PER/se products is founded upon thoughtful design, collaborative spirit and unique innovation for those who can relate. 

“You can add value to the world in different ways but you must still have integrity and focus.”

MK and HK were born five minutes apart from each other and were brought up in Slough, England (yes, they do have a dreamy British accent). While MK studied Law from King’s College, HK studied Literature at UCL with a Master’s in Shakespeare. Professionally, their experiences range from law firms to luxury brands to jewelry houses, with evening classes in pattern cutting at Central Saint Martins thrown into the mix. In short, they may be the brainiest twins out there.

Prior to PER/se, the Kaur sisters were designers behind a debut label, Nom de Mode. With much acclaim at LFW, both took the decision to strip out the factors they didn’t enjoy about running a fashion brand and divest their energies on creating a uniform that empowered their followers. Voilà, they launched their first product, the Nebula Coat in collaboration with Danish brand, Kvadrat in August 2016.

Considered Craftsmanship

“We didn’t want to create products for the sake of creating. Outerwear is the last thing you wear and the first thing people see!” The four coats, each introduced 2 months apart, were their take on outerwear for women, celebrating a hands-free existent – literally designed with secret pockets, smartphone slot, wire holder for your headphones and wide cuts for statement layering. Like a luxury object, each PER/se coat was custom tailored upon order, with prices ranging from 395£ to 695£ and wait time of three weeks.

When asked what inspired them, Mandeep reminisces, “A lot of this goes back to our Indian heritage. Our mother was always dressed in cultural clothing with beautiful fabrics that would take days, even months, for a custom fit. It was not about the cost, but the quality of fabric and we consider this same idea in our production techniques.” Plus, each coat is imagined with a collaborator from an interior and upholstery designer to a ceramist that uses Japanese techniques to an Azerbaijani artist who is known for his rugs. Their second object was a unique pin, created in partnership with PINTRILL, with a slogan of “Less is More” followed by the latest addition, The Learner.

“Everything is under high scrutiny today. If people are buying into you, they are expecting something unique.” 

 “HK and I are avid note takers but we realized that journaling can become daunting as you grow older. So, we decided to create something that would help people configure their thoughts in an organized manner.” Indeed, The Learner, produced within six weeks from ideation to the final product, comes with no dates, no years and prompts that can help you absorb what you have seen, heard and learned during the day. Some blank pages are thrown in for “free-flow” visualization with motivating quotes from a variety of inspiring professionals sprinkled in. As constant inspiration junkies, we’d highly recommend grabbing a copy from INSCAPE NY, online (bonus discount code at the end) or any of these stockists in London. 

The Name Game

The name PER/se was inspired by “per se” – which means in itself and of itself. The sisters liked the freestanding nature of the term but also from a visual perspective, the way the two P’s intertwined for a clean design aesthetic, which is also seen in their personal styles. 

“We run something called #JustOneBillboard campaign and ask others ‘if you had a billboard, what would it say and where would it go?’”

What keeps PER/se going is thought-provoking content (content is still the king!) that can be seen on their Instagram, read through their blog, heard through their videos, and enjoyed through their intriguing #JustOne newsletters (nudge to sign up).

“We are always amazed by the responses we get to the billboard campaign. Someone once said to me, ‘don’t trust your teachers.’ To me, it was incredible to hear this because we have always been told to trust them. This atypical view of the world is the backbone of our products and our communication strategy.”

The Advice

“No one has to like your product, no one has to do anything for you but that should never undermine the vision you have and what you want to do.” In short, stick to your guns, never take no as an answer and always seek out the best people. As the Kaur sisters’ parents would have added, “The best thing you can do is work hard and do your best!”

What’s Next?

MK currently resides in New York while HK holds down the fort in London. Together, they are paving the path for #TheLearner to help corporations integrate mindful practices for their employees via customized journals and employee programs.

With the month of love around the corner, if you think someone can benefit from #TheLearner – purchase one here with promo code: radiche for 10% discount. Have a special request for what their next object should be? Drop us a note and we’ll put you in touch. 

BONUS: Further reading for the perennially curious minded; sourced and inspired through PER/se:
Proust Questionnaire, a must take self-quiz
How to Live on 24 Hours a day by Arnold Bennett
How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds by Tristan Harris, former ethicist at Google

Photo courtesy of PER/se. 

ACE & EVERETT, SAGE DISCH: The Peculiar Sockist

Walk, dance, trot, skip. Whatever your feet want to do, there’s a new hosiery brand on the loose with details that will help your feet stand out in the crowd. After all that’s how the babe in the office or that guy at the bar is going to take notice. Made by a brother duo, Ace & Everett is differentiating itself via socks that are backed by thoughtful design and a New York city feel.  

Co-Founder, Sage Disch entered the hosiery world with no prior fashion experience. A consultant at Accenture with a background in Sociology from Haverford College, Sage comes from a family of entrepreneurs and is the fourth generation to dance to his own beat with peculiar looking socks on his feet.

“I was working at Accenture when my brother started Ace & Everett via a kickstarter campaign back in March 2014. What started out as weekend meetings slowly turned into a full-time gig as I quit Accenture to start working on Ace & Everett the very next day as its CMO.” 

Ace & Everett is a hosiery company that pays tribute to the brother’s grandfather who always paid a lot of attention to the details in his life, starting with his socks. “His name was Everett and his nickname was Ace.” Therefore, the designs of the product are like none you have ever seen before. “Most hosiery designs come in polka dots, chevron, stripe, or statement graphics. We take a more design driven approach and incorporate geometric patterns found in architecture as well as the energy in New York city to create sophisticated pieces that can work from day to night.”

“One of the biggest factors when starting a company is not just what product to create, but who to create it for and why do they need it. You need to communicate the value proposition that makes your company unique as well as how you are going to get customers excited about it.”

Ace & Everett’s customers can be divided into two segments. First, you have the suave finance guy who lives in a cubicle, wears suits and tends to look pretty generic. Ace & Everett offers an opportunity to funk things up by providing a pop of color in a sophisticated manner. Be it at the desk or after work when you need to look your best. Surprisingly, the brand also caters to an elder gentleman in his 40’s and 50’s who is looking to be more fashion forward and express his individuality. Fun Fact: They just launched their women's collection!

While production tends to be a challenge for most fashion startups, it was one of Ace & Everett’s core competencies since the beginning. “Fortunately my brother was able to find a fifth generation family owned knitting mill, Harriss & Covington in North Carolina. They have over 275 employees, have been in business for over a century and really believed in growing with us.” Sage tells us how important it was to solidify this relationship due to their low inventory requirements in the early days. 

The Marketing

Content is king. We have all heard this a thousand times, but executing thoughtful content takes an innovative approach. This is just what Sage did by partnering with photographer Humza Deas (224K followers) to snap photographs of legs dangling outside a helicopter, before it became a trend. “This landed us a lot of web traffic and got picked up by BuzzFeed.” Humza has also helped create promotional videos for the brand and bring the Ace & Everett voice to life including the 100 Man March, an annual event held in NYC which encourages customers to wear blazers, briefs, dress shoes and Ace & Everett socks while parading the streets and spreading the love pantless. The boys also engaged in a cross country roadtrip by renting an RV to spread WOM marketing in addition to partnering with our very own RADICHE Makers such as Koio Collective and Sabah to name a few. 

To wholesale or not, that is the question?

As a young brand starting out, we always like to say go wholesale first as this will build demand for your supply chain and get you in the eyes and hands of your ideal customer. However, it does depend on your product category and goals. Sage mentions how Ace & Everett started out as direct to consumer for their first year, but quickly pivoted to wholesale via small independent boutiques to create a tactile experience. “Getting the product in people’s hands was half the battle. Long term, I think that there is huge opportunity through e-commerce, but you have to have a great understanding of it and allocate a lot of time and resources towards execution.” 

The Advice

• The single piece that unifies successful people versus those who are not is the power of persistence. Stick to it!

• Once you launch it is important to keep building momentum.

• Create milestones to check off along the way and celebrate small wins to motivate you to continue.

• Do your research!

Looking to jazz up your Monday outfit? Priced between $28 to $34, Ace & Everett can be found in over 55 stores including Bergdorf Goodman and Theory. Check out their full stock list or “sock list” here. They are also currently hiring for their marketing department. Interested in joining their team? Email us and we will put you in touch. 

Photo courtesy of Ace & Everett. 

ELIGO, ALBERTO NESPOLI: The Italian Secret

Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, and Madonna...let’s throw in some wine and pasta and we get some of our favorite Italian things (on top of Fergie’s timely lyrics). But there is a lot more to the Italian way of life than devouring gelato and chilling by the piazza. In fact, Italy’s roots in design and architecture are enough to give us Pinterest inspiration for days. Thanks to Alberto Nespoli, co-founder of Eligo and EligoStudio, we can now access Italy’s best kept secret—its craftsmen.

On a trip to Milan earlier this year, we were lucky enough to meet Alberto Nespoli, co-founder of Eligo alongside Domenico Rocca. Growing up in a small town near Milan, Alberto had always loved architecture and modern art. This curiosity later led him to study Interior Design at Politecnico di Milano (where he met Domenico) and spend one year at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan and another year at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

Today, he is living his passion through Eligo, a platform that links local Italian artisans with global consumers through a series of home decor collections, furniture and accessories. This has also extended into EligoStudio, a studio that brings these collections and an Italian touch to life through curated design projects. Targeted at people that appreciate quality and enjoy art and design, Eligo products, priced anywhere between 50 EUR and 7,000 EUR, are sold via ecommerce, retail and through client websites. Gone are the days when your personal taste in interior design is questioned by your in-laws! 

“Italian beauty is timeless. It’s always been about starting with tradition and innovating from there.”

Milano Collection 2017 - Solferino Chair

Here’s a short history lesson in the words of Alberto (great for Thanksgiving dinner conversation too): “During the 50s-60s, many Italian brands went to China for production. Later, the industrial production with plastic created a demand for mid-priced products, developing a market full of objects. In the 2000s, following an economic crisis, people became more aware of products, intentionally buying less but of higher quality. We are seeing this trend till this day and know it will continue for many years to come.”

Taking this into account, Eligo aims to embody Italian excellence, recounting the worlds of craftsmen and the elegance of Italian home style, with a mission to recover the original roots of its unique timeless beauty. Thus, each Eligo product is thoughtfully researched, developed and produced hand in hand with production districts, representing designs that only selected artisans can reproduce.

The A-ha Moment

The original idea of Eligo and EligoStudio was born in 2010 while the founders were at a meeting discussing bespoke menswear and leather goods in Berlin. “We were both fascinated by the perception of Italian arts and craft in foreign countries and wanted to promote this high-quality feel through a furniture brand that was driven by "Italian Beauty is Timeless" and an "interior design couture" approach.” So, they built up a network of excellent Italian artisans who would be in charge of the artistic direction and new products that EligoStudio, the interior, retail and scenography department could eventually use in its projects.

Segno Italiano

Why The Name?

Eligo comes from eligere, symbolizing something that comes from the past. Tradition and nostalgia are everything here!

The Marketing

Considering that Eligo works with both small and large scaled artisans and brands, marketing takes on a whole new meaning. “We like to keep the company name or the partner name on our products. It’s an added value to our design because it symbolizes the collaborative spirit with other artisans.” 

Plus, storytelling is key for Eligo. For example, each product, whether it is Monte Isola Hammock (created with a weaving technique inherited from an ancient fishing culture) or beautifully crafted ceramics from Este, will launch with teasers and visuals that mix contemporary with historical motifs. At times, a documentary is also shown to emphasize what goes on behind-the-scenes. 

Additionally, in a world of collaborations, Eligo has a track record of partnering with brands and designers such as Van Cleef & Arpels and Antonio Marras. “We create collections taking inspiration from the fashion market timing. That means twice a year for Eligo’s classic collections and varied timelines for capsule collections. They also design special projects and scenographies for luxury companies such as Vacheron Constantin, Premiere Vision Paris, Merci Paris, and Yoox amongst others.   

The Challenges

No business, regardless of geo-location, runs like a smooth ship. For Alberto and his team, the biggest challenge was bringing local artisans on board. As he recalls, “Artisans can be close-minded sometimes and don’t care for new markets. But, they get excited by the idea of bringing back products that they have been known for.” Hence, Eligo’s success lies in their ability to build relationships with these artisans and make sure that the cultural understanding of their craftsmanship is held with the highest regard.

What’s Next?

Both Eligo and EligoStudio are in the midst of extending their portfolio via a collection of furniture, rugs and lights in addition to launching more collaborations. For now, check out some of their current projects: a renovation of a Brutalist penthouse in Milan and an office building in Florida designed with container structure.

Just in time for the holidays, shop Eligo’s beautiful designs + discover a special offer here. Find yourself in Italy anytime soon? Stop by the EligoStudio, have a caffè with Alberto and let him know we sent you over!

Photo courtesy of Eligo.

CERIMANI, PROUD LIMPONGPAN: The Impactful Jeweler

Did you know that most jewelry brands produce their products in Thailand, but little recognition is given to the country? In a world where consumers have all the choice, it is up to us to choose correctly. In striving to make an impact, Proud Limpongpan launched a sustainable jewelry brand, Cerimani to take matters into her own hands. A dollar is a dollar, but when allocated correctly could help someone overseas become a baller. 

Founder of Cerimani, Proud Limpongpan had never worked in the jewelry business. “I was born and raised in Thailand, and didn’t come to the U.S. until I enrolled at Harvard Business School for my M.B.A. Most of my career was actually spent working for BCG in Europe under retail and media.” Having grown up in Thailand, Proud always knew the potential and resources of her country. “I want to make a difference in this world. After finding out that jewelry typically has a 10x markup and that most craftsmen who work with factories get taken advantage of, I knew I wanted to do something in this field.”

Finding a Partner

When looking to set up her jewelry company, Proud wanted to partner with an industry expert and cut out the middleman, providing reasonably priced products (ranging from $140 - $460) to consumers in an ethical way. She was introduced to Su Sri, an infamous designer, known for designing the Victoria’s Secret bedazzled bra 9 years in a row. “Su had recently retired and moved to the woods with his family to meditate and reflect. He knew the ins and outs of this industry and refused to collaborate with anyone else unless they were purpose driven.” After a compelling phone conversation, Su was on board and the seeds of Cerimani were planted. 

“We wanted to give back to the people of Thailand while taking inspiration from their craft.”

When shopping online, it is tough to tell if a brand is authentic and trustworthy. Many companies will state that they are mission-driven or have a CSR component to their business model, but really, how much of that is properly executed or even tracked? Proud thought about this long and hard and made sure that Cerimani was awarded the Butterfly Mark, a recognition to be associated with Positive Luxury and commitment to social and environmental sustainability. 

Cerimani was built on the foundation of being mission-driven. “I am not in this business to make a huge profit. I am here to create beautiful things and empower villages across South East Asia.” In partnership with Karen Hilltribes Trust, for every piece of jewelry bought, Cerimani donates $50, which is enough to fund one village’s water and sanitation for an entire year! 

What’s Up With These Villages? (You might wonder).

Most of your proceeds go to the Mae Hong Son Province in Thailand. Some fun facts:

• It is where silver smiting used to flourish

• 64% of people are living below the poverty line

• 40% of people lack access to clean drinking water

• Cerimani uses your dollars to build jewelry schools in villages with high crime rates

Why The Name?

“It comes from Sanskrit. Ceri means freedom and mani means jeweled. So we are jeweled freedom and are all about empowering people.” Cerimani’s current designs are inspired by the royal courts of what Thailand used to be like in the yesteryears. “We make modern statement pieces that you can wear out easily.” 

The Learnings:

• As a past consultant at BCG, Proud tells us how different the shift in mindset has been from providing recommendations to carrying out executions.

• Don’t run out of cash!

• Create a company that is much bigger than what it seems at first thought. “We are not a jewelry brand, but a movement that is questioning the industry and changing the livelihood of the people who contribute to it.” (Good read: Start With Why by Simon Sinek).

• Don’t be afraid to work with smaller factories that are aligned with your principles and values.

Interested in purchasing a new bracelet, ring, pair of earrings or necklace? Shop with Cerimani here and indulge in what we like to call micro-entrepreneurship or impactful investing.

Photo courtesy of Cerimani. 

QUEEN OF RAW, STEPHANIE BENEDETTO: The Fabric Saver

By now, we all know that the textile industry is second only to agriculture as the biggest polluter of clean water globally. Plus, the amount of wastage that is produced by the fashion industry alone is alarming. In a world where transparency has become a no-brainer and sustainability a necessity, Queen of Raw wants to rise as the number one ecommerce platform to re-introduce wasted raw materials back into the supply chain. In short, they want to save Planet Earth one yard at a time.

Stephanie Benedetto with Corbin Chase (Creative Director)

Queen of Raw is a premium online platform where suppliers and brands can sell unused fabrics and buy high-end raw materials. It was co-founded by a core team of Stephanie Benedetto (CEO), Phil Derasmo (CTO) and Corbin Chase (Creative Director). We met up with Stephanie and Corbin to discuss the last three years leading up to the official launch in 2016 to being recently named a LAUNCH Innovator by NASA, NIKE, IKEA and DELL.

Stephanie was brought up in Connecticut but had always considered herself a New Yorker. A 2002 Penn grad, she studied Politics, Economics and Philosophy and in 2006, she officially became a lawyer, graduating from Emory Law in Atlanta. After a six-year gig on Wall Street practicing law in fashion, tech and ecommerce space, she realized that it was time to go out on her own.

“In a world of see now, buy now, we are trying to make things easier for designers.”

Hailing from a lineage of textile manufacturers, Stephanie’s great grandfather landed in the Lower East Side from Austria, traveling through Ellis Island, and started in the handkerchief factory in the 1890s. He eventually went on to become a master furrier, designing fur jackets and stoles. Her grandfather was an army surplus, who collected excess stock post WWII, refurbished it and sold it as fresh new stock. Fast forward to today, Stephanie’s father-in-law owns global textile factories so it comes as no surprise that she would follow their footsteps in leading Queen of Raw.

The Aha-Moment

Taking a break from Wall Street, Stephanie co-founded Paper No. 9 in 2009. A sustainable textile manufacturing company, it used a proprietary process to convert recycled paper to create new design fabrics that would ultimately end up as custom leather products. Everything was handcrafted in Brooklyn and sold to many fashion houses and it was then that Stephanie saw an opportunity.

“We saw a big problem in the industry that we wanted to correct. Many creative designers were struggling to access innovative and sustainable materials. On the flip side, we saw incredible mills and major factories sitting on million tons of quality stock collecting dust in house and ending up in a landfill. So, the idea came from wanting to bridge these two sides and introduce unused fabrics back into the supply chain.”

“Learning how different industries are sourcing cross-industry fabrics was very interesting!”

Stephanie Benedetto with Phil Derasmo (CTO)

Queen of Raw’s back-end technology took over three years for development. Today, it acts as a multi-vendor ecommerce marketplace boasting a customer base of 20,000 and 13% month-over-month growth. Customers include emerging designers to well-established brands across fashion, interior design, automotive, crafting and computer technology. With no membership or listing fees, the portal allows emerging designers to search fabrics, create mood boards for their product line and order samples with a day’s turnaround time. The mood board tool in turn gathers real-time data by collecting images the designers are pinning and can be shared with suppliers so they can feed inventory for those designs. Basically, it’s Pinterest on steroids!

Similarly, big brands can sell their excess stock to monetize, be able to show their sustainable efforts to investors and seek innovative fabrics to meet consumer demands. Fun fact: A recent 10% rule in New York demands that if brands have more than 10% of raw materials wasted, they must find a way to get rid of them sustainably and ethically. 

But the benefits are even greater for suppliers who would have otherwise shown sunk costs for the wasted raw materials. “We negotiate with each supplier to see how much work they want us to do (marketing, creative, etc.) and based on that, we decide upon a commission.”

Why the Name?

Believe it or not, Queen of Raw was the first and last choice of brand name the team came up with. As Corbin recalls, “We took so long fighting over it with no contenders in sight. But, if you think about the name, it symbolizes female empowerment, raw materials, no additives, no seasonal items and what is at the essence of something. Stephanie adds, “raw material touches everyone on this planet one way or another so Queen of Raw seemed to fit perfectly!”

“It’s a new way of doing business in a circular economy and there is no one-liner to describe it.”

While the business relies on the complicated back-end structure, matching supply and demand was the biggest challenge for the team. “Knowing what is sitting in which factory in what part of the world that can meet consumer demand was tough at first.” With streamlined processes, Queen of Raw can now provide analytics and insights to its brand partners so they can save on shipping, cost of goods, and wherever they see fit in their supply chains.

Another challenge was convincing suppliers to come on-board. “Some suppliers who had institutional clients didn’t understand what ‘putting stock online’ meant. They were unaware of the power of technology in opening up a whole new market.” 

The Learnings

With varied areas of expertise and having worked together to launch this “baby,” Stephanie and Corbin reminisce on key learnings. 

• To build a brand, create original content and go behind-the-scenes of whatever story you are trying to tell. Our goal was to make fabrics look sexy.

• For business advice, ask everyone and anyone (even strangers).

• Don’t wait for the perfect technology to get out there. Instead of perfecting, get feedback early on to learn from your customers and iterate.

Understanding that they have a role to play in sustainably saving our planet, Queen of Raw also has a podcast, Material is Your Business, where they promote education and feature their partners. Plus, knowing that this is a touch-and-feel industry, the team is now exploring innovative ways (think mobile app, 3D printing, machine learning tools) to make the community more self-efficient and ultra-connected.

Meet the team at Texworld in January 2018, where they will showcase new materials for jewelry and athleisure. Have ideas to partner with them? Contact us and we’ll put in touch.

Photo courtesy of Queen of Raw.

AELLA, EUNICE CHO: The Smarty Pants

In a world where wellness is the new luxury and function is the new fashion, we are surrounded by brands that promise gym-to-glam looks. As a result, our LBDs (Little Black Dresses) have been replaced by LBPs (Little Black Pants). But there is one brand that may have just started this stylish transformation. Meet Aella, founded by Eunice Cho, that uses high performance fabrics to make sure you look smart and refined in the perfectly fitted pair of pants.

It was summer of 2014, when the athleisure trend was nowhere in sight, that Eunice Cho decided to launch Aella (pronounced ay-luh). The idea was to introduce activewear inspired workwear that bridged an active lifestyle with a polished look – something that helped globe-trotting and working women feel elegant in versus something that was purely athletic. 

Eunice’s big break may have come when the Senior VP of PR from Bloomingdale's became an Aella client. A customer service call basically led to a pop-up partnership opportunity at the department store within three months (note to self: customer is always right!). But, Eunice’s success story goes beyond that one fortunate phone conversation.

“I have always been somebody that made things.”

Brought up in Korea and southern California, Eunice’s kindergarten dream was to become a makeup artist. Instead, she settled for baking cookies with her friend, designing boxes using construction paper and selling it all as packages to her neighbors.

Outgrowing the “almost” girl-scout days, Eunice graduated from Yale University with a degree in Fine Arts in 2009. Her first job was that of a studio assistant working alongside her then artistic idol, Wangechi Mutu. “I met her through a gallery visit and right after, wrote a fan girl letter to the gallery that was representing her.” The response? “I get good vibes from you. You should come work with me in Brooklyn!” Clearly, cold emails can get you places.

“I loved the business of fashion and wanted to do more in that sphere.”

After months of traveling overseas to install multimedia installations for Wangechi Mutu, Eunice entered the fashion space. She spent some time working as a visual merchandiser and product manager at Kiki de Montparnasse, a lingerie brand in Soho, New York. With an urge to do more, she enrolled into UCLA’s three year MBA program.  

The Aha-Moment

During Eunice’s time at UCLA, working a day job and taking night classes, the idea of Aella started brewing. “I realized that there was a lack of clothing options if you wanted to dress professional and still feel super comfortable. I had never worked in a corporate environment prior to my MBA so suits weren’t my thing.”

Yet, for those of us who have attended business school, we know that leggings just don’t make the cut. So, in an attempt to find the perfect balance, Eunice spent six months in fabric research that would lead to Aella’s first pair of signature pants being developed a year later. 

“We want our clothes to be approachable even though they are very high quality.”

Leveraging her family business in textiles and endlessly walking through the garment district in Los Angeles, Eunice decided upon a four-way stretch, machine washable and sweat proof material. Today, her fabrics are also sourced from Turkey and Italy.

Ranging from $175 to $245, the pants are made from luxurious Matte Skin, an Italian-made, patented super nylon spandex on jersey material. What started with five pairs of pants and one jacket on an e-commerce platform in 2014 has now expanded into categories such as tops, blouses, dresses and jackets. The line is sold across retail stores in New York, Chicago, Charlotte, Los Angeles and San Francisco and is designed in a way that can be easily mixed and matched for a total #girlboss look. 

Why the Name?

Speaking of #girlboss, Aella embodies an Amazonian warrior from Greek mythology who fought alongside Hercules to protect her queen. “We wanted to speak about the Amazonians because they were the first women to wear pants in classical antiquity.” 

“Even throughout the 20th century, if you look at sartorial history, Coco Chanel was wearing pants to ride her horses. It was a shocking moment!” Thus, Aella’s branding is based upon the significance of pants as a representation of movement and mobility for women.

The Challenges

Eunice’s biggest challenge was to describe the concept. “Brand storytelling is an ongoing process. People understood what we were trying to do but couldn’t imagine how the product worked so we had to simplify it and provide extra services such as the try-on service.” Basically, for every pair of pants that are purchased online, customers get an option to try on a different size for free. Today, the try-on service is used by 80% of Aella’s first time customers.

The Learnings

As the brand grows, Eunice is aggressively pursuing the wholesale channel, changing her strategy from 70/30 retail/online to a 50/50 split. “Every brand has its own way but for us, being part of a retailer network means more support and greater brand recognition.”

Her advice? Stick to your brand DNA and always remember the problem you originally set out to solve. “The activewear-inspired-fashion space is crowded and many brands claim their products are meant to go from day to night, but we don’t necessarily want to jump in that category. We have always been a bridge brand of active-meets-aesthetic and we will continue to be that.”

Looking for an attire that will perform better than your anti-aging night cream? Take a styling quiz here or shop your favorites here using promo code: RADICHE for a 20% discount, valid until October 31, 2017.

Photo courtesy of Aella.

JIBS LIFE, NATALIE KATHLEEN: The Worldwide Traveler

Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. These may be some of the most visited countries in the world but more importantly, they are hubs for the Jib. Don’t know what the Jib is? A Brazilian perforated slip-on shoe that allows you to test new waters, walk unknown avenues and fly high. Don’t believe us? Read on to see how Natalie Kathleen, CEO of Jibs Life, and a world traveler herself, is bringing out the best walking, running, skipping selves in all of us.

From growing up in Canada to hiking in Australia to pretending to be a Brit in the UK to skipping university altogether (badass), Natalie Kathleen has been sailing through life with the help of connections and self-taught business lessons. A common thread; however, has been her never-ending love for hustle, challenge and creation. 

Today, Natalie is known for her leadership role at Jibs Life having successfully created a business model that can help them scale across oceans, product categories and consumer profiles. The brand’s message has been to promote an active lifestyle that can be easily supported by the Jib shoe, a result of Brazilian craftsmanship. 

“It’s all about who you know, followed up by what you know.”

Natalie’s history as a hustler dates to 1998, when she joined her older sister's year abroad back-packing in Australia. With a new outlook in life, seeing real life as a better time investment than university post high school and seeing zero point in spending lunch breaks “chilling,” Natalie got a part-time gig at a restaurant chain, Boston Pizza. “I learned upselling and made tons of tips by telling customers stories on how I’ll be moving to Australia.”

And so, Natalie’s journey began in Aussie land by dipping her toes in jobs from bartending to scuba diving and snowboarding instruction. Fun fact: she taught the Getty family, owner of Getty Images, how to snowboard in Whistler. 

A year well spent and Natalie was on her way to London (thanks to her then British roommate). One waitressing gig later, she found herself with a 2-year work visa, a Mini Cooper and an unlimited phone service, working at a real estate company, Foxtons London. Did we mention she got the job after one meeting, without a real estate license? Sooner rather than later, her inner fashion flair flourished and she started working at Cosmopolitan UK, selling magazine ads. Apparently, watching the movie, 13 Going On 30, really did it for her. This eventually led Natalie’s boss to get her a job in Vancouver at VanMag and Natalie’s first brand was born when she was 21 years old. Hello, Sienna Ray!

“One day, I found a leather, fabric and a sewing machine at my dad’s place. I put it all on a kitchen counter at my friend’s place and created a leather purse.” 

What started as a casual Sunday evening “craft session” turned into a Sienna Ray belt purse bag that Halle Berry would end up buying. That too, from a magazine ad, which was printed in VanMag after Natalie proved her business acumen to the in-house Fashion Director. This innate ability to create may have been a part of Natalie since the age of four but it was her passion of constantly teaching herself and asking the right questions that would lead her to grow the brand over the next decade. 

A roller-coaster ride of business and personal life with many burn-outs plus a divorce sprinkled in, Natalie started consulting for young startups to make sure they didn’t experience the downsides of entrepreneurship as she had. As Sienna Ray and her consulting business grew, Natalie moved to New York in 2011 but destiny would introduce her to Jibs Life through her long time Brazilian friend in Vancouver. 

The Aha-Moment

“One night we were at dinner in Vancouver and Jonas, who's from Brazil with a long family history in the shoe business, pulled out a box of shoes and asked ‘Ladies, what size shoes are you?’ and I said ‘7.5!'” And so, the love story with a perforated leather slip on shoe conspired. The shoe was designed by his young nephew, Isaqui, who Natalie had met previously while he was studying English in Canada. Isaqui’s family owned a factory in the tropical landscape of Três Coroas on the southern tip of Brazil, where the shoes are manufactured next door in their own factory to this day. 

While at a spin class in NYC (she basically lived in these shoes), Natalie’s instructor caught a glimpse of them and realized he had seen a similar pair in Brazil himself. Together, they decided to order some pairs and host a party in Chelsea. And just like that, the early seeds of Jibs Life were planted in August 2015 and Natalie officially came on-board. 

The Jibs Way

While you have Vans and a hundred other shoe companies, there is special magic that comes with the Jibs shoe. The shoe comes in three classic slip-on styles: Classic, High Top and Slim Jib. Each pair is constructed with a recycled PVC out-sole, unlined Brazilian leather upper, and an athletic memory foam, odorless insole. The adult shoes are priced between $125 and $200 for custom made. Let’s just say, if you need one thing to pack while you’re globe-trotting or simply going from the gym to work, this elevated, hybrid casual shoe will take you there, in style.

Why the Name?

The word “jib” defines the front directional sail on a sailboat. It’s the one that takes the wind and pulls the boat faster, so it was inevitable that the shoe that takes you places be called a Jib (Duh!).

The Learnings

Having a vast array of experiences under her belt, Natalie is constantly iterating ways to grow her brands while helping others reach their business goals. When it came to growing Jibs Life, Natalie realized that having the right team was everything, in addition, to your own factory! From a CEO’s perspective, it was also important to relate to her end customer, so she would personally email them when they bought a pair to see how they had heard about the shoes and a fun fact about the pair they had bought. 

Although she has faced challenges of being too-quick-to-market and adapting to different personality types in her business partners, here’s her recipe for creating a successful brand.

• Things that feel huge are not that big. You must be your biggest gatekeeper and allow yourself to be vulnerable. That email, meeting, presentation can wait another day.

• You can’t just make things, you need to make things that sell! We live in an interconnected world so authenticity and transparency are key as consumers are curious about the cost to produce a product.

• Set personal and business parameters for you and your team.

• Self-worth is everything. Always know what you bring to the table and own it.

Natalie and her team, are currently looking to raise funds to further grow Jibs Life. Email us for their investor deck or if you simply love her story and would like to go on the #jibsjourney, shop here using promo code: RADICHE for 20% discount. Offer valid till end of September 2017. 

Photo courtesy of Jibs Life.

BURROW, KABEER CHOPRA: Sofa-R-Ahead

As Millennials who have grown up in the Amazon age, we believe that everything can be ordered online. Heck, sometimes it even ends up being our significant other! Addressing the universal laziness, co-founder Kabeer Chopra launched Burrow to tap into the next wave generation that is expected to spearhead the future demand in the furniture market.

It’s August, and we all know what that means! It’s moving time! When it comes to scheduling that oh-so-dreaded moving truck there is always one obstacle in the way of you and your magical dream house, the couch. We have all heard the ongoing feedback: it’s too big, can’t be deconstructed, won’t fit in the elevator, yadda yadda yadda. Luckily, Burrow is bridging that “moving” gap by providing customers with a modular sofa that is made both for you and by you. “For us, it is about making people’s lives easier.”

“Our current sofa is made from the same materials as regular retailers, but we save 70% of the shipping cost.”

Did you know that the reason why your sofa is so expensive is due to logistics? Yes, shipping, shipping, shipping. The price is passed on from the manufacturer to the warehouse to the retail showroom and directly onto the customer. By removing the middleman and constructing a direct-to-consumer, online-only business model, Burrow’s sofa ranges from $550 to $1,150. “Our product is chemical free, sustainably sourced, arrives within 2-5 days and revolves around one core design in different colors.”

The Early Days

Co-founders Stephen Kuhl and Kabeer Chopra met back in the day (2006) at McGill University in Montreal. They later rekindled their friendship by both being in the same entrepreneurship class at Wharton during their MBA and bonded over their horrible sofa buying experience. Fun fact: this is the same class that launched successful companies such as Warby Parker, Koio, and Helix to name a few. 

“We never wanted to go into business together, but life had a different plan for us.” Kabeer majored in Computer Engineering at McGill and later on moved to Toronto in 2009 after graduation to co-found Lucova, a mobile payment app. In 2013, he was headhunted to work at Michael Kors during its growth stage in its analytics and big data department. “That was when I saw the intersection of retail and technology and thought how crazy it was because we are no longer guessing about things and instead, using actual data to make decisions.” 

“After Michael Kors, I decided to attend business school as a foundation layer for understanding business and starting my own thing.” When working on Burrow, Kabeer and Stephen pitched their idea to over 100 investors and kept getting rejected. After much tweaking, they got accepted into Y Combinator and finally received seed funding. “This provided us with the validation and morale boost we needed to keep going back in February 2016.”

Why The Name

“We wanted to create a lifestyle brand that resonates with comfort. Just like a rabbit’s burrow is known as something you can cozy up in, we wanted our name to emulate the same feeling. We want to make customers feel comfortable with not only the furniture but also with the experience.”

“To be competitive in this space, you have to build the right brand at the right scale”.

Red Antler is credited as the agency behind the brand’s name and identity. If you haven’t heard of them already, these bad boys are the same brains behind Casper, All Birds, and Snowe. They tend to have a large waiting list and invest in brands by taking equity in return for creative services. Essentially, you do well, they do well.  

The Marketing

As a new brand, it is important to have a digital presence, especially when you are going direct-to-consumer. “We looked at marketing as an algorithm. What that means is that we are going to put one ad out there and test it against 10 different versions to see which one works best and to keep optimizing. Last summer we channeled all of our energy towards Facebook. For us, an effective campaign is one where your acquisition cost is lowered over time.” We’re sure you’re wondering what Kabeer’s key findings were from all this testing?

1.     People are more interested in lifestyle images than product-only shots. Images that work best entail a human reading on the couch, watching TV, sleeping and living with the sofa.

2. Customers are more likely to trust a brand that showcases quotes and testimonials from other customers and publications. This ensures validation and trust. 

Other than the digital sphere, Burrow has partnered with Leesa Sleep for events in their SoHo showroom to complete your entire bedroom with e-commerce savvy companies.

“Everyone told us that manufacturing would be our biggest challenge but Stephen and I believed that we would defeat all odds. However, we have faced production related issues almost every day”.

Burrow currently produces their products in Mexico City. When seeking a supplier they had a difficult time sourcing one that aligned with their vision. “Factories either said our business model could not be done or to choose from their current inventory and we did not want to do that.”

As a recent graduate from Wharton (May 2017), Kabeer is going full throttle with Burrow. His advice? 

• Use data to make all of your marketing decisions

• Look for validation early on via incubators, investors or fundraising
  
  Interested in meeting Kabeer or visiting the Burrow office in NYC? Drop us a line and we can connect you.

MM.LAFLEUR, SARAH LAFLEUR: The Curated Closet

You're a boss babe, a single mom, and a rockstar. You don't have time to shop, yet want to look put together. Fear not! Founder, and CEO, Sarah LaFleur plans on breaking the glass ceiling one dress at a time by creating wardrobe essentials for the modern working woman. Behold, MM.LaFleur. With the introduction of the Bento Box, Sarah is revolutionizing merchandising and customer experience through MM.LaFleur's personal stylists and kick-ass lifestyle brand because you have #betterthingstodo. 

A graduate of Harvard University with a major in Social Studies (yes, clearly our majors have nothing to do with what field we end up in), Sarah LaFleur grew up in Japan to an American father and a Japanese mother. “By 9th grade, I had forgotten so much of English due to being taught in a Japanese school and only speaking Japanese...that is why I sympathize with immigrants who were doctors, teachers and what have you in their home country but are treated as though they were idiots when they moved over to the U.S., and I had experienced a miniature version of this in high school.” 

After working at Bain & Co. for four years, Sarah identified a gap in the fashion market and decided to quit her job in 2011 to set out and find a designer to launch in 2013, what would be known as MM.LaFleur. 

Photo credit: Jenny Liu

“I had this idea from when I was at Bain & Co. and I saw that so many of my friends hated shopping for work. I actually loved dressing for work and found it a very empowering process. The ideal result? To look effortlessly cool.”

“I was very clear from the beginning that I did not want to be the designer. Even though people told me that it was not hard to design clothing, I felt that we would not create something special if we did that. I really felt like there was something missing in the market and I needed to bring someone in who really knew what they were doing and not just someone fresh out of design school. I went to several headhunters and through my network came across Miyako Nakamura at the very last minute. She was very weary of me because I had never worked in fashion before and yet intrigued. Miyako had spent 7 years at Zac Posen and seen the highs and lows of the industry. We instantly clicked and today she is our Creative Director.”

Sarah tells us how she had $70,000 to test out the market. $10,000 went to Miyako, $10,000 towards branding (although she feels she spent way too much on this and moved too quickly) and the remaining towards pattern making, sample development, and fabric orders. At this point, she didn’t even have a website up and running other than a cover page saying “coming soon.” 

“We launched via trunk shows.”

MM.LaFleur launched with their first trunk show at Soho House since it was the cheapest to rent. They started out with friends and expanded to friends of friends. By the third show, the audience existed of random individuals. “The funny thing is that we had no advertising money and we were not talking to any fashion editors. So it was all through word of mouth marketing.” MM.LaFleur would also pop up at places in the financial district such as Goldman Sachs as these women were their prime customer (talk about interesting locations!). Inside information: Don’t pre-make all of your garments. It took Sarah 8 trunk shows to ultimately sell through all of her fabric and what she thought would be her best selling dress was actually her worst. Lesson learned. Planning is very difficult. 

The Modern Woman

“I used to think that the customer was me.” Through trial and error, the MM girl is someone who has graduated from the likes of Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, and Theory and is looking for high-quality essentials to build out her “adult” wardrobe. She is a boss babe, a divorcee, and even a stay-at-home mom who recently re-entered the workforce to battle P&L statements, baby spit up and coffee stains. From flights to nights, MM clothes can handle it all. (Yes, they’re wrinkle-free and machine washable. Talk about perks!). 

“Our product only really found its marketing fit when we figured out Bento and the importance of a Stylist.”

As a fashion brand, choosing your distribution method can make or break you. “We always felt like there were two products being sold: the physical clothing itself and then the way in which we sold it. I decided that I wanted to be an apparel manufacturer/designer and a retailer. However, it wasn’t until October 2014 that we launched the concept of the Bento Box to push out merchandise (similar to Trunk Club). It wasn't enough to just sell a dress online. By adding a Stylist and personal approach to our customer experience we were beating the competition and creating a better way to sell clothes.” 

Sarah also saw the importance in creating a lifestyle brand by launching the editorial side called The M Dash. “Our blog has been up and running before our e-commerce site even launched.” The M Dash focuses on celebrating inspiring professional women while highlighting the conversations that take place by the water cooler from 9am-5pm (without the office creep lurking around). 

The Advice:

• To be great CEO you need to be a consistent player.

• Break away from competitors by not following them. If your competitor is doing something different, you shouldn’t do the same.

• Travel the road less taken.

• Unlike SaaS products, with fashion, if there is a problem, you need to fix it asap.

Switching careers or looking for wardrobe essentials? MM.LaFleur is going to be expanding into shoes and handbags soon. Curate your personal look according to your body type by ordering a Bento online today for free.  

 Photo Courtesy of MM.LaFleur.

COCO GALLERY, VANI K: The Artist And The Muse

Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol. These may be some of our all-time favorite artists and unfortunately their artworks are either stored in a museum or a collector’s home. But, what if you could be inspired by them to curate your very own piece alongside a master artist from across the world? No need to wonder because Vani Krishnamurthy, Founder of CoCo Gallery, is here to make your artistic dreams come true.

Raised in Georgia, Vani lived ‘a perfect childhood,’ started training in classical Indian dance, Bharatnatyam, at the age of 5 and was always one to dance to her own beat in life. An alumni of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Business School, where she pursued her MBA, Vani consulted at BCG and Bain & Company. Sounds like a typical career, right? Well, not so much. Because Vani’s decision to spend a year in India after receiving a Fullbright scholarship changed everything and led her to eventually create CoCo Gallery.

Launched in October 2015, CoCo Gallery is an online marketplace that helps individuals and interior designers find the right artist to design original artworks on a commission basis. The main idea is to support artists and their careers in a way that protects them and their interests but to also give customers a platform for co-creation. Turning your Pinterest board into reality, if you will.

The Aha-Moment

Vani’s first project as a BCG consultant was with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, a first step into the world of arts management. And while in India, Vani developed courses, lectures, and workshops that fostered cultural diplomacy. “I studied temple culture during the Medieval times and the significance of dance and sculptures in portraying a way of life.”

Taking these two experiences together, Vani’s first baby was her own consulting firm in 2009 that helped artists meet the challenges and constraints that came with working in the art industry. “I understood frameworks really well due to my learnings. What I realized was that in the medieval times or any point up until now, people with means would commission pieces of art that were customized to their preferences. People were spending large amounts of money based on their inspiration, not the artist’s. But the problem was that artists cannot rely on their own work to sustain their careers, so commissions help them have a more predictable revenue stream.”

Artist David P. working on a commission piece.

Knowing this, Vani found a huge gap in the market with people who want to buy art and have the disposable income (yes, you 30 year old something hustler) but didn’t really care to go to galleries. Hence, the idea of CoCo Gallery was born as a solution to a supply and demand epidemic; for those who wanted to buy art (the demand) and for artists to collaborate with the client to produce one of the pieces (the supply). By following the laws of economics, Vani was able to create a white canvas for both parties to paint on.

Why the Name

After many frustrating attempts at finalizing a name for the brand, Vani settled on CoCo, referring to the two words commission and collaborate and Gallery to relate the marketplace with art. Plus, it’s quite catchy! Fun fact: when Vani initially searched for CoCo Gallery on Google, a portfolio of images with a woman named Coco would show up but that didn’t scare her away. After all, Nasty Gal saw a high traffic of visitors through a porn site search result.

How It Works

With pieces ranging anywhere from $300 to $15,000, the process is very collaborative and the timing depends on the depth of the work, medium and location of the artist. It all starts with an idea submission from the client, based on which a portfolio is curated with the client’s budget and taste in mind. This portfolio is then sent to the client, who can choose an artist out of the few recommendations given. Once chosen, the client and the artist are connected via CoCo Gallery.

A contract between the client and the artist is drafted protecting the artist’s and client’s expectations for the finished work. Upon signing, a preliminary sketch is created and after rounds of feedback, the artist begins working on the final piece. How does one pay? A 50% installment is made up front and in the middle of the process; the company holds the deposits until the artist finishes half and delivers the work respectively, at which point the company transfers the money to the artist. It’s that simple and the connotation of a starving artist goes out the window!

Business of Art

In the beginning, Vani and her team spent hours scouting artists who were excited to work with someone else on a work of art. Today, the tables have turned as artists are applying to become part of the CoCo family. The buying clients range from interior designers to families to individuals who are looking for specific spaces or occasions. For example, a couple’s anniversary is coming up and they want to depict an inside story via a painting or someone looking to build a gallery wall of sketches that show places they’ve visited.

“It’s difficult to stand out in the art space today because art is really big. CoCo Gallery is different because we are not pretending that we should all be collectors of art and showing who the new top artists are. None of that matters, you don’t need to know anything about art, you don’t need to go for the top ones, you don’t need to invest in art, this is just art that is personal to you and will make you happy.”

“I have learned to take everyone’s advice with a grain of salt.”

Vani didn’t necessarily come from the visual arts scene but in the early days, she spoke to many experts who doubted her idea. Her learnings: 

• Don’t listen to everything everyone says. It is situational because many of them come from other industries and may not necessarily have the same vision as you do for your company.

• Think big but in terms of steps, think small. Break big tasks into smaller to-do’s so it doesn’t overwhelm you and then check them off as you go.

So, get yourself asking #whatwouldicoco and find an artist here. Inspired by Vani’s work and feeling ambitious? Vani is looking for a Co-founder with experience in interior design or digital marketing. Email us to get connected.  

Photo courtesy of CoCo Gallery.

THURSDAY FINEST, VERONIKA HARBICK: The Future of Production

Do you consider yourself a misfit? Too tall, too short, weird love for outlandish colors? Co-Founder Veronika Harbick started Thursday Finest to tackle fast fashion by providing on-the-spot creation and customization of clothing accessories via 3D knitting. Yes, the future is here and it does consist of robots taking over the world. Take that, Zara!

3D knitting has always been thought of as something far, far away in the future. Well, that day is today and hopefully, grandma is still alive to witness it. Co-founders and husband and wife duo, Veronika Harbick and Michael Carlson realized the trend in the fashion industry heading towards customization and wanted to capitalize on this by incorporating sustainability into their brand. 

“Accessories are usually a one-size-fits-all scenario, but we wanted to change that by creating something that actually fits you.”

With a background in social media, Veronika understood at an early age that customization was very important and would soon be the trend (back in 2006). “I ended up working with NBC while I was still in college at Boston University. Yes, my internship landed me a job and I took time off school to pursue it. This was where I met my entire business network in New York and also my co-founder, husband.” After working together for many years, Veronika and her husband decided to quit their jobs and explore the unknown world of entrepreneurship, or as we like to say the road less taken.  

Ideation

Fast forward to 2014, “we decided to cater to the wedding industry, in particular to those individuals who got their clothes tailored. However, our product was only ties. The idea was around adhering to someone who is super tall (due to length and fit) and someone who wants to have fun with colors. It was great for gift giving!”

However, when Veronika started to look into the machinery and technology involved for 3D knitting, she understood that in the best case scenario, she would receive the product in 6 weeks from a manufacturer. “That was way too slow. It would also hinder our marketing efforts as we wouldn't have any momentum for word of mouth.” So, they took matters into their own hands and started researching who made these looms, what skills does one need to run it and found 3 knitting machines that were underutilized in Brooklyn. “We taught ourselves how to create algorithms and coding for the machines and realized that with these machines we could create all types of items in various colors, fully formed and in one hour.” This was a big breakthrough for the couple as now they could pivot their business model and cater to a wider audience with a larger product assortment manufactured in a shorter period of time.

“The big idea became more about changing the way clothing was being made and bringing those opportunities to consumers. We want customers to feel special and experience something created specifically for them.”

By producing clothing accessories such as ties, scarves, socks, bows and beanies on the spot, Veronika had tapped into sustainability and waste management like no brand had done before. Goodbye SKU’s and hello order-for-you. Thursday Finest launched with a new business model in December 2015 with on-demand manufacturing. 

Thursday Finest was built around the idea of dressing your best self every day. “In many cities, Thursday is the day that kicks off the weekend. We wanted to incorporate that fun energy into our brand as well as the idea of self-expression.”

As far as marketing goes, Facebook ads have proven to have a great track record when it comes to retail brands. It takes customers an average of three impressions before their likelihood to purchase an unknown brand. Thursday Finest also engaged in pop-up stores in January 2016 in the Lower East Side for one week. “This allowed us to connect with consumers and resonate with them. We were also able to receive product feedback and find out what new categories consumers were interested in for product extensions.” 

The Advice

As CEO of Thursday Finest, Veronika tells us how “with a start-up, you live in uncertainty. You never know if a certain marketing tactic is going to work and if it doesn’t, you need to tweak it immediately.” 

• To think like an entrepreneur, you need to rewire your brain.

• You need to make decisions quickly or you will waste valuable time constantly contemplating.

• Make sure to take one day a week completely off work.

• When you launch, unless you have a lot of funding behind you, the customers don’t come flying in.

• Think about doing your start-up on the side until you can no longer manage.

• You are going to need more money and time than you think.

• Set yourself up for success by finding out how to sell or how to get the right message across.

Rather than see now, buy now, why not dream now, feel now. Priced between $18-$85, Thursday Finest’s range of product assortments can be found here. Interested in experiencing 3D knitting machines? Contact us and we’ll put you in touch. 

Photo courtesy of Thursday Finest.