Latest / Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast) / How to differentiate your fashion brand in a saturated market & why you shouldn’t make what already exists, with DONNI founder Alyssa Wasko

Transcript

How to differentiate your fashion brand in a saturated market & why you shouldn’t make what already exists, with DONNI founder Alyssa Wasko · Imagine If with Doone Roisin | Health, Wealth & Wisdom for Women (formerly Female Startup Club Podcast)

• 0:00
  This is Alyssa Wasco for Female Startup Club. Hey everyone, it's Dune here, your host and hype girl. Today on the show, we are chatting with Alyssa, the founder of Donnie.
• 0:21
  Rooted in comfort and born out of a need of a creative outlet to cope with grief, Alyssa founded the LA-based brand Donnie in 2009 after the death of her father, Donald. Established first as a brand that created oversized scarves designed to be worn in countless ways, Donnie has now grown into a lifestyle brand offering ready-to-wear accessories and jewelry. Years later, Donnie remains dedicated to empowering women with wardrobe essentials that make them feel confident,
• 0:50
  and comfy in their own skin. In this episode, we're going through what it's been like to bootstrap a brand for more than 10 years, how to stand out in the fashion industry, and what entrepreneurs should keep in mind when they're starting a business in today's world.
• 1:06
  If you get something out of this episode, please do share it with the women in your life who would benefit from hearing this inspiring founder story. And as always, please do subscribe to the show if you love it. Let's get stuck into this episode. This is Alyssa for Female Startup Club.
• 1:24
  Alyssa, hi, welcome to the Female Startup Club podcast. Hi, thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here. How are you today? I am good. Where are you? I can see a lot of clothing racks behind you. Love it.
• 1:39
  Yes, we are in LA in our studio. I'm actually in our sample room. So this is where we do kind of our fittings and tweak things and fit them and make them perfect before they head into production. Yeah.
• 1:56
  That sounds like every fashion gal's dream. When I used to work in fashion, I would love to get to play in like the closets and dress and take things and shoot things and all the fun stuff.
• 2:10
  It is. It is fun. It sounds maybe a lot more glamorous than it actually is. I think common misconception in the fashion industry is that it is very glamorous and it's actually, I would say, one of the least glamorous industries that exists, but it is fun. And when you get it right after all of the blood, sweat, tears, fittings, shrinkages, measurements,
• 2:35
  it is really fun, but it's a process. It's a process to get things to a great place that meets, especially we have very high quality standards and fit standards. Those are two huge things for us. So it's a very big process getting there, but once you do, it feels really, really good. Yeah, I bet. And with so many different styles, gosh, there's a lot to manage there. I totally feel you.
• 3:00
  Do you want to give everyone a bit of a spiel on who you are and what your brand actually is before we jump in? Sure. Yeah. My brand, we started in 2009. It has been a journey. We started, I mean, our business really was completely accidental. I was in college and my dad had passed away and I was the kind of person that like to channel my grief. I wanted to do something very physical. I've always been.
• 3:29
  Known I would work in the fashion industry. I'm not sure if I knew exactly what route I was going to go, but I've always been creative. I've always liked the very physical aspect of the fashion industry. And I think when my dad passed away, I was having a scarf phase just in my personal style. I've always like really loved scarves.
• 3:51
  I feel like a lot of people gave scarves as gifts and I feel like it was a gift. Keep in mind, this was 2009 when scarves were like really, really having a moment. Like you'd wear them with tank tops and like there was no season in which you didn't wear a scarf.
• 4:06
  Oh, hey, wow. I was in school in Arizona. It was very hot. And I wore a scarf like almost every day. So it was that time to just like paint a picture. Scarves are not like that anymore. But I made a scarf for myself, a couple of friends, and I attached these little like good luck charms on them. And it was kind of like something tangible. I felt like when I wore it, my dad was with me.
• 4:30
  And people wanted them. So I started making them. Like I said, it was really just like a coping mechanism for me at the time. And my dad's name was Donald. Everyone called him Donnie. So that's, you know, where the name came from. It was really never intended to be anything more than me making scarves for girls at my college. Actually, it was never really intended to be anything more than me making a scarf for myself and a friend. And, you know, it just somehow
• 4:57
  caught on. I'm still unsure to this day if it was just people that cared about me trying to get behind me and support me during a difficult time or if people really genuinely liked them or if it was a mixture of both. But that's kind of where it all started. And I think after like momentum kind of picked up and I kept making these scarves.
• 5:17
  And I couldn't kind of keep up with how many people wanted them. And I had stores reaching out to me because we were posting them on Facebook. This Instagram didn't even exist at this time, which is so weird. Yeah, the landscape is a lot different from 2009.
• 5:32
  I mean, I just aged myself significantly, but that's kind of where it all started. And then reaching out to a manufacturer and making it a little bit more serious. But we were scarves and only scarves for the first seven years of our business.
• 5:49
  Which now thinking that we built a profitable business on that single product category that is a very, very small product category is a crazy thing now to think back on. Yeah. But that's kind of where it all started. The humble beginnings. Yeah. Yeah.
• 6:09
  I'm sorry about your dad. No, thank you. So before I get started, I just wanted to say that that's, you know, such a unique story and obviously something amazing that came out of that tragic situation.
• 6:22
  I don't know how to say this in the right way, but without sounding like tacky, what that reminds me of, of people, you know, coming behind you and this thing taking off that you didn't really expect. It's like what it comes down to is that aspect of story and people wanting like these authentic stories.
• 6:39
  brands that they can get behind, that they can feel something through. And it sounds like what might've happened is, is you were able to be relatable to people. People deal with trauma, people deal with loss and they need something that they can be like, oh,
• 6:55
  I've got this, you know, for me, like she's experienced it. That's why she started it. I'm in that same boat. I need it too. And the importance of having that message and authenticity behind what you're building. I think that's what speaks to me when I hear that story. And certainly, obviously, since then, it's kind of snowballed and grown into this amazing business that you have.
• 7:16
  I do want to talk about sort of that 2009 picture when it comes to marketing and to now. But before that, in those early days, when was the point where you started to think, oh, I'm going to have to invest some money into this business and I'm going to take it seriously now because now things have kind of changed and it's not just me making scarves for my immediate circle? Yeah.
• 7:39
  Yeah. I would say that happened probably about like six months after I would have like these like scarf parties at my apartment at school. And I think there was one and we had like a couple hundred scarves probably. I didn't really know what to expect. And people were like grabbing them and we sold out in like 30 minutes. And again, keep in mind, this was in Arizona. So yeah.
• 8:08
  It was weird is the best word that I can use. And I think it was just a matter of like, okay, there's really something here. And it was really in the beginning. And like, even still to this point, I mean, we're self-funded. So like, this has really been like recycling, recycling, recycling. And it's like.
• 8:25
  The money we made on that trunk show or scarf party or whatever we want to call it, we use those funds to like go out to a manufacturer and like do this in a bigger way. And we did it small and we did exactly what their minimums were. And then the profits we made on that, we just kind of just kept recycling it. So, you know, I can't speak.
• 8:44
  to raising or any of that. It really has just been a very slow. I mean, there's a reason that it's taken us so long to get to this point. And there's pros and cons to that. Certainly things that, you know, are great about it and things that like we, I'm sure we could have gotten to this point much quicker if we would have done things a little bit differently, but I really honor our journey and the things that I've learned along the way. And that have really gotten us to this point. And I think,
• 9:11
  has built something that isn't trendy and isn't, you know, going to just pop and then kind of go on the decline. I think the way that we've gone about things is building something that's hopefully going to last. But yeah, I think it's really just been a series of recycling funds and also being beyond frugal. And I think for me, that is...
• 9:35
  the biggest thing. I think, you know, I talked to a lot of other business owners or people who want to start things and I feel like people are wasteful with their money. And I think that even if you are doing a round of funding and you are raising, that doesn't mean get the nicest, biggest office and spend the most money on your furniture. And when you're flying for work, fly first and stay in the coolest hotel. That's not, I don't believe in that. And that's how we've
• 10:05
  being as scrappy as possible and really spending. What are some examples of that like scrappiness, especially in the beginning? Like I'm always interested to hear like how people scrap to make it work kind of thing. Oh, for sure. I mean, I mean,
• 10:21
  I lived in New York for a very long time. And Malaika, who has worked with me for 10 years at this point and is really, you know, my right hand. It was just, you know, the two of us for a long time. And she was in L.A. and I was in New York. Actually, she was in Colorado and I was in New York and our production was in L.A. So we would meet in L.A. I also had a full time job in the beginning in New York. So like it was balancing that.
• 10:44
  We would fly out to LA to meet for like production trips. Now I would take in the beginning, the oddest hour flights with layovers to save $150. We would say, when I tell you in the most sketch Airbnbs, you can imagine in downtown LA, it was like, we almost went to sleep at night sometimes. And we were like, hope I see you in the morning. Like,
• 11:11
  super shady. I remember one time specifically, it was on the same block as a hospital in downtown LA and we were being followed and we had to go into the emergency room at the hospital and ask them to, they had a security guard to like escort us and walk us down the block because like some guy was following us. The glamorous life of a fashion entrepreneur. Yeah.
• 11:34
  I'm not telling people to do that, but like saving $50 was saving $50. And it was like, I'm sure now looking back, obviously there's no cost to your safety. And like we maybe redid where we got Airbnbs in the future. But I think the point that I'm trying to get across is just like...
• 11:55
  Even if people are like, it's just $100, it's not just $100. It's like that really does go a long way and it adds up. It really adds up. Totally. And also making a sale and making that $100 back, sales is hard. Like that's the reality for all of us in any industry. Like to make a dollar like outside of a salary where you get paid every month, like on rotation, it's hard. It's really hard.
• 12:25
  So, yeah, I totally I totally get what you're saying. When you think about I mean, we're obviously talking about a really long period of time. It's hard to drill that down into 30 minutes. But if you were to think about the last 10, 12 years, what do you think have been the key pivotal moments that have led to your growth and to get you to this point of where you are now? Yeah.
• 12:49
  I think it's definitely like you have to be resilient. And I think that that goes for any business, especially fashion. Fashion is really hard. It's an oversaturated market. There's so many things that are similar. A lot of people just like want to have a fashion brand. And because there is such fierce competition, especially whether you're direct to consumer or whether you're wholesaling, which we do both, I think.
• 13:17
  I think there's just a lot of things that knock you down. A lot of things you try that don't work. And it's so easy to be like, okay, that's it. This isn't working. When we showed to Barney's,
• 13:29
  actually Barney's maybe isn't a good example. Barney's actually reached out to us in the beginning. And that was like a huge moment, I would say. That was like the first luxury department store that showed interest in us. But it's like we had been showing to Saks and Neiman's and all these other people for years. And them saying like, we'll keep an eye on it, but it's not right right now. And I think it's the resilience and the persistence and the passion to know that like,
• 13:58
  you should keep going instead of giving up because it is so easy to give up when like, especially when it's something that you're making and you take it so personally, that's something that has been like a journey for me as a person. I mean, listen, at the end of the day, and this goes to, you know, influencers, brands, designers, it's like, oh, there are a lot of people that are putting things out there. Yeah.
• 14:21
  That's like your art to be really ripped apart through Instagram, through everything. And I think if you're staying true to yourself, you're
• 14:30
  it's way easier to power through all of that. Whereas if you're not, I think it really takes you down. And I think that's taken me a long time to get to that point and designing what I feel is right versus what the trends say or what our showroom says or what, you know, at the end of the day, it's what I feel and it's what our customers feel.
• 14:52
  It's not about the buyers. It's not about our showroom. It's not about all of that other stuff, which I know I'm kind of digressing from your original question, but I think pivotal moments are, you know, a celebrity wearing art pieces, getting into certain department stores. And like, those were the moments where it was like, okay, keep going. Like you have something here, don't give up. And I think like characteristics are resilience and, um,
• 15:20
  just like the confidence to stay true to like myself, I think as far as like the actual product and design process and not letting a lot of the outside feedback get in, which I've designed collections that are horrible. And like, I take accountability for that, even though like, they're like, we need more colors. We need more prints. Like, and this is years ago. And I listened to them. I felt horrible about it. I looked at the collection. I was like, I don't even like this.
• 15:49
  It didn't sell well. And it was like those were the hard lessons that I had to learn to stay true to myself, my vision. And, you know, in order to keep going. But I would say like the big moments, you know, when you get those breaks and when it feels like, OK, there is something here that is working. Don't give up. Keep going. What celebrities have sported your clothing lately?
• 16:14
  Um, we really had a lot of amazing ones. I mean, when Beyonce had blue, the first time she took her out in public, she wrapped her in one of our scarves, which was like not real. Yeah. That was a great day. Yeah. That must've been like 2013, maybe 2012.
• 16:34
  And how did that happen, though? Like, was that just totally organic? No, no, that was not organic. Okay, right. You know, we worked with, like, our PR, we have a PR team, and they, like, sent it to her stylist, like, things like that. There were definitely some that happened more organically. I mean, like, Jessica Biel.
• 16:52
  happened. Jessica Alba happened. I mean, and this was very early on. This was like 2010, 2011. Halle Berry, more recently like Kendall, we had Bella Hadid, Ashley Graham. I mean, I'm missing a ton of them. We just, and like that's, some of them have been more organic. Some of them have been through stylists. Some of them have been through Instagram DMs. I
• 17:21
  I think those are things that kind of gave us street cred, to be honest. It's like, I think, especially now, I don't think that like a celebrity wearing your pieces actually moves the needle like immediately, especially at this point. I think it really is just something that like you share with your community and it just gives them some sort of validation in knowing that like,
• 17:47
  You're a brand that these people wear, but it doesn't have the same immediate return that it did back in 2010, 2011, 2012, when Us Weekly would show Jessica Alba wearing one of our scarves and we'd sell a hundred scarves on our website that day.
• 18:03
  It's not like that anymore, obviously, because the digital landscape has changed so much with Instagram and influencers and, you know, all of that stuff. But that was definitely like a big way that we, you know, kicked off. And, you know, to your earlier point, just about people connecting to a story.
• 18:21
  Most people that follow us on Instagram right now and that buy our brand, I don't even think they know anything about our story. It was like that was something that was in the beginning that people like I can't even tell you the emails. I have some of the emails saved so that we got in the beginning. They were just so emotional and people connecting to.
• 18:41
  the story and comfort. I would say like comfort in all of its forms is the thing that has been our constant since the beginning. And I think it's a physical comfort, a mental comfort, an emotional comfort.
• 18:54
  And, you know, we would get emails of people like my mom is going through chemo right now. And when she's in chemo, she wraps her scarf around herself every day as a blanket. And there's something about it that makes her feel safe. And those are the things that for me, even still today, even though it doesn't look like that anymore,
• 19:15
  I think we just want people to feel comfortable. And I think you, that doesn't mean only lounge wear and sweats. It means making things that someone puts on and makes them feel comfortable with who they are and gives them a confidence about them that they can go into a meeting or get on a phone call or go on a date or walk into the grocery store, the farmer's market and just like feel good about themselves and who they are. And you know, you notice a difference when you wake up in the morning
• 19:43
  And you put effort into not necessarily effort, but like you feel good in whatever it was that you did that day, whether it's do your hair or do your eyebrows or put on that one outfit. You come at your day differently. You talk to people differently differently.
• 20:01
  You know, it's just different. It's a different thing. And, you know, that comfort is really our mission. It's to provide comfort to people in whatever way that we can. And I think that's been like the constant really the whole time since the beginning, even though so much has changed from those early days, for sure.
• 20:18
  I love that. And I love that you've got this kind of clear mission and clear, like, that's your unique thing. That's what you're doing. You stick by it, even if you've veered slightly from time to time on things that, you know, collections that you weren't happy with, but you've had that consistency throughout the journey. Yeah.
• 20:35
  You said something a moment ago about early in those days when you were going out and you were pitching to luxury boutiques like Saks and whoever, and they were saying no and like turning you away. But what was it about the brand and your persistence that you think turned the corner from?
• 20:52
  And like, you've obviously persisted. So that's one thing you've been like, okay, a no isn't a no forever. Like I can go back next season and show again, that kind of thing. But is there anything else at play? And I'm asking because I know we have a lot of entrepreneurs in the fashion space who listen to this, who would be looking at you being like, okay, yes, like,
• 21:10
  This keeps me motivated. This re-energizes me. Like, I need to hear this today. So what do you think it was about or what do you think it is about retailers that kind of like help switch it from a no to a yes?
• 21:25
  I think it's just evolving. And like, also, I think just maybe visibility. Barney's obviously is not the best example anymore, but it's really like our example because I think they wanted things that no one had. They were the emerging designer department store. That's what they were. You know, if Saks had you, they wanted absolutely no interest in you. And yeah,
• 21:50
  They wanted things that are different. And it's like, once you get into one of those, I feel a trickle effect because once we were in Barney's, it was Bloomingdale's, it was Saks, it was Nordstrom. It was all of them coming to us.
• 22:07
  And then it's a matter of who is your customer. And you really, I think the biggest mistake people make, and I've made this mistake, is just looking at an order and like what that number is instead of looking at the store and who your customer really is.
• 22:25
  Because sure, I'm not going to use store names because like they all appeal and work for another brand, but one store can send you the biggest order you've ever gotten. And you can take that order, make the product. And it's really not that store's demographic.
• 22:43
  And they're going to send it back to you and you're going to be really screwed as a small business. So I think it's really knowing who your customer is and making sure that the stores and your retail partners align with that.
• 22:57
  And to not get distracted by the numbers and the amount of an order. I mean, even now when we have new stores reach out to us that like try and dangle these gigantic orders, I'm like, we'll cut that order into a quarter. Let's test it for a season. I would rather something sell out.
• 23:16
  And we can make more or we revisit in a larger way the following season, then accept these gigantic orders. And then they get stuck with it. And then we get stuck with it. Or even if we don't, it's like that doesn't feel good to me. I don't want to, you know, work with a store and they're stuck with units and I'm not going to take them back and they're stuck with them. And then we'll never work together again. I mean, it's all this give and take with these partnerships. Yeah.
• 23:42
  But I think, I mean, listen, like I think our brand has really evolved as I've evolved over the past 12 years. You know, I was in college and I dressed a certain way and then I moved to New York and I worked in luxury fashion in a corporate environment for three and a half years. And I dressed a certain way and then I was out of that and I was all in on this and I was traveling and traveling.
• 24:07
  taking meetings and doing PR and had an office in New York and was like this small fashion brand. And it's like I have evolved. And I think once you get to the point, I'm not going to put an age on it. Once you get like a little later in your 20s and early 30s, I think you really learn and know who you are. And I think that's kind of the point when I learned that.
• 24:28
  who our brand is and like to listen to kind of what I was saying about staying true to myself and my vision and what I see for our product. And, you know, I think it was like when I was just out of college, our designs were young and they were, you know, our branding was young and it appeared young. And it's like, I know now looking back why it wasn't for Saks because it almost looked
• 24:52
  junior. And it was reflective of where I was at that stage in my life. And I think as I evolved and as our brand evolved and as our branding was solidified and our mission was solidified, that's when people started coming and coming back, I would say. And like the fact that these people took these meetings initially when we were, you know, got our logo, I don't even want to like even think about what our logo looked like. I can't even believe that they like took meetings with us.
• 25:18
  But it's a process. It's an evolution. And I think you have to be open to that evolution and to know that, like, where you're starting is not where you should end up. Because it's a journey. It is a journey to get there. And, like, to know what your logo is that represents your brand properly. We've had four logos over the past 12 years. And it sounds silly. A logo is...
• 25:48
  Totally. We have our, we just changed our labels. This is actually an interesting example, our labels. And everyone on our team had a moment where like we were all freaking out because the new material we used for our labels looked like, I don't even have words for it. It looked like it could have been any other brand that sells things for like, like a luxury brand. Yeah.
• 26:13
  And it's like taking it from this like cotton silk to this twill, whatever material, it changed everything. And I think it's those details that go such a long way that people, you know, disregard and those changes over time that when we found our foundation and our footing that allowed those stores to kind of revisit us in a more real way. Got it. Very long answer to your question.
• 26:40
  I love it though. Thank you. So interesting.
• 26:44
  I want to switch to talk more about your marketing in today's world. Obviously, you've gone through this journey, 2009's different landscape to today. There are platforms like TikTok, there's Instagram, there's, I don't know, however, many other channels that probably weren't in existence back then. For you now, what's working and where's really important for you to allocate budget towards in 2021? Yeah.
• 27:13
  I think content is the truth, I think. And like knowing that that evolves and knowing that what people are gravitating towards on Instagram as far as content is not a constant and that it changes a lot. But at the end of the day, making sure your product is portrayed in a.
• 27:35
  a way that is true to your brand and also true to, or also appeals to your demographic is what moves and sells your product.
• 27:45
  So I think that's anything from, you know, our photo shoots to, you know, working with the right content creators and that like our community of content creators and like just advocates almost are in line in creating the right content for our brand. Yeah.
• 28:06
  I think that's really it, to be honest. I think, you know, your Instagram feed is a three second, like someone touches your profile. It's like they have three seconds to make a judgment if this appeals to them or it doesn't. And you want that those three seconds to represent your brand fully and the best the best it can. And, you know, I think that making sure that content represents you properly is important.
• 28:34
  everything. It's how you acquire new customers. It's how you retain existing customers. It's all of that.
• 28:41
  Yeah, I totally agree. I think actually people look over the fact that your Instagram is essentially your website. People come there. They're going there before your website, most probably. And then they're committing to whether they want to continue that journey or like exit the shop immediately. But that's your website or that's your store. And you need to make sure that people land there and they know really clearly what you do, what you sell, if it's for them and if they want to stick around.
• 29:09
  So definitely a piece of real estate not to kind of look over.
• 29:15
  in this landscape. I saw you did a collab recently with SoulCycle and I wanted to ask you about that, you know, A, how it came about, B, what the impact of something like that is for you. Is it kind of in the same space as, you know, working with a celebrity where you don't see a direct ROI or is it something where you're like, yeah, we drive sales through that partnership and it's great for us?
• 29:43
  So there's different ways to collaborate. SoulCycle is a retail partner. So they buy our regular collection. And within our regular collection, we create exclusives for them. So they are essentially existing styles that we create and customize in a color palette that
• 30:05
  is either matches their logo or appeals to their customer. And it's an exclusive that only they have. So SoulCycle is an example of that because they are a retail partner. It really is just an exclusive. It's not, you know, an entire collection that we created together. There are other brands that we have done more comprehensive collaborations with. And I think that,
• 30:33
  There are some that you see immediate ROI, yes, in sales, but you also see you have acquired a lot of new customers from it. There are others that I think there are benefits, but you can't measure it. I think it's like a slow roll over time. Maybe you sell like the collection over six months and you see followers coming in over six months after like a couple of posts from either brand. So I've started to like not love the word collaboration because it is just so used everywhere.
• 31:03
  now in every facet of this industry. You know, I think it's exclusives. It's designing a collection together that is equal parts, both brands, companies, humans, you know, really coming together 50-50. And then there are, you know, partnerships with other like-minded brands, whether it's
• 31:26
  giveaways or sweepstakes or, you know, just giftings. I think, I mean, we do a lot of giftings. We do a lot of giftings with, you know, influencers, tastemakers, editors, and just longtime supporters of our brand.
• 31:43
  What's a lot? Like how many? Like what's a lot of gifting per month, say? It depends. It's more by season. So we have, you know, our girls that have like really supported us from day one. And we gift them every single season and they can pick from whatever they want. And those are our like girls. Those are our homies, our OGs. Like they've really been there for us. And then I would say that's maybe about like...
• 32:12
  40 to 50 women that were gifting each collection.
• 32:18
  And then on top of that, there might be a tighter list of girls that like we want to start working with and like start that relationship with that we, you know, offer a more narrow selection of pieces that like are ones that like we really feel are our standouts of the season that like we want to share. I mean, it's all like I mentioned, like this cycle. It's like this give and take that like the relationship works.
• 32:43
  if all parties are like, you know, in it for real. And like, that's what that real list of those 50 women is, is that like,
• 32:53
  It's such a win-win for all parties involved. And I think that's really what you're looking for when you're doing any sort of seeding. But, you know, as far as like partnerships, it's like a great example is we just partnered with this company based in California called Peaches. And they're a seasonal business. They have a peach farm orchard. I'm not sure what the proper term is, but they...
• 33:16
  They grow the most incredible peaches and they sell them in these boxes that protects them from getting bruised or they're just like unbelievable. And we did a gifting partnership with them. So basically what we did was we selected 20 women locally.
• 33:35
  That was a win-win for both of us. It was great brand exposure for peaches to get to these influencers that we work with directly. And we did a gifting where we sent a set that was the same color palette, essentially, as these peaches. And wake up in the morning and you go out your door and you have these package. And it was great for both of us. It was like these women were like, oh, my God, I love that Donnie isn't just sending me Donnie.
• 34:03
  And, you know, introducing how good a peach and delicious. I mean, and the peaches are just like to die for. They are so good. But I think that's another example of, you know, it's we're also supporting this other business. And I think for me.
• 34:18
  Our Instagram is very small for the business that it generates. And, you know, it's small but mighty is what we really call it. But like we have a platform that is very engaged and we have a customer. Our return customer rate is extremely high for industry standards and, you
• 34:38
  I think they trust us. They want to listen to us. And it's like we have a platform that we can use to promote other businesses, other women, other causes. And we do. And I think that's a huge thing for us also. And I think as long as everything, whatever partnership, it has to be a win-win. It's a two-way street. And I think that's something that's often missed in this industry. I think it's a lot of take, take, take.
• 35:05
  And a lot of expectations that are unfair. And I think if you are going into things knowing that like it has to benefit everyone truly, that's when just like long-term success is really achieved. It's where the magic happens. Magic, exactly.
• 35:22
  What do you think is the most important piece of advice that you could give to anyone who is either already in the fashion industry or an earlier on in the journey than you or wanting to start a fashion brand in 2021? I honestly would just say.
• 35:42
  Don't create something to just create it and don't start it to just start it. Have a perspective, have a point of view, have something that's different. Do it differently. I mean, if you want to start a basic T-shirt line, there are a million different basic T-shirt lines. So what are you doing differently? What makes it different? My philosophy truly is...
• 36:05
  We're not going to make something if I feel like someone out there does it better than us because there's absolutely no point. There is so much good stuff out there, truly so much good stuff.
• 36:16
  As far as like a great example is like expanding into different product categories. Swim is something that a lot of people have asked us to do. And I don't want to do it because swim, there is so much amazing swim out there.
• 36:36
  that I don't feel like jumping into that market because like I have swimwear that I love and like, I'm going to just keep that for them, you know? And I think that's a great place to do a collaboration with an existing swimwear brand. But I think it's just the problem these days is a lot of people just want to start a business and...
• 36:58
  And I think you have to let the idea come. You want the idea to come before the business plan. Got it. You want to identify why you're unique as well. Yeah, thank you. What's your point of difference? Why should people buy you over Joe Blow next door? Right, exactly. Totally. I 100% agree. There's a lot of stuff in the world these days.
• 37:22
  At the end of every episode, we ask a series of six quick questions to kind of wrap it all up, some of which we might have covered, some of which we might not have. But question number one is, what's your why? Why are you doing what you're doing?
• 37:39
  I think that's twofold. I think the first is, like I said earlier, to just like provide comfort to our customers and the community in whatever way we can. And I think also to provide opportunity. I think, you know, our business...
• 37:56
  touches a lot of people as far as like in LA, we produce everything locally. We support a lot of factories, dye houses, cutting houses, just a lot of businesses and, you know, who we employ within our immediate team. I think that really drives me that responsibility of the opportunity that we are able to provide is a huge why for me. I love that. Yeah.
• 38:23
  Question number two is what do you think has been the number one marketing moment that made the business pop? I think I would have to probably go back to the celebrities because I think that's what gave us credibility very early on. And without that, I don't,
• 38:42
  I don't know if we would have gotten so much momentum early on. And I think that that really drove things until this point. And obviously that piece looks different now, but, you know, in the first couple of years, having some major celebrities wear our pieces was, I think, paramount in our foundation and then thus building, you know, a successful business from there.
• 39:04
  So cool. Question number three is where do you hang out to get smarter? What do you listen to or read or subscribe to that other founders would benefit from knowing about?
• 39:16
  Yeah. Well, I'm a very big, like, take my dog for a five-mile walk and listen to a podcast. My favorites are probably, I forget what her podcast is called. It's Pia Baranchini. She has a podcast, and she interviews all sorts of different people in the health and wellness space, in the business space.
• 39:39
  I love her. I love Brene Brown's podcast. I think less direct business advice, but more just like how to be a good leader and how to be okay with being vulnerable, which I think being vulnerable is like you have to do that in order to be successful in business. So I would say those two are probably my favorite go-tos. Thank you. I'm going to link them in the show notes for anyone who wants to check them out.
• 40:04
  Question number four is how do you win the day? What are your AM or PM rituals and habits that keep you feeling happy and successful and motivated? I think it's just like making sure I carve out time for like any of that. I think on the days when I'm more flustered and don't have as much time to fit in things big or small for myself are the days that I don't feel like I'm winning. So I think it's anything from, you know, waking up from...
• 40:29
  30 minutes earlier to make sure like I can take my walk from two miles to five miles. I'm like that small of a thing to, you know, at night doing the, I never know how you pronounce it, the gua sha thing on my face. And it's like, those are the things that when I do them for myself, I think I do a better job at everything else in the middle of the day.
• 40:51
  I'm with you. Self-care is really important. It really is. Question number five is if you were given a thousand dollars of no strings attached grant money, where would you spend that in the business? Content. I mean, I spoke about content. It's just super important. And I think that is where you those are the assets that sell your product the best, better than anything else. So I would say content for sure.
• 41:19
  Yeah. And particularly important in the fashion industry, I would say, you know, you need to see it. You need to see it in motion. You need to see it on. Totally. Yep. Question number six. Last question. How do you deal with failure?
• 41:34
  It's taken me a long time. Like I said, I spent a lot of years taking things really personally. I think now failure is opportunity and I think it's dissecting why it was a failure and make immediate steps.
• 41:49
  To change. So I think it's whether that's like a specific product, a color, an initiative, it's dissecting it, dissecting your failures and making real active changes to turn it into, you know, change and opportunity. Amazing. Yeah.
• 42:10
  This was so cool, Alyssa. It was. It was so lovely talking to you. Thank you. It was so lovely talking to you. Wow. What a cool story. And actually, you know what? I have one final question. It's like, what's your vision now with the brand or what's your goal? Obviously, you've bootstrapped it. So you don't have that like, hey, I'm definitely going to sell this one day. You don't have VC. You've got like the world is your oyster, essentially. Where do you see yourself going with this?
• 42:38
  It's been a long road already. I don't know. Yeah, I get that question so much. And I think I always thought that I had to have an answer to it. And I think I realize with everything and with all the evolution and changes, whether it's from scarves to clothes or really anything, I don't.
• 42:57
  I think it's just to not necessarily have an answer to that question. And I think as we evolve, things change and being open to that and welcoming the things that come our way. And I.
• 43:13
  think as long as our two constants are providing comfort in the things that we make and providing opportunity, as long as we continue to do both of those things, I think this could take on many different iterations or many different paths, but just kind of being open to whatever that might look like. Wow. Very exciting. I'm excited to continue watching your journey. Thank you so much for being on the show today. Thank you so much. This was so fun.
• 43:45
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 44:10
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 44:32
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.
• 44:49
  Hey, it's June here. Thanks for listening to this amazing episode of the Female Startup Club podcast. If you're a fan of the show and want even more of the good stuff, I'd recommend checking out femalestartupclub.com where you can subscribe to our free newsletter. We send it out weekly covering female founder business news, insights and learnings in D2C, and interesting business resources.
• 45:13
  And if you're a founder building an e-commerce brand, you can join our private network of entrepreneurs called Hype Club at femalestartupclub.com forward slash Hype Club. We have guests from the show joining us for intimate Ask Me Anythings, expert workshops, and a group of totally amazing, like-minded women building the future of D2C brands.
• 45:36
  As always, please do subscribe, rate and review the show and post your favorite episodes to Instagram stories. I am beyond grateful when you do that.