Hannah and Pippa are the charismatic co-founders of Merch Girls; a product design agency that creates beautiful, custom merch for some of the biggest brands in Australia including MECCA, the Australian Open, and lady-brains!  In this chat, the duo share how they landed their first major client – the Australian Ballet, how they survived COVID despite their entire pipeline drying up, and why they credit their success to building strong, meaningful relationships.     You’ll learn: 
How they finally landed the Australian Open as a client after being knocked back countless times 
How and why the duo put Merch Girls before their friendship  
How gifting an ‘e-merch-ancy' box to clients when COVID hit helped them generate new business  
Why the team is now focused on building out their sustainable range  
Why their philosophy is happy staff, happy clients, happy suppliers 
  Find us at www.ladybrains.com.au   Follow us on Instagram @lady.brains  Chat to us in the Facebook group, the lady-brains clubhouse  Have a sweet business idea but unsure if it has potential? Sign up for the free 'Idea Validation Mini Course' here.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hannah Chipkin & Pippa Joseph - Merch Girls

Welcome to the LADY-BRAINS podcast. Join your hosts and LADY-BRAINS co-founders Caitlin Judd and Anna Mackenzie, as they chat to the world’s most exciting entrepreneurs to tap into their knowledge and world class insights.
If you're a curious founder or founder-to-be then you're in the right place!
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In a world where brands are constantly vying for people’s attention, how do you truly connect with those who make the crucial financial decisions in our homes?
Christie Nicholas is the brains behind Mumpower – Australia’s leading agency dedicated to understanding, engaging, and empowering the most influential household spender – mums.
In 2009, while working for some big-name brands, Christie knew deep down there was a better way to reach and communicate with mothers. This led her to quit her dream job to go all in on Mumpower, which now boasts a vast network of influencers, creators, product review panellists and market researchers.
In this chat you'll hear from Christie on: 

Why she thought she could do a better job at speaking to Mums as buyers
Quitting her dream job to start Mumpower 
Overcoming her limiting beliefs and imposter syndrome 
The harsh truths she had to face after a decade into business
Understanding your customer intimately and the pain points along the customer journey 
The 3 strategies she uses time and time again to ensure personal, business and team success. 



Does your business need support during the busy e-commerce sales period? Check out Australia Post's FREE Peak Playbook to help you create a better customer experience and get your packages in their hands on time: www.auspost.com/peak

SAY HEY
Find us at www.ladybrains.com.au
Follow us on Instagram @lady.brains
Learn more about Mumpower at www.mumpower.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christie Nicholas - Mumpower

This episode is sponsored by Australia Post.
Anna Hoang is the founder and creator of ANNA QUAN, a contemporary Australian fashion label. The brand epitomises simplicity, elegance and quiet luxury. 

You may know the label for its bread and butter item, the white button down shirt. Anna has managed reimagined and redefined this staple , and has people from all over the world coming back for time and time again. 
Anna opens up in this rare interview, about her transition from law to fashion, her struggle in the first few years with gaining traction in the Aussie market and the bold move she made next, how her values help her hire the right people, and the important questions she asks herself as she hits 10 years in business.
In this ep, you’ll learn about: 

The transition she made from law school to fashion school
Her first business failure and finding the confidence to go it alone
The Paris showroom debacle and what happened when she tried to rent her own Airbnb for showings
Why she's big on iterating styles that have been left on the cutting room floor to create a version that customers actually want 
Why it's important to have a bread and butter product
Her thoughts on greenwashing and sustainable fashion
The type of brand she wants to build and the values that underpin it
The questions she asks herself after reaching a decade in business

Does your business need support during the busy e-commerce sales period? Check out Australia Post's FREE Peak Playbook to help you create a better customer experience and get your packages in their hands on time: www.auspost.com/peak

SAY HEY
Find us at www.ladybrains.com.au
Follow us on Instagram @lady.brains
Chat to us in the Facebook group, the lady-brains clubhouse
Sign up for our online business course BASE CAMP here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anna Hoang - ANNA QUAN

Get a free fitting and find your perfect bra at theonetwo.com, and use the code LB20 at the checkout for 20% off your entire order.
The last time you heard from Margot & Maria they’d raised $100k from over 700 backers during their Kickstarter pre-sale campaign. They were on a high and excited to hard launch their brand in time for the Christmas rush.  
But just as they were about to go live, their online custom fit algorithm (the one they’d spent over a year getting right) broke. Christmas came and went. They missed their deadline...again.  
But the duo didn’t let that stop them. They were on the home stretch and a few months later they finally launched The OneTwo into the world.  
So how have their first few months in market been? What has the response been from customers? What other curve balls have been thrown their way?  
Created in partnership with lady-brains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 5: The OneTwo - Where Are They Now?

Get a free fitting and find your perfect bra at theonetwo.com, and use the code LB20 at the checkout for 20% off your entire order.
The year was 2022 and by now, Margot and Maria had been working on bringing The OneTwo to life for over two whole years. COVID had played havoc with their timeline, their product taking years longer to develop than they originally planned and their cash reserves slowly but surely running out.  
Thing were heating up and the duo decided to run a Kickstarter pre-sale campaign. Not only did they need to raise money to keep the wheels turning, but they also were out to prove to their investors that despite the delays, the fire in The OneTwo’s belly was still burning brightly. 
Created in partnership with lady-brains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode 4: The OneTwo - The $100k Kickstarter Pre-Sale

Get a free fitting and find your perfect bra at theonetwo.com, and use the code LB20 at the checkout for 20% off your entire order.
After the world and supply chains ground to a halt and the world became locked down, Margot and Maria’s factory pulled out of the partnership and left them high and dry, without a manufacturer to make their bra. After searching high and low, they finally found a factory in Sri Lanka who were amazed by their innovative approach, and believed in what they were trying to create.  
A bra that is engineered for women’s breasts of ALL shapes and sizes. 
But with the world turned upside down and unable to leave the country to visit their factory in person, will they be able to finalise samples in time to meet their production deadlines?  
Will their rapidly decreasing cash runway last long enough for them to pull through? 
Created in partnership with lady-brains. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hannah Chipkin & Pippa Joseph - Merch Girls

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