The Story of a Brand Show

For Stacey Goldstein, CEO & Founder of Lola Getts, the opportunity in the Plus Size market is more than just having a brand with a product, it's a MOVEMENT.  The team at Lola Getts truly believe that this consumer (they refer to this consumer as "Her") deserves products that work for her body. The goal is to get people to recognize, respect, and not stereotype who she is. And to that end, Lola Getts is creating a brand that this consumer can call their own.    In this episode, Stacey also shares the Lola Getts design philosophy of getting "inspired by fabric". She talks about working with a "Sneaker Queen" influencer and models. She goes into detail about the challenges of growing a Plus Size Premium Athletic/Leisurewear e-commerce brands as well as the difficulty in pitching investors. For Stacey, part of Movement is getting retailers, manufacturers, and investors to understand and appreciate this market and to that end, she describes her "14 Plus Analytics" that uses real-world data to help people better understand this consumer.    Listen to Part 2 of this episode and hear Stacey Goldstein, CEO & Founder of Lola Getts share the inside story of the building a brand.    Check out other episodes at CommerceFocused Media   For more on Lola Getts visit: www.lolagetts.com   Try Lola Getts with this New customer discount: Welcome30. Use this code to save 30% and if you don't like it, return it within 30 days.

According to stats, near 67% of women in American are a size 14 or higher.  However, even with this percentage of the population, this consumer is more or less "forgotten". The truth is that for many retailers "plus-size" isn't a sexy category to carry so they either don't carry or promote it.  For Stacey Goldstein, CEO & Founder of Lola Getts, this is both an opportunity and a grave disservice to correct.    This is why Stacey and the passionate crusaders (staff) at Lola Getts are on a mission to give this forgotten consumer a voice. Lola Getts is a Premium Activewear or Athleisure Brand exclusively for Women who wear size 14 or larger. Their mission is to make "Her" feel comfortable and confident when she walks into a gym or spin class, or yoga class. In this way, they see themselves as confidence builders & game changers. The other side of the mission is to disrupt the "fitness" space and bring this consumer to the forefront.  In today's climate of body positivity, the Lola Getts brand may just be in the Right place at the Right time.   Listen to Part 1 of this episode and hear Stacey Goldstein, CEO & Founder of Lola Getts share the inside story of the building a brand.    Check out other episodes at  www.commercefocused.com/category/the-story-behind-the-brand/ For more on Lola Getts visit: www.lolagetts.com

How do you evolve your brand? How do you expand into other markets? Steve Nanino, CEO of Kid Dangerous and team, gives us an MBA level discussion on growing a graphic premium tees business. He shares how they evolved the business into women and kids apparel as well as evolving as business executives. He shares the good and bad of tradeshows and why they might not be worth it. He also shares invaluable experience on the Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) vs. Retail debate and why some "pure" D2C brands may be missing out on support, customer feedback, and additional revenues by not doing retail.   In this episode, see how Steve and his team, grew a premium graphic Tees business. How it started, how it evolved with the market, and how Kid Dangerous is giving back to the community through homelessness initiatives., You'll also hear advice for young apparel entrepreneurs and dealing with the ups and downs of running your own business. He also shares how     Listen to Part 2 of this episode and hear Steven Nanino, CEO of Kid Dangerous share the inside story of the building a brand.    I write about all of our podcast! Check out the full post and learn what we learned at commercefocused.com.   Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to "The Story Behind the Brand" and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

In 2006, Steve Nanino, CEO of Kid Dangerous and team, saw a need for a brand that was less about the logo and more about a message. That message was edgy, loud, and full of spirit. Perfect for individuals who wanted to stand out. Full of F-bombs, drug references, and the like their brand quickly attracted a following, first among friends and later with retailers. But on the business side, they were young and naive and didn't understand what they were getting themselves into but they moved ahead anyway.    In Part 1 of our interview, see how Steve and his team, grew a premium graphic Tees business. How it started, how it evolved with the market, how they landed retailers, and how they have expanded into women and kids apparel and what comes next.  You'll also hear advice for young apparel entrepreneurs and dealing with the ups and downs of running your own business.    Listen to this episode and hear Steven Nanino, CEO of Kid Dangerous share the inside story of the building a brand.    I write about all of our podcast! Check out the full post and learn what we learned at commercefocused.com.   Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to "The Story Behind the Brand" and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

As a survivor of rape, Paige sought help and was finally able to "find and embrace" her voice which led her to what we know today as Paige. As she mentions on the show, the brand is an amalgamation of her experiences; it was really about a woman who finally empowered herself. Because of this, the brand is meant to be about being "fit" because she knew all too well based on her struggles with anorexia, that she wanted people to feel good about themselves. 

On this episode, Paige provides advice for survivors of sexual assault and the moments that lead to her healing. She also provides in-depth advice and discussion on the early days of Paige, her design philosophy, advice for young fashion brands, pitching to investors, naming your brand, dealing with stress, keeping a journal, brick and mortar stores vs the web, international sales, her new shoe collection and where Paige will be in the future.  Listen to this inspiring episode and hear the very personal inside story of Paige Adams-Geller and the building of a brand.

I write about all of our podcast! Check out the full post and learn what we learned at commercefocused.com/episode-018-paige/

Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to "The Story Behind the Brand" and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Paige runs a highly successful fashion brand. A brand that is very much a part of who she is as a person. A brand that helps people feel comfortable in their skin. Unafraid to be who they are. However, the story about how she came from a small town in Alaska to where she is now isn't a story about going to fashion school or business school and even about becoming successful. It's a story about how she kept hidden a dark memory that nearly destroyed her, how she felt lost, struggled with life and how she sought help. 

  At 16, Paige Adams-Geller, the CEO & Founder of Paige, was a victim of a rape. As a child, she was curious and adventurous and overachieved in school. She loved music and became a singer, then entered modeling. It was during this time as a model that she became ill from anorexia. For many people who silently carry the physical and emotional pain of sexual assault, keeping it hidden exacerbates thing only to have the pain manifest itself later through other hardships as it did with Paige.    In this episode, Paige shares her life. As she puts it, she's an open book. You'll find out, that she refuses to be defined by other people. She discusses her brand, how she creates fashion, her love of music, entrepreneurial advice, how you must find your path, how she de-stresses with meditation and mantras, and how she is truly humbled by her hard-won success.    But most important she wants people to be courageous. Her most important message is that if you have suffered a sexual assault, the worst thing you can do is keep it bottled up inside, you must find someone to talk to, seek help as she did, or it will eat you alive.    Listen to this inspiring episode and hear the very personal inside story of Paige Adams-Geller and the building of a brand.

When John Tabis, CEO of The Bouqs Company, shared with his mentor that he wanted to start his own company, his mentor said he was crazy. John decided to bet on himself and started the company anyway and the rest is history.  When the vast amount of people see the end result of successful entrepreneurship, they think it looks easy. The truth is entrepreneurship is really hard. You have to get used to not paying yourself. You toil and struggle and live in near obscurity for many years until you hit success if that ever happens.

That's why it's important to have a larger mission or why. You have to ask yourself, what does my company represent? For John, flowers represent not just a product but all the special moments in life that elicit emotions such as a birth, promotion, anniversary, graduation, etc. In other words, "moments of pure emotion" and in the end, that's what The Bouqs represents and that's what drives John to build his brand.

Listen to this episode and hear John Tabis, CEO & Founder of The Bouqs Company shares his MBA-like entrepreneurial advice and his story of building a brand.

I write about all of our podcast! Check out the full post and learn what we learned at commercefocused.com/episode-016-bouqs/

Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to "The Story Behind the Brand" and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

In today's world, we have grown accustomed to asking where our food comes from and is it sustainably sourced but why not with flowers? This is something that John Tabis, CEO of The Bouqs Company is trying to change. The way John sees it, if the Bouqs model works, all ships will rise.  It's the reason why Bouqs pays their farmers 25% more than competitors. They've come to realize that their customers care about the environment and the dignity of human life around the world, and so they will pay a little more for a better, fresher product if it is sustainably sourced and if the farmers follow the right labor practices.

Of course, having this model is more difficult than what is the norm in the Floral Industry, so John gives us an MBA-like discussion on starting a company, raising capital, dealing with rejection, the difficulty of living life as a founder, and making the transition from founder to CEO and more.  

Listen to this episode and hear John Tabis, CEO & Founder of The Bouqs Company share the inside story of building a brand.

I write about all of our podcast! Check out the full post and learn what we learned at commercefocused.com/episode-015-bouqs/

Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to "The Story Behind the Brand" and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

Walter received a letter which relayed the story of a woman struggling with life. She had low energy, two kids, and a very demanding job. However, after finding HUM, she was able to turn things around. She started to gain more energy, which led to improved performance at work, which eventually attracted a promotion. However, the most important part of the letter was yet to come. She thanked  Walter on behalf of her kids. You see, her kids had their mother back.

It was the promise of these moments and others like them that led Walter and his team to help customers achieve what they really wanted, and it wasn't the act of purchasing vitamins necessarily, it was the "act of becoming the best version of themselves".

Listen to this episode and hear Walter Faulstroh, CEO of HUM Nutrition share the inside story of the building a brand.

I write about all of our podcast! Check out the full post and learn what we learned at commercefocused.com/episode-014-HUM-Nutrition/

Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to "The Story Behind the Brand" and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.

While building his first business, Walter Faulstroh, CEO of HUM Nutrition, met a nutritionist who changed his life and set the stage for us next business. Instead of the often prescribed drugs to combat acne, this nutritionist showed him that he could help eliminate his acne by focusing on the foods he ate and the nutrition he consumed. This would later inspire the tag line for his current business.   Fast forward to the present day and Walter has created the first vitamin brand to focus on "beauty from within". However, he quickly noticed that much of the experience of buying and using vitamins was negative. So he created a company that takes the experience and the products into the 21st century.  Walter and his team, set out to reinvent the vitamin industry and made sure that every touch point with the customer was re-imagined, from the availability of the HUM nutritionist to the labels to the focus on Non-GMO, sustainability, and ingredients.   Listen to this episode and hear  Walter Faulstroh, CEO of HUM Nutrition share the inside story of building a vitamin brand as well insights he learned building his first business.    I write about all of our podcast! Check out the full post and learn what we learned at commercefocused.com/episode-013-HUM-Nutrition/

Thanks so much for listening! If you like this episode, please subscribe to "The Story Behind the Brand" and rate and review wherever you get your podcasts.