THE LBD DAILY. Providing raw, authentic content from the intertwining worlds of fashion and tech.

Marina interviewed Asif Qasim, founder & CEO of MedShr and, is a leading consultant cardiologist and NHS Clinical Director. Medshr is a global network and technology platform developed to promote shared knowledge and peer-to-peer learning to improve healthcare and save lives. Launched in 2015 MedShr now has over 800,000 members in 190 countries.

Asif has created not one, but two initiatives to help support Covid-19 efforts across the UK.

1. LetsBeatCOVID.net is designed to allow members of the public to complete a short survey about their health and exposure to COVID-19 in order that health services can save more lives.

2. He formed a JustGiving campaign which is raising £50,000 to provide better PPE for our NHS doctors, nurses and clinical staff.

In this episode, Asif provided some insight into the amazing work of the NHS, as well as the incredible initiatives he has formed to help support their efforts.

He also discussed why wearing a face mask is hugely important and provided some tips on how we can make these at home with materials that are available to us. For instance vacuum bags and tea towels.

We hope that you find this episode useful and please share with anyone you think who may find this helpful.

THE LBD DAILY. Providing raw, authentic content from the intertwining worlds of fashion and tech.

Marina interviewed Delphine Brenninkmeijer Braas from 64Facets. Delphine is a London-based Belgian entrepreneur passionate about growing businesses. She runs the International and online operations for 64Facets.

64Facets is a fast-growing fine jewelry company specializing in Rose Cut, Old European Cut and Pave Diamond jewelry. The name 64Facets has its roots in Indian mythology in which it is widely believed that there are 64 arts and sciences that humans can master. Further, one of the Indian Gods, Lord Krishna, is believed to have mastered all 64 arts and sciences in 64 days. Each of these lends a new facet to a human's personality.

64Facets is not just another fine jewellery brand. They have a passion for transforming beautiful, sustainably sourced diamonds into delicate, versatile pieces of jewellery, priced competitively, for today's modern women.

In this episode, we discuss 1. 64Facets 2. What Delphine did previously to 64Facets 3. The creative process 64Facets goes through when designing collections and bespoke pieces 4. 64Facets view on sustainability 5. The best way to scale and market a brand 7. Your advice to someone wanting to start a jewellery business? 8. Her one wardrobe tip for the LBD community.

Check out 64Facets on Instagram.

THE LBD DAILY. Providing raw, authentic content from the intertwining worlds of fashion and tech. 

Marina interviewed Romain Reglade, Visual Creator. Born in Paris, he studied a Modern Languages BA at Oxford University, followed by a two-year Business Masters at LSE. In parallel to academia, Romain developed a passion for visual arts. He started shooting during Fashion Weeks and Film Festivals around the world. He has now traveled over 35 countries, speaks 5 languages and is at the head of a communications agency. Together with his team, he creates digital assets for fashion and luxury brands such as Dior, Moncler, Baccarat. 

In this episode, Roman discusses: 1 His job and what it entails. 2. Which brands he has worked with 4. The process of creating content for his clients. 4. The most meaningful and exciting project he has worked on. 5. Isolation reflections. 6. His advice to small brands on creating awesome content, with a minimal budget. 7. His wardrobe tip.

THE LBD DAILY. Providing raw, authentic content from the intertwining worlds of fashion and tech. 

Marina spoke with Andrew Leal, founder of Waggel a Pet Insurance platform. Pet insurance can suck, so Waggel was created to change it for the better. Where traditional insurers seem happy to keep customers at arm's length, Waggel wants to forge a more collaborative relationship with their members. 

Andrew comes from an entrepreneurial family, where his family business distributed credit card machines and its supportive software throughout South Africa. Andrew worked on expanding the business into the rest of Africa. After that and while in SA, he had started working on getting a second division soccer team based in Alexandra Township into the Premier League in SA. He started to build out an academy and had got the investment to purchase the team, but before pulling the trigger his family decided to move to the UK. Once he had moved to London, he started a furniture business with his brother, Rowan. Sadly the business did not go as planned and Andrew then went to do MBA in the UK. Having just finished an MBA and hearing a lot of my animal-centric friends complaining about the state of pet insurance, he decided to do something about it. Voila, the formation of Waggel!

In this episode, we discussed: 1. Andrew's career up until Waggle. 2. How he became an entrepreneur. 3. We discussed Waggel, and why it is different from other pet insurers 4. During Corona Virus, has anything changed with his business 5. New hobbies keeping him busy 7. 8. His one wardrobe tip.

THE LBD DAILY. Providing raw, authentic content from the intertwining worlds of fashion and tech.

Marina spoke with Souraya Chalhoub, founder of SOURAYA. Formed in 2018 in London, SOURAYA is a ready to wear brand accessible online that specialises in statement pieces. 

In this inspiring episode Souraya discusses:

1. Her brand, and why she launched Souraya. 2. The creative process she goes through when designing collections. 3. Her sustainability agenda. 4. The best way to market and scale her brand. 5. Why LBD app has been a lifesaver for her! 6. Souraya's advice to anyone thinking about starting a business in fashion. 7. What is her one wardrobe tip.

To check out Souraya's AWESOME style and incredible pieces from her collection, follow her personal & business account.

THE LBD DAILY. Providing raw, authentic content from the intertwining worlds of fashion and tech.

Marina spoke with Nick Knuppe, founder of Verifive. Nick is Ex Tencent Marketing and Booking.com Innovation, working in both a B2B and B2C product and growth teams launching multiple mobile and SaaS products in Sub-Saharan African and EMEA regions.

Verifive is a Digital media consultancy helping start-ups and early growth stage products and services identify, engage and convert online leads into happy, loyal customers.

For this episode, we changed things around and made it into a mini-masterclass on how to Survive & Thrive during Covid-19.

Key discussion points: 

1. Shift your mindset 
2. Take immediate action 
3. Invest in your personal development

Here are Nick's Digital Marketing Tools for Start-ups and SME’s which he mentioned in the interview.

SEO 

https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/

https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly

https://www.semrush.com/ (Freemium) 

Social media management tools

https://hootsuite.com/plans/free

www.sproutsocial.com (Not free)  

https://later.com/ 

Facebook Business Manager Training 

https://www.facebook.com/business/learn

Google Marketing Platform  

https://skillshop.withgoogle.com/ 

Google Analytics Training 

https://analytics.google.com/analytics/academy/ 

THE LBD DAILY. Providing raw, authentic content from the intertwining worlds of fashion and tech. Marina spoke with Adora Mba, founder of The Afropolitan Collector. An art advisory platform that specializes in the acquisition, cultivation, and promotion of Contemporary Art and Design from Africa and its global diasporas. She works with a range of clients and art organizations from government and non-profit, to auction houses, museums, galleries, brands, and independent artists. In this episode, we find out: 1. She tells us why she launched The Afropolitan Collector 2. How she finds the artists which she represents. 3. Her views on a physical vs a digital space to represent and showcase her artists 4. The best way to market her brand. 5. Adora's advice to someone wanting to start a career in the art industry. 6. What is her one wardrobe tip.

The artists who Adora mentioned and as she put it, 'If you got money honey, invest in":

El Anatsui,
Njideka Akunyili Crosby,
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

Fast risers:
Ndidi Emefiele,
Toyin Odutola,
Amoako Boafo,
Derek Fordjour.

Get in there NOW:
Tunji Adeniyi-Jones,
Collins Obijiaku,
Sungi Mlengeya.

Follow Adora on Instagram to see daily art inspo and see the incredibly talented artists who she represents.

http://www.afropolitancollector.com

THE LBD DAILY. Providing raw, authentic content from the intertwining worlds of fashion and tech. Marina spoke with Tash De Savary, founder of Jane & Tash. She is a fashion entrepreneur who runs not one but TWO fashion businesses. Her mission for Jane & Tash is to create products that are not only timeless but that transcend the stigma that a fashion piece can only be enjoyed by one gender, age, style, and stereotype. In this episode, Tash discusses: 1. Jane & Tash and how she started 2. Her creative process when designing her collection. 3. Her view on sustainability 4. The best way to scale and market your brand. 5. Her advice on how to start a business 6. What her wardrobe tips

Follow Jane & Tash on Instagram on for daily parker inspo.

THE LBD DAILY. Providing raw, authentic content from the intertwining worlds of fashion and tech. Marina spoke with Diana Pengilly, founder of Diane Paris.  Diana wanted to design clothes for herself that suited her lifestyle but could not find anything and so started designing clothes for herself. Very quickly friends asked for her to make some for them and voila, Diane Paris was formed in 2017. A Ready to wear women's brand rooted in Parisian femininity that is effortlessly chic and timeless‬. Diane Paris’s style is about a mindset rather than an individual woman; striking, individual and irreverent. In this episode we find out:

1. How she started Diane Paris.
2. What has been the best way to scale and market her brand in South Africa.
3. How her business model works.
4. Gave us a quick tour of her showroom.
5. What inspires her.
6. How she is coping in isolation.
7. Her wardrobe tips.

Follow Diane on Instagram to see daily fashion inspo.

THE LBD DAILY. Providing raw, authentic content from the intertwining worlds of fashion and tech. Marina spoke with George Hintzen, founder of TOAD.AI. TOAD.AI is a data-driven outdoor advertising agency powered by technology. We were fortunate to speak to George as he premiered on Dragon's Den last Sunday and managed to receive funding from Tej Lalvani. In this episode we find out: 1. What inspired him to create toad.ai. 2. His former career. 3. What has been the best way to scale and market your brand. 4. His experience on Dragon's Den. 5. The application process 6. His advice to other businesses who are considering to apply. 7. His wardrobe tip.

To watch George's Dragon's Den pitch, click here.