How this Fashion Brand Made Millions by Going All-In on DTC (#91)
We wanted to be direct to consumer, but the dollar volumes that wholesale can offer you, it makes you lose focus. But I think if we had started by just really focusing on getting our product right first, we could have made a better product and probably been able to pivot much earlier.
Speaker 2:I'm Jim Huffman, and this is if I was starting today, a collection of conversations about half baked startup ideas, growth tactics, and stories from founders, including my own journey as a business owner. All of the content is centered around one question. What would you do if you were starting today?
Speaker 3:Today on the podcast, I have 2 good friends, Luisa Takas and Alessandra Perez Rubio. They are the cofounders of Mestiza. Mestiza is a fashion brand out in New York that just in the past few years has done multi 7 figures, and their story has been awesome to fall along with. They met in fashion school, had this idea, started it kind of slowly doing it in wholesale, but has really taken off. They've been worn by really well known celebrities and influencers, and it's really just getting started.
Speaker 3:And we talk about the journey of, first, what it's like to be partners that have worked together for over 5 years and it's still working, how they've been able to grow without raising VC, but just doing it with a simple friends and family round and then actually being profit first, which I know is kind of crazy. In addition to that, what has worked for growth? Whether it's their flagship products or growth channels, we get into all of it. So if you're in the direct to consumer space, if you're in ecommerce or Shopify, definitely tune into this one. It's packed with a lot of helpful insights.
Speaker 3:But really hope you get something out of it, not just, like, the grit and the determination they have, but how they've done it all while also being parents, which is a crazy juggling act in itself. But really hope you enjoyed this episode. Alright. Today on the podcast, I have 2 founders that I've been wanting to get on for a while. They might have ghosted me for a little bit, but it is happening.
Speaker 3:And it's fun because I've been watching them from afar for some time. They just had this idea to do a clothing brand. In the past 2 years, they have blown up. I'll let them speak to the size of what they've done, but they're doubling their sales. I feel like every year and every month, they've got some insane partnerships, and they're just getting started.
Speaker 3:But we have the the cofounders of Mestizo and Luisa. And now, Alessandra, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Jim. Thanks for having us.
Speaker 4:Thank you for having us.
Speaker 3:So, Luisa, do you know when you and I met?
Speaker 1:I do remember. Well, I also I remember meeting you, and I remember meeting Kyle and thinking you guys were so cool and tech savvy. And, you know, we met through my husband, Rob, who is still very good friends with the Huffmans, which is great.
Speaker 3:Yes. Yeah. Kyle is is my amazing wife. Significantly better half than me. But, yes, I'm I'm a huge fan of of Rob, and so he's he's undersold the amazing stuff you've done too long.
Speaker 3:And we actually work together, which is super fun to be a part of the journey you guys are on. But before we get down this whole rabbit hole, for people that don't know, what is Mestiza?
Speaker 1:Do you want me to take this one, Al?
Speaker 4:Yeah. Go for it. Sure.
Speaker 1:So Mestiza is a female owned and operated multimillion dollar revenue business focused on women's apparel and lifestyle. And Alessandra and I founded this 7 years ago. We were college friends, and we launched this company because we wanted to fill the void for really well made dresses that we felt were lacking in the market. And we both bonded over the fact that we have shared roots in the Philippines. And when our grandmothers and mothers left us these beautiful heirlooms from the Philippines in the 19 sixties, we both remarked that that clothing is not made like that used to be.
Speaker 1:So that all changed in 2015 when we launched Misty's in New York to ethic make ethically sourced thoughtful design, slow manufacturing products.
Speaker 4:And to put it simply, the word Mestiza means a woman of mixed ancestry. So when we started, Luiza and I really wanted to create something that paid homage to, you know, our shared roots, the Philippines, and and what our grandmothers mothers and grandmothers left us.
Speaker 3:So what what's really special about Mestiza is so you all are in fashion. And for people that don't know, these dresses, they have these kind of iconic prints that are timeless. The thing that I like about it from a marketing perspective, it's not like fast fashion where it's, oh, what's the latest trend this week? These looks last forever, so you can have inventory forever, and they're always in style. Also, these dresses, well, depends on the consumer from a marketing perspective.
Speaker 3:I love it because it's a high average order value. Right? It's 300 to $500, but it's competing with people that are buying dresses for, like, a grand.
Speaker 4:Right.
Speaker 3:Just for people who don't know. So I wanna get in to the weeds of it, but you guys have chosen not an easy category. You've got fashion, which is guess what? There's a lot of options to shop. It's also women's fashion, which it's it can be very competitive.
Speaker 3:Right? You're dealing with when you talk about fashion, we have size, chart issues, return issues, all of these things. But, you know, you guys have still been able to break through and get some insane growth. Like, what what is it that has been this lightning in the bottle to help with the growth? What what were those moments where, wow, we have something special?
Speaker 4:Well, I can, you know, I can speak to it in the sense that when we started almost 7 years ago, we always thought that that moment was like current. Right? So we thought the moment of of success was when we launched our online store or when we got our first big account, which is new market. But the truth, I, you know, I I've heard of this term called the trough of sorrow. It's like that period in a company's growth where they're constantly having all of these issues that they have to deal with when it comes to growth.
Speaker 4:And we definitely experienced that multiple times. And I think in doing so, we really figured out and honed our product line and figured out who our customer was. And so we realized that moment of inflection only happened after 5 years, 6 years of being in business. It was it was post pandemic when everything was coming back to life. We had really spent time and figured out who our customer was, and we were just sort of, like, sitting steady and ready to, like, really grow and catapult the business to to a point where, you know, we were really ready to be in front of people.
Speaker 3:Yeah. The, yeah, the trough to start was very real. What's a really cool point is it's not everyone thinks it'll start up, like, overnight success, but you guys have been at this for some time. It's not like it Yeah. It just it happens.
Speaker 3:You know? You have to grind in it. Can you kinda go back to first, like, coming up with this idea where you 2 like, the story of, like, you guys coming together to do this?
Speaker 1:We really just followed what, you know, some of these big tech companies do, which is just get out there, go, you know, run full force, throw things against the wall until they stick. And we did a lot of that. And also we at the time when we launched, we didn't really have all the resources and analytics we have now. So I think now, like, side note, it's a great time to start a business because there are so many opportunities at your fingertips, but it continues to be a process. I I never feel like we've nailed it.
Speaker 1:I always feel like there's something we can be doing better.
Speaker 3:What what were some of those failures in the early days, and why did you keep going?
Speaker 4:Oh my god. Where do I begin?
Speaker 1:Where do I begin? Go go ahead, Al.
Speaker 4:Well, I think I think I I don't know if I wanna call it a failure, but it's more of, like, the way that we were looking at the business was very focused and on wholesale. And we really allowed that to dictate who we were in the beginning, which was not something that we would do now for sure. You know? Louise and I define brand story and define the brand in in its entirety, And we've stuck to that over the past few years. But in the beginning, we the market dictate a little bit more than we should have.
Speaker 4:And it took us a long time to really figure that out that problem out and and pivot and make sure that our voices were at the forefront of what we were selling.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, looking back, we really wanted to start with a niche product and grow it from there organically. But we kinda realized that maybe we were too niche, and we needed to pivot and become something that we weren't prepared to be, which was, you know, more of a lifestyle brand.
Speaker 3:And so people listening, it it sounds like you went this path of wholesale, which is great because you're in these stores. But when people are being introduced to a brand, it's based on, oh, this looks nice on a rack. Let me look at the tag, oh, Miss Teesha. Okay. I don't know what that is.
Speaker 3:Whereas, if you go direct to consumer and they land on your website, you're controlling the storytelling and how they're introduced to the brand, maybe the flagship product. So is that what I'm hearing where, like, you would have wanted us to go that path first as opposed to wholesale?
Speaker 1:Yeah. I mean, I when we really, when we first started, we never thought we could land an amazing account like Neiman Marcus. And we're so thankful, and we love doing business with them. I mean, it's been great for us and definitely got our name out there. But, you know, in terms of just diversification in in terms of our revenue streams.
Speaker 1:Like, we wanted to be direct to consumer, but when we saw, you know, the dollar volumes of that wholesale can offer you, it makes you lose focus because you need to satisfy these customers. But I think if we had started by just really focusing on getting our product right first, getting real, like, live market feedback from the customers, like, we could have made a better product and probably been able to pivot much earlier on in our, you know, company's lifetime, if that makes sense.
Speaker 4:Yeah. In hindsight, though, when
Speaker 1:you're kind
Speaker 4:of starting your own business, you really you're very beholden to, like, fabric minimums and unit minimums and, like, all these factories that really dictate the terms. So we were at a point where we had to about getting all those minimums, getting the product, like in a place where we could reach the volume for the factory so that we could, you know, retain a healthy margin. And then maybe take a little bit extra for ourselves and for our own website. And in doing so, I think the the story and the messaging, there was a little bit of a disconnect there.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. But That's
Speaker 3:yeah. And what's interesting is, like, the d two c approach allows you to have a faster feedback loop so you can understand, hey. This storytelling works. This product works. That way, if you wanna go wholesale, you've got it dialed in, and you're ready to go.
Speaker 3:It's almost like a a curse, this, like, good thing of getting into Neiman Marcus where maybe the feedback loop is longer. Wait. Why is the sell through slower or than than we want it to be? That that I never thought of it that way. I I would be interested.
Speaker 3:So you're iterating. You're in wholesale. You you start to go more into direct to consumer. When did it start to switch? In a couple ways.
Speaker 3:1, when did you start to land on, like, oh, here's how we position Mestiza, 1. And then, 2, what were those moments where, like, wow. This is something really special.
Speaker 4:Mhmm. COVID. Yeah. COVID happened. COVID.
Speaker 4:We dealt with a global pandemic where our entire all all of our wholesale pulled back significantly, and we basically sat down, Lou and I, we had to sit down, we looked at each other and we're like, Alright, what are we gonna do? Like, how are we gonna maneuver our way through this? And that was honestly one of the scariest times in our entire business. But it forced us to really think about what company we wanted to build 5 years from now, 10 years from now, and how we were gonna come out of the pandemic stronger than we were before. And because the wholesale pulled, we basically were forced to take control of our messaging.
Speaker 4:We were forced to, like, hone in on the product and the story that we wanted to tell and do it on our own terms. Yeah. And in doing so, that's when we really saw that inflection point of, okay, when we take control of the product, when we take control of the entire user experience from, you know, start to finish, that's when we see real results.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:And that's that's when we saw that that big change happen for us.
Speaker 1:Yeah. COVID also really forced I mean, it forced us to put things into perspective. But from a product standpoint, you know, we weren't having fittings. Our factories were shut down or working at, you know, a lower capacity. So we've had to go back into our rolodex of styles, and we brought back to life some styles that, you know, did well in the past, but we never really gave them a shot.
Speaker 1:And we reimagined them and put them on the site. And we were shocked that during COVID, when events were getting canceled and we were, you know, making cocktail dresses, people were still buying the product because they either were doing retail therapy or they were planning ahead, assuming, like, COVID would blow over in a couple months, and they would have their dress in line. But with all of this, we were gathering data, and that was really the first time in the history of Mestiza where we had there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and we can make something with this data and do something with it and make informed decisions and not always trusting our gut, which, you know, gut's important, but it can't be. Takes you so far. It only takes you so far.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And so COVID happens. And, again, Phil Dona, Mestiza, you're wearing these dresses to cocktail parties, on vacations to the Amalfi Coast. If that doesn't happen, you might not need a Macy's address, but retail therapy happens. You're leaning into d two c.
Speaker 3:You're I I love that you're dusting looks that you've done in the past, but weren't doing as much now and reinventing them. So as you go to this next level and things start to work out, I kind of have 2 questions because with a lot of brands, they don't win because they launch. Oh, we're this big, beautiful brand. They win because of a flagship product. And like Spanx, their one SKU got them to 8 figures.
Speaker 3:Right? With Universal Standard, it was the Geneva address. Like, how much was it going on the back of some of your flagship products? How did you hone in on the messaging or positioning of those? Because that's, I feel like, some of the hardest things to do where you have this idea of how to articulate why it's special in your head, but people can't get in your head.
Speaker 3:Like, how did you all break through there?
Speaker 1:Well, I will let Al, you know, answer this, but just to preface it, we were very, very lucky in that Al designed a product very early on in the in our business that was really special, unique, fit a lot of different body types, and it was a hit right away. And we continue to sell it to this day. So we're super lucky that we did have one of those products because it's hard. You know, you might have this really great idea, but then there's not a market fit. But Al designed this shimmy shimmy dress, which is, you know, a crewneck dress with tassels and embellishment on it.
Speaker 1:It has a flowy fit. She designed it. I mean, you can tell more about it, Al, about your design process and how
Speaker 4:you Yeah. Well, I think
Speaker 1:starting point.
Speaker 4:We started, you know, we started with the shimmy dress and, like, speaking to this idea of always being iterative. We knew that this one shape really did well for us. And so every time that I go into a collection, I always design with this, like, data in mind, or, okay, we know this is gonna work. How can I evolve this and make it better and make it fit into more different aspects of her life? So the shim top kind of came to light.
Speaker 4:You know, we've done a shim top hat. We've done the tassels on coats. We've done the tassels on, you know, many different styles to see what works. And I think just consistently tweaking and consistently, like, you know, taking this flagship style and evolving it in different ways, season after season is what's really helped grow the business. And to this day, 5 years later, it's still our best seller.
Speaker 4:And I I'll go into our Shopify and look at, like, random sales. It's always shimmy in black black, shimmy in white gold, shimmy in pink, shimmy in blue, shimmy. I'm like, oh, we have other stuff too, but, like, people just consistently go back to it.
Speaker 1:It's all about leaning into that. And, also, we were blessed with this beautiful print that Al designed. She's actually wearing it right now. It's this blue and white kind of toile print, and we launched it on a gown. And then, you know, the thought process is, okay, people love this print.
Speaker 1:This gown, you can only wear to one event maybe once a year. So we reinvented it on pajamas, so you can wear it to bed every night. And we recently did a collaboration with Summersault where the print is on their beautiful swimsuits. Alessandra is now wearing it in a stretch crepe that you can wear every day to the office. If you're pregnant, if you're in the best shape of your life, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1:So I think that, you know, you keep reanimating for those different aspects of her life from day to night. And you, you know, have some hits and you don't, but you but it likes to create a process.
Speaker 3:I love hearing how data driven you are and, like, hey. You see something that's working. How do we, like, do a derivative of that or a remix of that because you know it works? But just to, like, even nerd out a little bit more because I like that you're figuring out this formula of, oh, this is what people care about. So let's break down why is the shimmy shimmy dress the, like, the the moneymaker.
Speaker 3:And I'm what I'm hearing is we just throw tassels on everything, and it's gonna work. So I'll just throw tassels on all the products I do with my other clients. But it's a little bit it fits the body type, so it's flattering. Right? It's 2, it's comfortable.
Speaker 3:I feel like 3, there's an aspirational component to it. Yes. It's a little bit of a statement piece that, like, my wife and I always joke, like, outfits that I think look great or look look good, not great. I'm always like, oh, but that will get compliments from a lot of the girls.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's it's one of those dresses that people like, oh, wow. Where'd you get that from?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:So I I feel like it has all of those components to it. What what what am I missing with it?
Speaker 1:Well, I just also think that, you know, obviously, it's aspirational, and it does sort of solve I mean, it's not gonna solve all your problems, but there are a lot of women who are looking to look fresh and get compliments, but also might wanna hide their arms or might wanna heart hide their tummy. So it is a dress that kind of addresses that. But, also, what I think is great about it is not only is it novel and special with the embellishment, but it is just this classic shape that we can put in a print. We can experiment with different fabrications, and she can buy in all the colors and feel comfortable and confident in it. And I just think that it has so much potential, and it's really about the silhouette, but still making sure you have that novel detail.
Speaker 1:But it doesn't always have to be a tassel to Yeah.
Speaker 4:It doesn't always have
Speaker 1:to be a tassel. On everything.
Speaker 4:I think, like, the the kind of the thing to notice, like it has like these dresses have those three things. It has that easy swing shape, it has an element of novelty. And it's like the the fit that really covers all like your problem areas, for lack of a better word. And it's all these flowy dresses that that ultimately sell so well for us because they they're so accommodating. I mean, I'm 8 months pregnant right now, and I still can wear, like, half the Mestiza assortment.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:That's awesome. And you also talked about, like, the utility and how things transition. Because that was another thing I know you guys been working on is, like, some of these don't they're so aspirational. We're like, oh, I can only wear that once. And as you make these more approachable pieces, that's great just for other use cases.
Speaker 3:So I want to talk about, okay, post COVID, you're leaning into D2C. You're getting traction. You're making money. But the conundrum with ecommerce and d two c, you make money. They're like, oh, wait.
Speaker 3:We have to buy more inventory, and we have to manage cash flow. And you all aren't necessarily going down the path of a Warby Parker or Allbirds where you're raising all this money, and it's all about acquisition. You're not gonna be profitable, but down the road, you're hoping to flip that switch, right, where all of a sudden you're profitable. You are going to path of running a true business, and let's make money. Talk to me about how you all are thinking through that because that impacts growth.
Speaker 3:Like, how do you all think about growth, whether it's raising money or is it about, hey. Let's have the business sustain growth, and that's what we care about.
Speaker 1:I think, like, at the end of the day, it depends on what your priorities are as a as, like, a business owner. And when, you know, we did explore the VC route, fashion to them wasn't necessarily the sexiest of categories. But at the same time, we didn't feel comfortable giving these VCs the projections that they wanted to see. We feel as like, our comfort level as business owners is and especially in our field, I think, or our industry, I think it is all about creating a brand that has longevity and growing it organically at a level that we can sustain, and profitability has been more important to us than having the high level growth. And I think VCs, quite frankly, have changed their tune and what they're going after because pre pandemic, you were right.
Speaker 1:They wanted, like, the unicorns. It didn't matter if you were profitable or not. It just was for us. We just didn't feel comfortable growing that way.
Speaker 4:And I think to piggyback off that, because we did it this way and we really built the company slowly over a certain period of time, we were able to really have this complex deep understanding of every single granular part of Nastiza. And what are the levers that we need to pull to make to make it work and move it forward. Because of this, we know ourselves exactly how we were going to get to a certain point in sales and what we need to exactly what we need to do to get there. And I think that what's amazing about that is that we can do it our way, and we are, you know, still figuring it out along the way, but for the most part, we're able to execute. We're the only ones that we know how to execute on all of those things to get to that point.
Speaker 4:And we don't really have any anyone other than, you know, current investors that are breathing down our necks and giving us all of this pressure to hit, like, a certain goal. We're the ones that get to determine what that goal is, and we know how to hit it.
Speaker 3:Nice. Can and for people that are starting out, can you talk to the range of what was that initial round of funding that you guys did if it was just a friends friends and family round to to get started?
Speaker 1:Yeah. We did. So as soon as we launched, Andre and I, you know, boldly quit our jobs in 2020 in 2015. And we had a line of samples, and we thought to ourselves, like, okay. We feel com we will feel comfortable going to a group of investors once we can prove that, like, we're onto something.
Speaker 1:So we self funded a small amount to begin with, and we did a series of trunk shows and sold a 100 units in 2 weeks, which at the time was, like, very impressive for us. And then we went to friends and family first and said, you know, we had some projections, and that was a really that was super successful for us. And the way we structured it was comfortable for investors and comfortable for us. And it's been able to help us sustain and grow the business from that initial raise. But, Alan, I was in Yeah.
Speaker 4:It was that was in 2017. 2017.
Speaker 1:We Yeah. 2 years later.
Speaker 4:So we started we started in 2015. We said, you know, if we can self fund, get into a couple big stores, sell our, you know, sell certain amount of units in a certain amount of time, that's our proof of concept. Then we can go to our, you know, friends and family. She's like looking back naive to think, but we had the vision and we were both so excited and so passionate about it. I think that a lot of our investors saw that and and bet on that more so than just, like, our our proof of concept that we came to them with.
Speaker 4:Exactly. But, yeah, that was back in 2017, and we haven't raised since then. You know? We've been sustaining the entire business based on the cash, you know, on on our cash flow. And growing the business with that heavy mindset of cash flow and all, you know, that in mind has definitely been hard, like, pill for me to swallow because I'm like, I'm creative.
Speaker 4:I just wanna design pretty dresses all day. I don't wanna think about any of that stuff. But, you know, Lou is always like reeling me in. She's like, Al, we can't just design a bunch of sparkly dresses for spring 2023. I think about it this way.
Speaker 4:I know.
Speaker 3:That that's all. So as you think of funding growth, it's really using the profits. I mean, it looks like you're not looking to raise another round. Did you guys look at all into a line of credit? I asked for even selfish reasons with some of the stuff we're doing is, like, how much to to play in that game.
Speaker 3:But is it is it purely off of profits?
Speaker 4:No. We we actually did get capital from small the small business administration, and we were very successful in securing really great loan
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:From the SBA, which has been, huge instrumental in, like, our our growth in 2021 and and 2023 and beyond.
Speaker 3:And so let's let's talk about growth. So this sounds all easy. You make great great dresses, and they just fly off the shelves. You don't have to do anything, but I know that's not the case. So with growth, you literally have 4 options.
Speaker 3:You can pay for growth through a lot of different ad channels. You can grow organically. You can grow through referrals or going viral. You guys have gone viral and have some amazing celebrities have won the dress. Or the 4th option, you guys can grow through partner channels, which one of those could be wholesale or some people go on Amazon.
Speaker 3:Yeah. What if you had to hunt it down, like, what has worked the best for you all for getting to that next level of growth, and how much have you been having to pour into that?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I think that the first thing that needed to happen with Misty's in general was, like, we had to get the product assortment right. Because what I've been told once is, like, you can have a bad website and a great product and be successful, but you can't really have it the other way around. So after a few years and and seasons of, collecting data on what was really working for our customer, we designed into it and then began marketing to it marketing it. And then in terms of what was really working for us and helping grow, I would say that it's all been about digital marketing, which thanks to you, Gem, like, you've been incredibly instrumental in that.
Speaker 1:We can definitely dive in late dive in deeper into that email marketing, and we are starting to see Instagram really pick up as a platform for additional sales as they've rolled out their shopping platforms. And also, drop ship, which is, you know, working with third party platforms to get your product up on their site and fulfilling just from our own warehouse. And so I would say those are the levers that have been working. And then off off of those, we're obviously always being iterative, but we try to do our own internal initiatives and tests. We recently worked with some influencers, which we hadn't done before.
Speaker 1:So we're now in the testing and learning phases of that. But I just think that there's so many great platforms out there that can really help you propel you. And any kind of person starting all out right now, I would highly recommend that they get into email and digital for their for their their their new product.
Speaker 3:Nice. And so it's yeah. It's paid ads is working.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You've got organic Instagram, which you mentioned with the the new shop feature. I didn't even know about the drop ship with other platforms. That that's awesome. I'm sure that, obviously, there's a hit on margin, but it's found customers. And Yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And as you talk about email, like, the gold is when you get that fur you get the first purchase to get the new customer, but when they do the second, 3rd, and 4th, especially with, you know, your average order value, it's just icing on the cake. And and what are like, so if you were starting this all over today, you know, you're like, okay. Scratch, miss Tisa, we start tomorrow. What are some things you would tell yourself or would tell somebody else, like, to to really hone in on or focus on?
Speaker 4:Well, I think there are 2 there are 2 main things. Right? So Louisa spoke to the product and perfecting the product, but it's also ultimately, like, listening to the people who are buying your product and creating whatever you're trying to sell for them and making sure that their voice is heard when you're creating something. And then the second thing is with you know, when when you start a digital brand, you your your website and your digital presence is your storefront. So really investing and make investing in your digital presence and making sure all the assets are and the creative and everything is really telling your story and ultimately romancing the product and the brand in the way that you want.
Speaker 4:Having that kind of control is so important and making sure that it that voice doesn't get lost in the shuffle. I would say those are the 2 big things for for what I would tell myself if I was starting today.
Speaker 1:I agree. It's not what we did, but we would. No.
Speaker 4:It's not what we did.
Speaker 1:It's what we would do now for sure. I completely agree with Al. I think it's definitely all about, you know, but but also take with a grain of salt for those who are listening. You know, sometimes done is better than perfect, and it is an iterative process. But I think that really spending time and making sure that what you put out there is the best representation you possibly can of yourself and your brand.
Speaker 1:Because, you know, maybe we lost customers in the beginning because they didn't like what they saw at first, and maybe it's because we didn't have, you know, the resources we do now. But I just think that, like, that kind of careful and thoughtfulness of your branding and your product is so, so crucial.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And so you talk about listening to your customers. I I totally hear that a high level, but how do you do that in a tactical way? Do you, like, send them DMs? Do they write into you?
Speaker 3:Do you use a customer service tool? Do you try and get them on the phone? What are the best ways to get that feedback?
Speaker 1:Okay. So I have a lot of, you know, insight to this. I mean, we took a lot of your advice, Jim, and just, you know, like, we had for instance, there was one dress that was getting a lot of returns, and so we thought, okay. Let's let's figure this out. Let's get to the bottom of it.
Speaker 1:Let's stop assuming. And the reasons that, like, they select can be, you know, when they're actually in the return process can be pretty vague. So we actually reached out to these customers ourselves and thought, well, maybe they won't reply, but we just said, hey, we're growing, and we wanna know, like, why did you return it? Be candid as possible. And that was really helpful, and that kind of gave Alessandra ideas of, okay, how can I make this product better in the future and really getting down to it?
Speaker 1:Another thing that I do as well, and I'm based in New York usually, but I come to Saint Louis where I'm from originally and where Al and I actually met, where, you know, it's a tight knit community of people, and I see a lot of more of my friends. And they're very passionate about talking about Nastiza with me. And I really do take these summer months when I'm here to listen to them and get their feedback. I mean, last summer, someone was like, you really should make earrings to go with your dresses and sell them as a bundle because I don't even know what to wear. And, you know, so then that led us to selling earrings.
Speaker 1:I told Alan, let's let's do it. And, you know, that's been a really great little success for us and a way for the customer to shop the brand and test it rather than buying a full out dress. So I would say, yeah, it's just directly talking them. But, also, sometimes when we're torn on what color way we should offer an address, we'll post it on Instagram and let the customers crowd you know, tell us and crowdsource it. So I just think, like, in this digital age, it's so you know, you still have to be old fashioned, but then you can also leverage, like, technology to and surveys and, you know, emails to to to really leverage the feedback.
Speaker 4:And then, like, with socials, like, something that's we've noticed is that our customer is really passionate, and fashion is, like, something that people love to talk about and give their opinion on when they're not shy about it. So, really, like, having all the social channels and being there and, you know, reading what people comment on has been super helpful and always brought to our attention by, you know, PR girl who's who's handling the account.
Speaker 3:Mhmm. Yeah. That that's really good advice. I love the things there where you get all these returns, and it's easy to not wanna look at the pain and just focus on the positive. But you're like, no.
Speaker 3:Let's lean into it. Mhmm. Let's beg these customers for feedback so we can get it better. And that that is nice to have that system around the people around you to give the feedback on the product because the second you lose touch with customers, that's when it can get so dangerous, and you guys clearly have your finger on the pulse of that. So so you 2 have been together longer than probably, like, the average marriage rate.
Speaker 3:So your your partnership is going very well.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know, as you all and and and just so you know, this isn't just like smoke and mirrors. I get to see Luis and Allison quite a bit, and they're they're always just a delight to be with. And you you all work so well together. How has that happened? How has this partnership been set up to where you guys are truly this good team?
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Al, do you want to take this one, or do you want me to Yeah.
Speaker 4:Well, I think in the beginning, Louisa and I made a deal with each other that whatever we sort of disagreed on and whatever maybe we we didn't align on that the end goal was always going to be the same. Right? We always wanted success of the company, and we both had sometimes along the way different ideas and perspectives on how to get there. But ultimately, the end goal was always the same. And once we recognize that in each other, it took all of this pressure off on us, you know, us thinking that they were that the other person was trying to do something different that that we didn't want.
Speaker 4:The vision was always aligned, and that was always aligned from day 1. The second thing is really defining our core roles within the company very early on. So within our own strength. So Louisa is, like, an amazing strategist, marketer, and merchant, and I'm I'm the main I do all the creative. You know?
Speaker 4:I'm the person that's really able to bring, like, the vision that we initially discussed to life on paper and continue to have that creative output season after season. When she saw that in me, I think that, you know, we really were like, oh, we have something really important here. We have, you know, this really great like, 2 really amazing forces that we can bring together that have no real overlap that together, you know, we've created we we were able to build something from scratch, from nothing Mhmm. Using, you know, using our strengths.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. I agree with that. And, you know, the other thing is we both have the same sort of work ethic and tacking on what Al was saying. We have the same vision for the company, but we also have the same work ethic. Like, we know that if we're not, like, talking talking to each other one day, we both know we're hard at work, like, trying to get done, and we can divide and conquer because we both handle different sides of the business.
Speaker 1:So, like, at the end of the day, we get a lot done together, which it feels good. And then, you know, as we've expanded and grown our team and been able to delegate some of our tasks to other people, I think that that's freed up some more mental capacity for Al and I to brainstorm together and bring our different unique perspectives together to, you know, balance each other out and to, you know, be productive at the end of the day. So That's awesome.
Speaker 3:I'm getting some some key things. It's like you're aligned on the overall mission, right, which is you have the same end goal. It's not like someone's trying to have a lifestyle brand, and someone's trying to, like, IPO in 2 years. Right. Also, you know, you know your lanes as opposed to having too many conflicts with overlap.
Speaker 3:And I think the third is you have this trust. You're both gonna grind it out and work. What it shows in the iterations you've done and not the pivot, but the moves you had to make post COVID, it's like, alright. We're a d two c brand now. Let's go let's go all in on this.
Speaker 3:That I think those are really helpful insights. I've I've got 2 more questions for you guys. 1 is around, like, being a parent and how that has impacted you as a business owner. And by the way, one, like, funny story. I was literally on it.
Speaker 3:So the reason why I bring this up is we're all on calls together, and usually one of our kids is, like, jumping in a call, like, being super cute. I was on a sales call yesterday, and I'm, like, pitching my heart out. I'm, like, selling, and my 5 year old was home sick. And, like, I'm pitching. I didn't realize she walked up right next to me, and the microphone's on.
Speaker 3:She's, I need to go bathroom, and I need to poop. And I was like, oh my god. I was like, pause the meeting and did that. But, yeah, I I I think I think we might have closed the account, but Yeah. Parenting and the work from home world is is very real.
Speaker 3:But how has it impacted you all as being business owners? For me, it's made me super productive because you don't have free time. Although, what about you guys?
Speaker 4:I agree. I think it's made me super productive and really able to compartmentalize my time in a way that I I don't think I would be able to if I didn't have any of those responsibilities. You know, like, at the end of the day, like, I'm I I answer you answer to your children. You know? I'm I I answer to Carlos.
Speaker 4:I do all of this because I want to create you know, I'm creating a life for myself that will that affects him. And I think he's grown up with me being a founder at Mestiza. I went into labor literally the day that we launched our online store. So he's been sort of like, I think Mestiza and Carlos are all, like, almost twins at this point.
Speaker 3:You know,
Speaker 4:they've grown up together. They've they've blossomed together. He's, you know, watched his mother build something from nothing, and and he's actually seen it. And it's that's that's so cool to have that experience as a parent.
Speaker 1:Mhmm.
Speaker 4:And I know Louisa has a a very similar, honestly, a very similar experience because Elliott came also very much in the beginning of our brand.
Speaker 1:Yeah. He did. And, you know, I I also I disagree with everything you guys are saying. Like, you having a kid, I mean, I think at least for me, it it made me prioritize. And I don't have time for b s anymore.
Speaker 1:You know, like, I don't have time for the petty stuff because I gotta get my work done, and I gotta attend to my kid. And to Al's point, you know, I also wanted to build this business to make, you know, my family and proud of me and to leave a legacy for them. And also just have my son, like, respect women and know that, like, they go to work. They make things happen. You know, we're sadly still living in a place where women aren't fully respected and not completely, you know, up to par with men's wages.
Speaker 1:But I think, like, my husband saw his mom go to work, and now my son sees me go to work and my daughter. And, I just think that that's really special because now they're starting to take an interest in what I do. And it feels good to show them, like, that, You know? We know how to turn it on, but we can also turn it off and be fun fun mom and dad too.
Speaker 4:Yeah. It's really awesome to see when your kid takes an interest in what it is that you're doing Yeah. And asks questions. They're like, oh, you design dressings. That's so cool.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah. That's that's been a real, like, pride and joy moment for me when after all of the blood, sweat, and tears feels good.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Yeah. At least they know we at least, you know, if all else fails, at least they know we got out there and tried.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I I cannot agree more on, like, compartmentalized stuff and the no BS. There's just no time for that anymore. But, yeah, the compartmentalized is fun funny. Like, your kids don't care how many returns you have to process, how good or bad the sales were that day.
Speaker 3:It's I still need the peanut butter and jelly with no
Speaker 1:crust, and
Speaker 3:I need to get that in front of
Speaker 1:me. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3:So one one last question I love to ask is, what is the nicest thing anyone's done for you all in your professional career?
Speaker 1:I I have an answer.
Speaker 4:Or You don't have an I you first.
Speaker 1:I I I'll just never forget. It was very early on in Mestiza's, you know, lifespan, but we had just had our first couple trunk shows after creating our first collection and, you know, test testing the brand. And we, you know, prior to that, we had spent nights tromping around like, stomping around the garment district, like, trying to find a factory, found one. And they started once we had all these orders to finally give them, they just started giving us a lot of grief. And it was a really painful and scary time for us because we wanted to satisfy these orders and make them happy, but the quality was bad, and they were raising prices and just, you know, really just giving us a hard time.
Speaker 1:And along this journey of trying to find a factory, we realized, like, how hard it is to source somebody that you trust, and also it's a trade secret. Like, you don't really share factory information. So what then one of the nicest things that happened was there are these 2 girls that also went to WashU that had a scarf line that was starting to take off. And they were so kind, and they saw our stress, and they gave us their factory. And I just I get goosebumps thinking about it because I just remember how, like, sad I was.
Speaker 1:And I was carrying all my stress and, like, my lower back, and I was just it's just so bad. I didn't wanna fail. And the fact that they, like, reached out and gave us something that's so special to them, I just thought was amazing, and I'll just never I'll never forget it.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:That's awesome. Mhmm.
Speaker 4:I also think I I don't know. I also wanna, like, take it back to our fathers who were, like, our first champions in all of this. They were the first people that we raised money from
Speaker 3:from in
Speaker 4:the very beginning when there was literally nothing to go off. And we we pitched our dads, and they gave us they gave us the runaround. They asked the hard questions. We didn't even think they were gonna say yes.
Speaker 1:But Oh, yeah. We were like little lobster. Thank god. I don't know. Oh, god.
Speaker 4:But they were the first believers. I honestly don't think we would be where we are today if they if they didn't give us that first their first stamp of approval.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. All of our first investors just in general. Wow. That was meant so much.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Because they're probably just betting on you more than anything. I mean, you did have some validation, though, with the the the sales that you've done. But, yeah, pitch in your parents is is pretty cool. I I hope I hope my girls pitch me one day.
Speaker 3:I'll definitely go real hard on them. I'll make them follow-up a 1000000 times, but they'll they'll they'll get it. 100%. Yeah. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:This is this has been so much fun. Just, like, talking to you guys for so long. I've just been beyond impressed what you guys have built. You're so humble and understated in what you're doing, but, like, the the traction is just insane. I wish the the people listening could see the the Shopify access.
Speaker 3:I get to see that you guys are doing it. It's really special. But if people wanna learn more about Mestiza or follow you guys, where where should we point them?
Speaker 1:I think Instagram is a great way to follow us. It's mistizamestiza_ny. We have a little blue check mark, which we're very proud of, so you can't miss us. And then our website, which is nastiza new york.com. And, you know, I also have to chime in and say big thanks to Jim and Growth Hit for all that they've done for us because Jim was also somebody who took a chance on us.
Speaker 1:We work in this another desperate phase. And I came to Jim and I said, I can't afford you right now. But let me become one of your best customers.
Speaker 4:Yeah. We we forced you to take us on.
Speaker 1:Yeah. But, you know, you wouldn't believe, but you believed in us, and I really appreciated that. And especially, you know, sometimes we have a friendship, and sometimes it's hard to ask your friends because you don't wanna step on any toes or, you know, make things awkward. But, like, working with you has just been so seamless, and you've really helped us put things in perspective and take a step back to realize, like, alright. What's working?
Speaker 1:What's not? And, you know, how do we make take what's big and make it bigger? And so big thanks to you, Jim, for that.
Speaker 4:And I just have a little funny story. Like, before our very first call with Jim, Lou and Lou was, like, we're going through our pitch and, you know, we wanted to, like, get everything right. And she's just at the end of this. I'm just not gonna take no for an answer. That's that's it.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I did not.
Speaker 3:I'm just
Speaker 4:not gonna take no for an answer.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Okay. This is a good Yeah. Good strategy.
Speaker 1:I'm not gonna let Jim say no. So whatever it takes, I'm gonna bend over backwards. We'll send Kyle and the kids, you know, whatever product they want. I'm like, please take us on. But, Jim, you didn't make us jump through too many hoops.
Speaker 1:You were so kind and so smart in your approach, though. That really has helped us a lot. The digital marketing has been great.
Speaker 3:I wasn't planning on getting emotional on a Wednesday morning. You guys are way too kind. No. I mean, to be honest, I'm always nervous working with friends just because I'm like, I don't want it to go bad. And, like, when you have an agency with the name growth in it, you're already setting your bar really high.
Speaker 3:So it's okay. But no. It's I I cannot be happier, and you have been just, like, a delight. Like, we love chatting with you guys. It's been so fun, but no.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for those kind words. And thank and Kyle loves the earrings. So thank thank you guys for that. But I'm so glad we could finally do this. We should also do another check-in when you guys across the 8 figure mark or whenever you IPO, so we'll figure out that.
Speaker 3:But, We're
Speaker 4:here for it.
Speaker 1:We're here for it.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. But thank you guys so much for coming on. And if anybody's looking to buy presents in q 4 for their spouse, for their mom, for their girlfriend, their wife, a lot of giftable items on Miss Teesa, so go check it out. There you go.
Speaker 3:There's my plug. There it
Speaker 1:is. I love it.
Speaker 4:Thanks a lot, Michelle. Thank you for
Speaker 1:having us.
Speaker 2:Today's episode is brought to you by no one. Yep. We have 0 sponsors. I haven't reached out to any companies, nor would I expect a reputable brand to give me money. But I'll give a few plugs.
Speaker 2:1st, I send a weekly newsletter each Thursday featuring 5 articles or tools that have helped me. You can sign up for these weekly updates at jimwhuffman.com. 2nd, for anyone running a start up, if you need help growing your business, check out Growth Hit. Growth Hit serves as your external growth team. After working with over a 100 startups and generating a quarter 1,000,000,000 in sales for clients, Growth Hit has perfected a growth process that's hell bent on driving ROI through rapid experiments.
Speaker 2:Plus, you'll get to work with yours truly. So if you wanna work with a team that's worked with startups that have been funded by Andreessen Horowitz or featured on Shark Tank, then check out growth hit.com. And finally, I wrote a book called the Growth Marketer's Playbook that takes everything I've learned as a growth mentor for venture backed startups, and I've distilled it down to 140 pages. So instead of hiring a growth team, save yourself some money, get the book, and you can just do it yourself. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I'd love to hear feedback.
Speaker 2:I'm on Twitter at Jim W Huffman.