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277 | The Real Goal: Building Something That Works | with Emma McIlroy
Manage episode 418022147 series 2470924
Emma McIlroy is the founder and CEO of Wildfang, a multi million dollar fashion brand on a mission to rewrite the future of gender.
Wildfang embraces your masc, your femme and everything-in-between. Wildfang has raised over $1k for charities that focus on racial justice, as well as queer, immigrant, and women’s rights.
Pre-Wildfang, Emma spent over a decade honing her marketing skills at brands like Barclays and Nike.
More recently, Emma has been named one of Inc.’s Female Founders 100, Oregon Entrepreneur of the Year, a Henry Crown Fellow and her "Yeah Maybe" TED talk has racked up over 100k views.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
- [00:43] Intro
- [01:23] Challenging norms & gendered clothing options
- [03:02] Expanding from brick-and-mortar to Ecommerce
- [04:12] Launching physical & online store side by side
- [05:05] Strategizing & focusing efforts before going live
- [06:51] Gaining momentum & navigating press attention
- [07:39] Doing personalized outreach strategies
- [08:55] Reaching varied audience segments
- [10:06] Putting in the effort to sell the vision
- [11:09] Building a website with no experience
- [12:37] Dealing with early days mishaps
- [13:43] Electric Eye: Your true Shopify expert
- [14:40] Challenges of selling others' products
- [15:53] Deciding to build own products
- [16:47] Endorsements and retail limitations
- [17:29] Moving from third-party to vertical business
- [18:04] Ensuring ethical production practices
- [18:39] Rediscovering the power of public relations
- [19:31] Intimidating expectations in the industry
- [21:05] Rejecting 'Advice Tornado'
- [21:58] Reflecting on industry shifts over a decade
- [23:09] Focusing on longevity & resonance in business
- [23:47] Staying true to your brand's strengths
- [25:06] Block out the noise & focus on what matters
- [26:41] Connecting on social: join WILDFANG's community
- [27:17] WILDFANG ventures into wholesale
Resources:
- Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
- Masculine, feminine, and everything-in-between workwear wildfang.com/
- Follow Emma McIlroy linkedin.com/in/emma-mcilroy-she-her-97811422/
- Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect
If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!
390 episodes
Manage episode 418022147 series 2470924
Emma McIlroy is the founder and CEO of Wildfang, a multi million dollar fashion brand on a mission to rewrite the future of gender.
Wildfang embraces your masc, your femme and everything-in-between. Wildfang has raised over $1k for charities that focus on racial justice, as well as queer, immigrant, and women’s rights.
Pre-Wildfang, Emma spent over a decade honing her marketing skills at brands like Barclays and Nike.
More recently, Emma has been named one of Inc.’s Female Founders 100, Oregon Entrepreneur of the Year, a Henry Crown Fellow and her "Yeah Maybe" TED talk has racked up over 100k views.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
- [00:43] Intro
- [01:23] Challenging norms & gendered clothing options
- [03:02] Expanding from brick-and-mortar to Ecommerce
- [04:12] Launching physical & online store side by side
- [05:05] Strategizing & focusing efforts before going live
- [06:51] Gaining momentum & navigating press attention
- [07:39] Doing personalized outreach strategies
- [08:55] Reaching varied audience segments
- [10:06] Putting in the effort to sell the vision
- [11:09] Building a website with no experience
- [12:37] Dealing with early days mishaps
- [13:43] Electric Eye: Your true Shopify expert
- [14:40] Challenges of selling others' products
- [15:53] Deciding to build own products
- [16:47] Endorsements and retail limitations
- [17:29] Moving from third-party to vertical business
- [18:04] Ensuring ethical production practices
- [18:39] Rediscovering the power of public relations
- [19:31] Intimidating expectations in the industry
- [21:05] Rejecting 'Advice Tornado'
- [21:58] Reflecting on industry shifts over a decade
- [23:09] Focusing on longevity & resonance in business
- [23:47] Staying true to your brand's strengths
- [25:06] Block out the noise & focus on what matters
- [26:41] Connecting on social: join WILDFANG's community
- [27:17] WILDFANG ventures into wholesale
Resources:
- Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
- Masculine, feminine, and everything-in-between workwear wildfang.com/
- Follow Emma McIlroy linkedin.com/in/emma-mcilroy-she-her-97811422/
- Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect
If you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!
390 episodes
All episodes
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