Starting a business from scratch sounds difficult but with the right inspiration and mindset, you could make your start-up super successful. If your new year’s resolution is to finally set up your genius business idea, you need to hear the story behind Vestiaire Collective.
Vestiaire Collective is pretty much a household name amongst fashion insiders these days. It takes some of the guesswork out of buying and selling luxury, there are experts on hand to verify every designer item, you can talk and haggle prices with sellers and there are always editorials going on to show you what the best items in the store are. It’s every girl’s dream. But it started with an idea and grew to a global platform. Here’s what we can learn from this success story . . .
A small spark of inspiration could be your genius business idea
This business idea came from Fanny Moizant, the co-founder of Vestiaire Collective. During the recession, she noticed that bloggers in Paris were buying and selling pieces on their blogs. She worried that this method of buying and selling wasn’t safe or easy, and thought about creating a shopping platform that made buying and selling actually safe. But she had no idea about what she wanted to do, or how to build a platform like this.
An idea that isn’t unique might lead you to the right people
Knowing her entrepreneurial ideas, her brother told her about a friend of his who was starting his own company. He told Fanny that she was probably going to be his first customer and introduced her to Sébastien, who ended up being her business partner.
“He forwarded me his pitch email and I cried for three days because it was the same idea as mine! After three days, I dried my tears and decided to meet him,” she said.
Start small and try to grow big
Together with the other five co-founders, she grabbed what she had and put those items on the website. Fanny searched her friends’ wardrobes and pulled out anything they didn’t use, the first sale on the site was Fanny’s own Gucci handbag.
They launched Vestiaire from their flats in Paris, no fancy office space, no unwanted expenses. Their start-up money came from all the co-founders pockets. That was 7 years ago, now they have over 5 million members on the site. The most expensive item they’ve sold was a Birkin bag!
Trust your brand and stick with it
The key to the success is that Vestiaire Collective is in her DNA, and she trusts her instincts when it comes to growing the brand. She was inspired by looking at what bloggers were doing and takes notes from other entrepreneurs when she had the initial idea for Vestiaire Collective she knew it would be popular because she saw a demand for it.
In November 2009 they sold their first bag, by June 2010 they had their first investment and raised one million euros. Their timeline from then has just kept growing, sometimes you need co-founders to help you stay on track, sometimes you just need a reminder that you should stick with your dream! As Fanny says “growing a business is about understanding that every day is a learning experience, from your customers, to your suppliers, colleagues, and mentors, they will all have good advice and experiences that can help you develop.”
On Sunday 29, January 2017, Career Girl Daily will come to life with inspiring talks and masterclasses at the coolest spot in London. Reserve a guaranteed place when you book your tickets to this event here.
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