How to Go From Zero to a Million Dollar Fashion Brand
A Shopify Masters interview in which host Serena Smith talks with Michelle Shemilt, founder of the women's sweat-proof undershirt brand Numi. A former bank trader with no fashion background, she says she found factories through Google searches, launched the first production run by crowdfunding, did her own PR, bootstrapped for about seven years, and moved from wholesale to online direct-to-consumer around 2017 and 2018, which she says brought close to 400 percent growth. She also covers shipping an imperfect first product, keeping the line tight, and using email and paid ads. Sponsor: Shopify, which produces the show and is mentioned for its Shopify Capital financing. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the early idea and manufacturing section, the first-launch and PR section, the financing and DTC section, the marketing advice and the description, and may not cover every point in the roughly 36 minute episode. All claims are the guest's own account and are not independently checked. Nothing here is financial advice.
Executive Summary (TL;DR)
A Shopify Masters interview in which host Serena Smith talks with Michelle Shemilt, founder of the women's sweat-proof undershirt brand Numi. A former bank trader with no fashion background, she says she found factories through Google searches, launched the first production run by crowdfunding, did her own PR, bootstrapped for about seven years, and moved from wholesale to online direct-to-consumer around 2017 and 2018, which she says brought close to 400 percent growth. She also covers shipping an imperfect first product, keeping the line tight, and using email and paid ads. Sponsor: Shopify, which produces the show and is mentioned for its Shopify Capital financing. PARTIAL COVERAGE: this note is based on the opening, the early idea and manufacturing section, the first-launch and PR section, the financing and DTC section, the marketing advice and the description, and may not cover every point in the roughly 36 minute episode. All claims are the guest's own account and are not independently checked. Nothing here is financial advice.