Business in Vancouver's “How I Did It” feature asks business leaders to explain in their own words how they achieved a business goal in the face of significant entrepreneurial challenges. In this week's issue, Julia Church, who launched her own swimwear label, Nettle's Tale Swimwear Inc., talks about the approach many young entrepreneurs like her are taking these days to starting new companies – such as using non-traditional financing sources like crowdfunding and non-traditional marketing tools like social media.
“I did not study fashion. I have a [bachelor of commerce] degree and a bachelor of arts in theatre. But I've sewed all my life. I know how shape and pattern pieces go together.
“I got experience doing business-to-business retail sales. I was basically doing marketing and then I went into operations and store managing. I got the idea [for Nettle's Tale] last spring. I had a swimsuit that I loved. I loved the way it looked on my body, but it wasn't functional. I can go to Mountain Equipment Co-op and I can get a swimsuit that's going to work for me, maybe functionally, like in the outdoors, but it's not going to have the shape or the trendy look that I want.
“There are plus-size swimwear companies, but you go to those websites and look at the fabrics and you think, ‘Oh, this is a pattern I'd want on my couch or that I'd want my grandma to wear.' Why aren't the same fabrics that are being provided for size 4 or size 6 available for someone who's plus size?
“We're really trying to fill that gap. It's that midway point between something looking good on my body shape but also being able to jump off a dock in it and have it not fall off. We're a brand for every woman.
“What we do differently is we take an everyday Canadian woman – no matter what size or shape she is – and we work with her to design the swimsuit specifically for her. One of the first women on the shop – because I wanted a middle-aged woman – was actually my mother [Dierdre Church].
“We design a swimsuit together and I name the swimsuit after the woman. And on the shop we tell the story behind the design. The woman that the swimsuit was designed for, she picks a charity that she's passionate about and 10% of the profits, every time that swimsuit sells, go to that cause.
“It took me roughly $10,000 to $15,000 to get to the point where I launched the crowdfunding campaign, which was mostly my own personal savings and some borrowed capital. I decided to go with a crowdfunding campaign because it's just not smart to start any business with debt. Cash is king, so I was, like, ‘Let's do a crowdfunding campaign. Let's see if there really is a market for this.'
“So a crowdfunding campaign was the vehicle for us not having to enter into our first production run blind. We had a really good idea of what styles and sizes would be popular and we also had cash. The official launch was the Indiegogo campaign, which was April 2. The campaign ended May 14. We raised $70,300, and we had pledged $10,000.
“We have a great base of what I call a tribe. When they receive their suits, if they have a good experience, they're our initial fans and we can now leverage that community who also have sisters and cousins and aunts.
“My goal for my first year was to sell 150 swimsuits. I thought, ‘If I sell 150 suits my first year, I'll keep going,' and I've sold over 700.”
