Lili Radu’s Hustling Journey to Create a Global Handbag Empire With Vee Collective

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<v Speaker 1>Hi and welcome to the Handbag Designer 101 podcast with your host, Emily Blumenthal, handbag designer expert and handbag fairy godmother, where we cover everything about handbags from making, marketing, designing and talking to handbag designers and industry experts about what it takes to make a successful handbag.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome, Lily Radu, to Handbag Designer 101, the podcast we were just chatting before, and dangerously way too much information has transpired, so very excited to have you.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm so excited to be with you.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you so, so much.

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<v Speaker 2>I can't wait for our little oh boy.

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<v Speaker 1>We're going to unearth more stuff that you're going to be like.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't believe I'm telling you this.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we already.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm very curious what I'm going to tell you, which I haven't talked about before.

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<v Speaker 2>So I'm very curious about it.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's get into this.

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<v Speaker 1>So you are German, correct?

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, correct.

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<v Speaker 1>So within all the stuff that's been written about you, you were quite the early jet setter, which isn't so out of the norm for a European.

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<v Speaker 1>It is for Americans, but to be a European and bounce around country to country, it's pretty normal, I think.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean normal.

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<v Speaker 2>What is normal, right?

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<v Speaker 2>I don't even know, because obviously in Europe it's much easier, right?

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<v Speaker 2>Because I lived in Italy and Italy, berlin, is like an hour flight away, so obviously everything is so close in Europe, right, but I think it's also I always had the interest to live abroad, in different countries and whatever, and still today, that's where I get most of the inspiration from.

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<v Speaker 2>I just love doing that, right, and that's why my husband and me which we run the company together, right?

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<v Speaker 1>Or it's a whole other conversation.

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<v Speaker 2>Or the second handbag company that we run together.

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<v Speaker 2>Let's put it like this we, now, the last three years, lived in between Miami and Berlin, right, so it's always been to get the best out of each world.

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<v Speaker 1>I would pay money to see you guys with your kids getting off a plane in Miami, being like what did we just decide?

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<v Speaker 2>Like what, to be honest, and that's what I love.

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<v Speaker 2>You know like I love a lot about Miami and the positivity and the weather and a little bit more flamingos in your life.

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<v Speaker 2>Everything is a little bit more pink or whatever.

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<v Speaker 2>It's not German at all, no, that's not German at all and it gives a lot of energy and whatever.

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<v Speaker 2>And then it's always super nice to come back to berlin, where it's obviously a little bit more grounded but also very like creative.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, it's a very creative city, very like super international creative and to get like the best out of both worlds.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, also, there's pretzel bread, and that does not exist in my enemy.

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<v Speaker 2>So good, can you imagine my kids when they're in the States, because they have a pretzel every morning here.

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<v Speaker 1>As they should.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, listen, I have a good friend.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a little bit cliche, but it is like that no, no, no, no.

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<v Speaker 1>No Cliche works when it tastes good.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, I have a good friend from Stuttgart and every time I would go to visit it was like a melange bread and I'm like you know, I'm taking this all home with me, like I don't care if it's old or dry, it's coming with me.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's talk.

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<v Speaker 1>Little Lily, so you were small at some point.

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<v Speaker 1>Was this like one day I'm going to grow up and be a designer?

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<v Speaker 1>Or was this like okay, hey, I've got a creative flair and I'm a little different and I can see myself doing things like were you bold.

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<v Speaker 2>What number child are you and we?

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<v Speaker 2>I have just one zippling, and I'm the smaller one, so we're just two.

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<v Speaker 2>To be honest, like I think, I always knew, I wanted to become an entrepreneur, right, I mean it's.

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<v Speaker 2>I started selling things when I was six on the street if it's lemonade or whatever, I always knew.

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<v Speaker 1>I can wait.

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<v Speaker 1>Did they sell German lemonade?

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<v Speaker 1>What were you selling?

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<v Speaker 2>I was selling lemonade and flowers.

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<v Speaker 2>What kind of flowers, to be honest, the ones I picked, like, my parents live next to a river and I just picked them randomly from the gardens right or not gardens, like from the public, yeah and then just sold them right.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think there's something in me that's all profit.

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<v Speaker 2>It's all profit.

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<v Speaker 2>No, but it's always.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, I love sales.

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<v Speaker 2>To this point, my husband and me did everything every trade show and everything right To now have obviously, a distributor.

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<v Speaker 2>I still love sales.

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<v Speaker 2>I love to sell to department stores or wholesaler whatever.

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<v Speaker 2>But I also love to stand and that's how the idea of the collective actually started.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, I love to be on the sales floor, talk to people, to customers, and get feedback to salespeople.

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<v Speaker 2>I still love that and I always told my husband if I stop doing that, then a lot from the brand or if we stop doing that, a lot from the brand is going to lose the energy of it, right?

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<v Speaker 1>Do you know so many designers that I've dealt with and I'm also a professor of entrepreneurship at FIT and so many students of mine and it's always one of these things that, oh, I'm just a designer, I'm this.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't want to get in front of people because people are afraid.

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<v Speaker 1>They're afraid for the feedback, they're afraid to hear things, they're afraid to hear anything negative.

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<v Speaker 1>They just want to sit in a dark room and make things.

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<v Speaker 1>And the reality is to be successful, you need to be front and center.

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<v Speaker 1>You need to hear the good, bad and the ugly.

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<v Speaker 1>You need to be there to hear like, actually, this didn't work for me at all.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's why.

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<v Speaker 1>Also and I hate going back to these stereotypes of saying it's not very German, but to be this chatty like, hey, how's it going?

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<v Speaker 1>Were you unique in that point growing up?

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<v Speaker 1>To be honest, yes, I think so.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, Looking back, do you see yourself?

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<v Speaker 2>Looking back, it all makes sense why it came that way, kind of, you know, like it kind of makes sense, and I think I was like this already very early in my childhood, but then, obviously, living a lot abroad and like I learned a lot how to react or how to be with a lot of people, right, and that's also what I'm trying to, because we talked about it before.

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<v Speaker 2>I have two little kids Also this living in between Berlin and Miami and everything.

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<v Speaker 2>That's what I try to teach them to be, like they're super open minded to people, to nannies, to like whatever for them, whatever's thrown their way.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, exactly, exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think it's a way I also couldn't care less, like you can put me in any kind of wherever and I'm gonna figure out my own way, but I love people, I love how they react, how I think that's one of my biggest talents right to really read people and to get into them and you know like to mingle with them, to explore and to see yeah, yeah, yeah, no, totally so you.

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<v Speaker 1>The first time you went to university, was that in Italy, or was that in the second?

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<v Speaker 2>No, I did my first studies, which was more communication and economics, in Vienna.

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<v Speaker 2>So I, on and off, lived in Vienna for six years, right In Austria, and then I was abroad.

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<v Speaker 2>I lived for a year in Rome and everything.

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<v Speaker 1>And then I had my first job.

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<v Speaker 1>Were you just like moving around, like, oh, this would be fun, I could work here, I can live here, like just because you could?

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<v Speaker 2>That's an amazing thing about Europe with universities, right, you could change universities just for one year, so it's like an Erasmus.

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<v Speaker 2>I did that with Rome.

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<v Speaker 2>It's super easy in Europe.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a beauty about Europe.

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<v Speaker 2>We literally live in Paris for one year and then live in London, right, well, not London anymore, but yeah, london used to be, but not anymore exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>And then I had my first job in Vienna, much more in communication and everything, and already there I was very entrepreneurial, right, I just it was my first job, but I already, like, started a new little department in that communication agency.

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<v Speaker 2>I always had this.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not going to do it like the way everybody's going to do it right, I figure it out myself and I want to explore, right, I mean, that was always in me.

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<v Speaker 2>And then I went to Italy, to Stavroconi, and did an MBA in luxury and in design right, which there was the first step to actually writing a business plan and everything to found my first company, which was Lili Rado, right, which is also handbags, but it was more contemporary leather handbags back at a time 14 years ago, where that was a very growing category, right, obviously that changed now and everything.

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<v Speaker 2>But I'm so thankful for that journey and there was the first.

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<v Speaker 2>So I actually like started with a laptop bag, right, because I was living in Milan.

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<v Speaker 2>What you do in Milan when you go from the university to aperitivo, which everybody does, you just live like that.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, that's my favorite part of the day.

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<v Speaker 2>I I was looking to find a laptop bag that is out of leather in a contemporary price point and there was nothing in the market and that's what I wrote a business plan about.

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<v Speaker 2>Obviously, when you start with a laptop bag, your dream is Apple.

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<v Speaker 2>And then, one and a half years later, I was the first German to design for Apple a complete laptop collection, right, and that's how it all got started.

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<v Speaker 2>That's how I got into bags.

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<v Speaker 2>It was not like my dream or I'm going to be having now at this point already my second handbag company and it just kind of came to me and it was ideas and it was something I was looking for in the market.

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<v Speaker 2>And then, from a laptop bag, it developed that department stores were like, yeah, but why don't you also do like wallets and bags?

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<v Speaker 2>So I kind of got into that and learned all about it in a production where we produced our first bags in Istanbul, and I will always be very grateful because I've spent a lot of time in the production and I still miss to be honest, I miss that now because we're producing a lot of bags and obviously it's in Vietnam and I have little kids, so my husband does those travelings the smell of leather, you know, of a production.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean yeah, yeah, yeah, the touch, feel I loved it.

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<v Speaker 1>So questions why did you name it after yourself?

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<v Speaker 2>To be honest, somebody told me it's really clever to do that because then nobody can sue you.

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<v Speaker 2>It totally made sense for me, right and I was upside is if somebody, if you sell your brand and they destroy it, there goes your name Exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>But I was never.

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<v Speaker 2>To be honest, I never think like that, right, I always go to the positive side and I will work it out.

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<v Speaker 2>So I never had that thought.

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<v Speaker 2>And so much comes out of this, right, because that brand now is in a beauty sleep or I mean, we kind of stopped that.

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<v Speaker 2>But because of that and we were selling that, because we were selling that brand to Bloomingdale's we were listening to customers and everybody was like we're looking for a super lightweight bag.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's how the collective and how my husband looked at me, and it was in LA.

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<v Speaker 2>I will never forget, it was like 2016.

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<v Speaker 2>My husband looked at me, and it was in LA.

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<v Speaker 2>I will never forget, it was like 2016.

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<v Speaker 2>My husband looked at me and said why don't we do a second brand?

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<v Speaker 2>Because obviously, leather is always heavy, so you will never create a light weight back.

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<v Speaker 2>So, yeah, be Collective was born.

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<v Speaker 1>So question because you said you had your first partnership collaboration with Apple and you also wrote a business plan.

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<v Speaker 1>And nowadays they teach even I teach that this old school method of a business plan and a five year plan and mapping it all out sometimes isn't even it's illogical, in that you need to go to the market, you need to test, you need to iterate.

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<v Speaker 1>So all the lovely stats you write out and all of the you know great, broad ideas of plans sometimes go out the window by page two because you realize that whatever your first product was, is it what it will be next year?

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<v Speaker 2>100%.

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<v Speaker 2>Couldn't agree more.

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<v Speaker 2>I still think it's good to structure yourself, to just start with a five year plan, because absolutely I didn't write that business plan.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, you are German, so that makes sense, so think it's good to structure yourself to just start with a five-year plan, because absolutely I didn't write that business plan.

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<v Speaker 1>You are German, so that makes sense.

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<v Speaker 2>No, but nothing was whatever was written in that piece of paper, right, but it still got my mind about my goals and where I want to go.

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<v Speaker 2>You know Totally, and I think that's a mindset that is so important.

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<v Speaker 2>And then you need to be absolutely flexible and open minded, right?

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<v Speaker 1>Go on that journey.

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<v Speaker 1>So how did it happen with Apple?

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<v Speaker 1>Because that is, as we say, what's the truth, siri, yes.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, these are the stories I told that.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm really sorry to tell you.

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<v Speaker 2>I told that story before.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, I'm going to get something else out of you.

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<v Speaker 1>Something else, don't worry about that.

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<v Speaker 2>So in Berlin, there used to be this big trade show, and that was the first time, like in a very small box I presented, we collected from saying, lily, rado, right, and when you have that dream that one day you want to work with Apple, right.

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<v Speaker 2>And then, well, there's customers coming and I always had this pitch for like 20 seconds about the brand.

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<v Speaker 2>And then I always was very curious Okay, you know, like some people, when they sell a brand, they talk for 20 minutes and then wait till the other person says okay, I'm from Bloomingdale's.

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<v Speaker 2>I never had that patience.

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<v Speaker 2>So I kind of gave the pitch, the elevator pitch, and then I was like oh, oh, so nice to meet you and where are you from, right.

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<v Speaker 2>And then I remember this guy saying I'm Tom.

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<v Speaker 2>I think, really think it was his name, was Tom, I'm Tom from Apple.

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<v Speaker 2>When I'm like ding, ding, ding, ding, I was like okay, lily, you exactly have 20 seconds now to make the magic happen, right, and the first thing that came to me was how can I be convenient for him?

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<v Speaker 2>Right, because what is going to happen after this trade show?

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<v Speaker 2>Right, we're going to exchange like emails.

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<v Speaker 2>It's going to take forever.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I said, oh, it's so nice to meet you and I can't believe I'm going to, because he said he was based in London.

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<v Speaker 2>I was like I'm going to London next week, so we can I can come to your headquarter and present in front of your team, because I'm there anyhow.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, were you planning on going?

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<v Speaker 2>Was that true?

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<v Speaker 2>Of course that was not true.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, good, see, totally.

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<v Speaker 1>You didn't tell people that.

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<v Speaker 1>I know that.

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<v Speaker 2>So I totally made that up, right with a lot of other things.

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<v Speaker 2>And next week comes, you went backwards.

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<v Speaker 2>I went to London, I presented in front of the whole thing and I was the first German to do a laptop collection for Apple.

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<v Speaker 2>That was sold Europe wide and they opened a flagship store in Berlin.

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<v Speaker 2>So was it Lily Radu X Apple?

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<v Speaker 2>How was it packaged?

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<v Speaker 2>It was Lily Radu X Apple, exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>It was the real collab thing.

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<v Speaker 1>And obviously that was in before they called it collabs.

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<v Speaker 1>Those were called partnerships, yeah, or?

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<v Speaker 2>like partnerships.

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<v Speaker 2>But the crazy thing was I was a one woman show, right, and obviously it was Apple, right, I mean, it was me and Apple.

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<v Speaker 2>So I had 20 emails, literally that I made up.

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<v Speaker 2>That all ended with Lily Radu, right, with people.

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<v Speaker 2>That all came back to me yeah, I'm myself bigger as a company like pretend that there's employees, right, I mean, otherwise they would have been like, okay, you're one woman show, you want to produce for apple?

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<v Speaker 2>Now, no, that's not gonna work.

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<v Speaker 1>Smoke buys mirrors that's, that's what we say.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know we have a very interesting person who who's coming up on the podcast, called richard kestenbaum, who is in mergers and acquisitions and I've presented him many brands for acquisition and some of which are making upwards of grossing, upwards of a million, over a million, and he you know one particular conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>He had asked how many employees were there and I said, oh, she's one plus, or they are one plus two.

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<v Speaker 1>Or he's like no, no, it's not enough, they're not equipped to scale, they're not built to scale.

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<v Speaker 1>They don't understand how to scale, Because if it's still a one woman show, it's great.

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<v Speaker 1>Because as a one woman show, it's like look, the costs are down.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just me, I'm an easy person to take on.

00:15:21.682 --> 00:15:35.131
<v Speaker 1>But to somebody else it's like OK, but they are not equipped to let go, to delegate, to understand that they can replicate what they're doing without them being there and that that's an interesting fact that not a lot of people take into consideration with growth.

00:15:35.131 --> 00:15:40.672
<v Speaker 1>They're like no, I need to be part of everything and it's no, you need to build this so someone else can handle and delegate.

00:15:41.801 --> 00:15:46.251
<v Speaker 1>If you ever wanted to start a handbag brand and didn't know where to start, this is for you.

00:15:46.251 --> 00:15:50.748
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00:15:50.748 --> 00:15:53.076
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00:15:53.076 --> 00:15:56.808
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00:15:56.808 --> 00:16:05.456
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00:16:05.456 --> 00:16:21.928
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00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:33.053
<v Speaker 1>For the past 20 years, I've been teaching at the top fashion universities in New York City, wrote the Handbag Designer Bible, founded the Handbag Awards and created the only Handbag Designer podcast.

00:16:33.053 --> 00:16:39.663
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00:16:39.663 --> 00:16:49.830
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00:16:49.830 --> 00:16:53.635
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00:16:53.635 --> 00:16:58.067
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00:16:58.067 --> 00:17:10.055
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00:17:14.641 --> 00:17:18.579
<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, and that's right now, the biggest process we are in right now, my husband and me.

00:17:18.579 --> 00:17:21.987
<v Speaker 2>It's not easy, to be honest at one point.

00:17:21.987 --> 00:17:39.808
<v Speaker 2>Your job as a founder is obviously to drive this vision and to go and not stop, but to build people that in their subjects, are much better than you, right, in marketing, logistics and whatever, because obviously we are very good entrepreneurs and obviously we're very good on product and everything.

00:17:39.808 --> 00:17:41.867
<v Speaker 2>But we need to team up with the best people.

00:17:41.867 --> 00:17:48.340
<v Speaker 2>And, yeah, that's a big part of growth, right, and it's also a big part of letting go what you just said.

00:17:48.340 --> 00:17:49.923
<v Speaker 2>Right, we have an amazing.

00:17:49.923 --> 00:17:56.711
<v Speaker 2>We could never do that step to New York now if we wouldn't have a good team in place here in Germany.

00:17:56.711 --> 00:18:00.675
<v Speaker 2>Right, that is handling a lot of our stuff and everything for us to really focus on.

00:18:00.695 --> 00:18:09.624
<v Speaker 2>The American growth employee you hired in are they still with you?

00:18:09.624 --> 00:18:10.488
<v Speaker 2>Absolutely every number it was an intern.

00:18:10.488 --> 00:18:11.130
<v Speaker 2>No, she's not with us anymore.

00:18:11.130 --> 00:18:12.153
<v Speaker 2>She was with us I mean, back lily rado times.

00:18:12.153 --> 00:18:15.385
<v Speaker 2>She was with us and josefa was her name seven years, right.

00:18:15.385 --> 00:18:20.884
<v Speaker 2>So she went, like, from intern and then she like to cast supreme captain, supreme captain.

00:18:20.884 --> 00:18:31.913
<v Speaker 2>But we do have a lot of people in our company now that really went from intern to marketing manager, from intern to product manager, from intern to product manager, like I think we're much more equipped now to do that.

00:18:31.932 --> 00:18:41.189
<v Speaker 1>I mean, when you start out, it's a learning curve, because sometimes, with the people that work for you or work with you, you sometimes over empower them because you don't know what else to do, that you're afraid they'll leave.

00:18:41.189 --> 00:18:42.821
<v Speaker 1>And then you're like what am I going to do now?

00:18:42.821 --> 00:18:55.909
<v Speaker 1>So and it typically happens with female entrepreneurs I have found this, I'm guilty of that as well of taking someone on and it's almost like you make them too powerful, but you're like I don't know what I'm going to do if I don't have you.

00:18:55.909 --> 00:18:57.184
<v Speaker 1>And then then what happens?

00:18:58.000 --> 00:18:59.326
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, then what happens?

00:18:59.326 --> 00:19:02.328
<v Speaker 2>But, to be honest, you also learn while you do that.

00:19:02.328 --> 00:19:04.287
<v Speaker 2>Right, my husband and me also learned that.

00:19:04.287 --> 00:19:06.627
<v Speaker 2>Was he always with you with Lily Radu?

00:19:06.627 --> 00:19:08.691
<v Speaker 2>No, and me also learned that Was he always with you with Lily Radu?

00:19:08.691 --> 00:19:08.770
<v Speaker 2>No.

00:19:08.770 --> 00:19:11.895
<v Speaker 2>So I started Lily Radu by myself and then we started dating and everything.

00:19:11.895 --> 00:19:13.987
<v Speaker 2>And then I figured out he was working.

00:19:13.987 --> 00:19:17.420
<v Speaker 2>He's out of like background economics and was working in marketing.

00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:26.205
<v Speaker 2>And I figured out that when you're alone, right, and you run your own company and somebody is so close to you and he was really interested he started working for me as well.

00:19:26.205 --> 00:19:32.509
<v Speaker 2>Or, besides the fault and he was really interested, he started working for me as well by default, yeah, because he did like press things and like he's really good in text and copy.

00:19:32.509 --> 00:19:33.846
<v Speaker 2>He did all these kind of things.

00:19:33.846 --> 00:19:44.204
<v Speaker 2>So for one year, besides his job, he was actually much more working for me than for his job, right Would you say to him working for you or with you, but to be honest, then it was more working for me.

00:19:44.365 --> 00:19:47.172
<v Speaker 2>Now, obviously, we've been working together for 10 years.

00:19:47.172 --> 00:19:48.621
<v Speaker 2>It's really working with each other.

00:19:48.621 --> 00:19:56.904
<v Speaker 2>Like there's like it's crazy how things like this develop right, because we have like two kids, we have a company run together.

00:19:56.904 --> 00:20:06.601
<v Speaker 2>We're like, but we figured out very early that if one can do something better than the other, he just needs to take care of it right, and that's why right now we are running.

00:20:06.601 --> 00:20:11.095
<v Speaker 2>We are both ceos of the company and we are totally running the companies.

00:20:11.095 --> 00:20:16.773
<v Speaker 2>Like I do much more communication and sales and like handle all that he's into finance and product.

00:20:16.773 --> 00:20:18.078
<v Speaker 2>So it's really crazy.

00:20:18.078 --> 00:20:23.510
<v Speaker 2>Obviously we team up for very important decisions, but right now it's also we don't have the time.

00:20:23.951 --> 00:20:27.877
<v Speaker 2>We used to have the thing that we really like everything we decided together.

00:20:27.877 --> 00:20:29.442
<v Speaker 2>You know, like that was the party.

00:20:29.442 --> 00:20:31.428
<v Speaker 2>Now we don't decide anything together.

00:20:31.428 --> 00:20:34.021
<v Speaker 2>If it's really one big decision, yes, you ask him.

00:20:34.021 --> 00:20:37.377
<v Speaker 2>But there's a lot of things, like when I do collab, sometimes he looks at me.

00:20:37.377 --> 00:20:39.326
<v Speaker 2>He's like, oh, we're really doing a collab with them.

00:20:39.326 --> 00:20:40.432
<v Speaker 2>You know, like it's so funny.

00:20:40.432 --> 00:20:42.880
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, it's just growing the business, right.

00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:48.323
<v Speaker 1>I mean, uh, yeah so I know lily radu is in a beauty sleep.

00:20:48.323 --> 00:20:51.124
<v Speaker 1>Was that hard to make?

00:20:53.105 --> 00:20:55.775
<v Speaker 2>Because V Collective was already like going in the right direction.

00:20:55.775 --> 00:20:55.945
<v Speaker 2>What?

00:20:55.986 --> 00:20:57.765
<v Speaker 1>was that overlap of time that they were?

00:20:57.805 --> 00:21:00.513
<v Speaker 2>Overlap was around it was like three years.

00:21:00.513 --> 00:21:02.130
<v Speaker 2>We overlapped three years.

00:21:02.130 --> 00:21:14.847
<v Speaker 2>So what we did is back then we still did trade shows, so we kind of showed, you know, at the trade show, half of it Lelirado and half of it V Collective were standing okay next to each other and obviously leverage also on contacts we had and all that.

00:21:14.847 --> 00:21:17.270
<v Speaker 2>It's completely produced differently.

00:21:17.270 --> 00:21:28.000
<v Speaker 2>Lili Rado was leather bags out of Istanbul and B Collective is nylon bags and obviously this whole recycling and sustainable aspect that we have there and we produce it in Vietnam.

00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:31.648
<v Speaker 2>So how did you come up with the name?

00:21:31.648 --> 00:21:35.231
<v Speaker 2>The second one, lili Rado, was gone, right, because I already had a company there.

00:21:35.231 --> 00:21:36.789
<v Speaker 2>My husband came up with it.

00:21:37.866 --> 00:21:39.250
<v Speaker 1>And you couldn't use your maiden name.

00:21:39.932 --> 00:21:48.836
<v Speaker 2>And no, no, it was over like, okay, let's create a, so to say, fantasy name, but there's something behind it, because obviously the collective is a lot.

00:21:48.836 --> 00:21:58.092
<v Speaker 2>What we stand for, because it is like a collective, what we say or what we're trying to do, is to change the fashionable everyday handbag.

00:21:58.092 --> 00:22:04.516
<v Speaker 2>Right, so we're not in competition with any brand of handbags, because everybody needs still their small handbag.

00:22:04.516 --> 00:22:08.939
<v Speaker 2>I mean, I see all the handbags on your book in the back, right, if it's leather, whatever it is.

00:22:08.939 --> 00:22:18.068
<v Speaker 2>But everybody needs there and I call it the Mary Poppins bag your everyday bag to go to the gym, to go to work, where you have a laptop compartment, to go traveling.

00:22:18.068 --> 00:22:22.798
<v Speaker 2>You know your everyday bag that you to the gym to go to work, where you have a laptop compartment, to go traveling.

00:22:22.798 --> 00:22:27.247
<v Speaker 2>You know your everyday bag that you fill your life in that is super lightweight yeah, and nobody in that position.

00:22:27.267 --> 00:22:27.646
<v Speaker 2>Super fashion, right?

00:22:27.646 --> 00:22:36.826
<v Speaker 2>So through our distribution, we are just next to Balenciaga and Celine and all these kind of bags, right, but everybody next to those bags still needs a bag to actually carry your stuff, right?

00:22:36.826 --> 00:22:38.807
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, but everybody next to those bags still needs a bag to actually carry your stuff, right?

00:22:38.807 --> 00:22:53.715
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, which is crazy and an amazing example that obviously we got inspired by was the most sold bag in the world is the Longchamp Liège right, since 30 years nothing has changed there and it's still selling like crazy, and I think it's an amazing success story and an amazing bag.

00:22:53.715 --> 00:22:56.457
<v Speaker 2>But it's not modern anymore, right?

00:22:56.457 --> 00:22:59.378
<v Speaker 2>I mean, if you think about it, what does a modern woman need?

00:22:59.378 --> 00:23:00.558
<v Speaker 2>She needs a laptop case.

00:23:00.558 --> 00:23:04.401
<v Speaker 2>She needs it, you know, when it's raining and like all that it needs to be completely sustainable.

00:23:04.401 --> 00:23:08.262
<v Speaker 2>You know like it needs to tick different boxes.

00:23:08.262 --> 00:23:12.626
<v Speaker 2>And yet we want to be fashion, right.

00:23:12.646 --> 00:23:16.416
<v Speaker 2>So just with fashion influencers, just sell to the best stores and everything.

00:23:16.416 --> 00:23:32.128
<v Speaker 2>So positioning is key, but our bag is, but our best seller is $2.95, right, so it's still like a different price positioning and we're tapping in there and we saw it in Europe, right, that there's nobody out there in that segment and stepping into the States.

00:23:32.128 --> 00:23:43.916
<v Speaker 2>Now we also see that it's such a unique positioning with the product that we really want to start a new category where we become those fashionable everyday bags everybody runs to, right?

00:23:43.916 --> 00:23:45.148
<v Speaker 2>So that's the same.

00:23:45.148 --> 00:23:46.695
<v Speaker 2>When we gift, like we gifted it.

00:23:46.695 --> 00:23:49.426
<v Speaker 2>That's how the Goop and Tracy Anderson collab started.

00:23:49.426 --> 00:23:58.037
<v Speaker 2>It was really just gifting bags to them and they really loved the product and started wearing it without paying or anything, and then the dynamic started out of that.

00:23:58.585 --> 00:24:00.648
<v Speaker 1>Right, it's so interesting.

00:24:00.648 --> 00:24:08.674
<v Speaker 1>You know, and I can't speak to the European market about bags like that, but within the States there's definitely bags that fill that category.

00:24:08.674 --> 00:24:10.027
<v Speaker 1>You wouldn't be the only one.

00:24:10.027 --> 00:24:14.240
<v Speaker 1>So you know, europe is a very, very, very different market.

00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:17.047
<v Speaker 1>Even within each country it's a different market.

00:24:17.047 --> 00:24:37.913
<v Speaker 1>The States, although it is a uniform, I guess you could say in language, and obviously you go state to state, it's still the United States, but culturally, like what sells in Miami is different than sells in Boston, then New York, then Chicago, then LA, then Dallas, and there are lightweight everything carrying sustainable bags that exist.

00:24:37.913 --> 00:24:44.461
<v Speaker 1>So I knew you were here already, but was that and obviously a challenge is not something you would run away from.

00:24:44.461 --> 00:24:46.211
<v Speaker 1>That's what you stand in the face.

00:24:46.211 --> 00:24:51.684
<v Speaker 1>How were you able to look at that, saying okay, there may be people or brands within this category?

00:24:51.684 --> 00:24:54.875
<v Speaker 1>How are we looking at this that we would stand out comparatively?

00:24:55.424 --> 00:25:08.765
<v Speaker 2>To be honest, it's absolutely positioning right, because, you're right, there are bags like this, but it's the question of how they position themselves right and the price point and everything, and we really position us fashion and in this wellness lifestyle segment.

00:25:08.765 --> 00:25:18.320
<v Speaker 2>That's why we collab with Goop and with Tracy Anderson and with brands like this, and there it's a lot about who we stand next to right Because we feel that.

00:25:18.320 --> 00:25:19.413
<v Speaker 2>And there it's a lot about who we stand next to right Because we feel that.

00:25:19.413 --> 00:25:42.705
<v Speaker 2>And if you go through New York, right, and I did a lot of my research and all that, right, and I looked at a lot of bags what people wear in their everyday bag, right, and if you look what they still wear to the gym and everything, a lot still wear their old Goya bag right, which is an amazing bag, but they wear that.

00:25:42.705 --> 00:25:43.750
<v Speaker 2>You can't even close that bag, right, I love that bag.

00:25:43.769 --> 00:25:45.056
<v Speaker 2>Don't get me wrong, I'm obsessed with bags in general, right?

00:25:45.056 --> 00:25:45.678
<v Speaker 2>Or they wear a gifted aloe bag.

00:25:45.678 --> 00:25:47.464
<v Speaker 2>This is basically what you see all over New York when people stuff their things.

00:25:47.464 --> 00:25:59.487
<v Speaker 2>So obviously you see and these are fashionable girls, right that besides that have an amazing bag, right, but they don't really know where to fit all their belongings for the day, for the gym, to work and everything.

00:25:59.487 --> 00:26:03.196
<v Speaker 2>So, yes, but there is still a huge opportunity in that market.

00:26:03.196 --> 00:26:12.574
<v Speaker 2>It's a little bit like Lululemon paying with the leggings, right, I mean, they opened a complete new category where everybody obviously also like wearing it every day.

00:26:12.574 --> 00:26:18.395
<v Speaker 2>You know the state is much more advanced than in Europe because that lifestyle hasn't even come to Europe yet.

00:26:18.695 --> 00:26:21.732
<v Speaker 1>That much right, People still look nicer there, but yeah.

00:26:24.488 --> 00:26:27.093
<v Speaker 2>I mean to be honest, I think what it is like.

00:26:27.093 --> 00:26:43.476
<v Speaker 2>Europe is a lot about the fashion brands right the Yves Saint Laurents and the Christian Dior and whatever and America is a lot about product brands Levi's and all these kind of products right, that's why we also see, and we are, a product that is positioned in a fashion surrounding right.

00:26:43.476 --> 00:26:55.356
<v Speaker 2>So we really feel very confident about the product in the States and obviously you have first experience, right Also with influencer, with fashion influencer, but also with department stores and stores.

00:26:56.125 --> 00:26:57.731
<v Speaker 1>Whose idea was it Just going back to?

00:26:57.731 --> 00:26:58.987
<v Speaker 1>Was it yours or your husband?

00:26:58.987 --> 00:27:00.390
<v Speaker 1>To Lily Radu Beauty Sleep?

00:27:00.390 --> 00:27:01.753
<v Speaker 1>Was it like, okay, it's enough.

00:27:01.814 --> 00:27:04.112
<v Speaker 2>It's not like it was to be honest, it was both of us.

00:27:04.112 --> 00:27:04.795
<v Speaker 2>It was always.

00:27:04.795 --> 00:27:07.688
<v Speaker 2>We were very direct and I was never emotional about it.

00:27:07.688 --> 00:27:09.913
<v Speaker 2>People ask me but it's your name or whatever I'm like.

00:27:09.913 --> 00:27:12.528
<v Speaker 2>Okay, but Be Collective is also my company, right?

00:27:12.528 --> 00:27:16.816
<v Speaker 2>I mean, there's just the opportunity and I'm seeing the next opportunity.

00:27:16.816 --> 00:27:36.471
<v Speaker 2>I was never emotional about it and, to be honest, just because and that's reality just because the knowledge and we listened to the market and we did Lili Radu right and we created that and learned so much, that's how V Collective started and so for me, it's completely without Lili Radu, there would have never been a V Collective, right?

00:27:36.471 --> 00:27:41.092
<v Speaker 2>So I'm super grateful for everything and I learned a lot about bags.

00:27:42.926 --> 00:27:43.730
<v Speaker 1>How did you end up with?

00:27:43.750 --> 00:27:44.232
<v Speaker 2>Vietnam.

00:27:44.232 --> 00:27:46.770
<v Speaker 2>To be honest, our sourcing team.

00:27:46.770 --> 00:27:48.496
<v Speaker 2>They're ex-Adidas people, right.

00:27:48.496 --> 00:27:49.907
<v Speaker 2>Also our creative director.

00:27:49.907 --> 00:27:54.397
<v Speaker 2>He used to be 15 years the head of design of Y3.

00:27:55.708 --> 00:28:02.029
<v Speaker 2>So once we built that and I had the idea of this toad, we kind of wanted to get and we got into that sourcing.

00:28:02.029 --> 00:28:26.438
<v Speaker 2>There's a lot of Adidas people that then did their own companies and then we started with our sourcer and it was really we looked into what are the best productions with the best expertise on nylon, right, because I mean that's another thing, and obviously when we did leather, it was an amazing experience in Istanbul, right, because I mean that's another thing, and obviously when we did leather, it was an amazing experience in Istanbul, right, but I mean they don't have we even tried to do some samples in Istanbul.

00:28:26.438 --> 00:28:27.040
<v Speaker 2>It was horrible what came out.

00:28:27.040 --> 00:28:29.126
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's not what they do Exactly.

00:28:29.126 --> 00:28:31.717
<v Speaker 2>So you have to see where the expertise lies.

00:28:31.757 --> 00:28:50.797
<v Speaker 2>And we were super, super happy Because the product, even though it's a nylon bag right, it's still a $300 nylon bag, right, I mean with vegan leather, so it's not cheap in that sense, right, but there's so much expertise in that bag, right, and it's so well thought through, organized and all that.

00:28:50.797 --> 00:28:54.635
<v Speaker 2>It's an amazing product which we try to make better every season.

00:28:54.635 --> 00:28:56.692
<v Speaker 2>So we try to listen to the customer.

00:28:56.692 --> 00:29:05.093
<v Speaker 2>You know we got feedback little examples, right, we always had a black lining inside right and customers come back to us and we're like, okay, I can't find anything anymore.

00:29:05.093 --> 00:29:07.713
<v Speaker 2>I always say the black lining is black.

00:29:09.829 --> 00:29:12.513
<v Speaker 2>So like you listen right and you change.

00:29:12.513 --> 00:29:17.336
<v Speaker 2>Obviously it takes a season, but we try to do that and do the best.

00:29:17.336 --> 00:29:22.778
<v Speaker 2>That's our aim, to do the best, everyday passion back that exists in the world.

00:29:23.545 --> 00:29:29.172
<v Speaker 1>What are one of the takeaways with the collective that you're like if we'd only done this instead?

00:29:29.172 --> 00:29:34.652
<v Speaker 1>Were there any things that went wrong that you were like, oh my God, I can't believe that happened.

00:29:34.652 --> 00:29:36.317
<v Speaker 1>If we'd only done X, y, z.

00:29:37.266 --> 00:29:40.493
<v Speaker 2>To be honest, I think as an entrepreneur you have a lot of those moments right.

00:29:40.493 --> 00:29:49.471
<v Speaker 2>A lot of them yeah, it was the pandemic was a lot of big learning, right, because obviously, were you in Germany or Miami for that?

00:29:49.471 --> 00:29:50.374
<v Speaker 2>No, we were in Germany.

00:29:50.374 --> 00:29:53.631
<v Speaker 2>We were in Germany for that time and productions were blocked.

00:29:53.631 --> 00:29:56.673
<v Speaker 2>So we were blocked for 10 weeks.

00:29:56.673 --> 00:30:00.928
<v Speaker 2>No product came out of Vietnam, right.

00:30:00.928 --> 00:30:08.332
<v Speaker 2>So for a short time we needed to rethink and open the production, also in China, to be able to maneuver, you know, like two different production facilities.

00:30:08.332 --> 00:30:17.772
<v Speaker 2>Obviously there's moments where you're like, okay, I could have thought about this, it would have been so easy and I wouldn't have had no product for 10 weeks or less product, right.

00:30:17.772 --> 00:30:21.028
<v Speaker 2>But then I mean that's also the learning right.

00:30:21.307 --> 00:30:23.393
<v Speaker 2>I tend to not to regret.

00:30:23.393 --> 00:30:25.576
<v Speaker 2>I'm so much more into the future.

00:30:25.576 --> 00:30:30.556
<v Speaker 2>I don't really look into the past that much and be like, okay, I really regret doing that.

00:30:30.556 --> 00:30:33.286
<v Speaker 2>I'm much more okay, what is the next opportunity?

00:30:33.286 --> 00:30:42.114
<v Speaker 2>I think sometimes I run too fast, but it's just me, like my husband looks at me sometimes and he's like you're absolutely mad, right, you just run and never stop.

00:30:42.114 --> 00:30:45.737
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, but I just love it and I mean we love what we do right.

00:30:45.737 --> 00:30:47.699
<v Speaker 2>I mean, it's a 24-7 job.

00:30:47.699 --> 00:30:51.082
<v Speaker 2>We work together, we have kids together, we run the company.

00:30:51.082 --> 00:30:52.925
<v Speaker 2>We moved to New York.

00:30:52.925 --> 00:30:56.093
<v Speaker 2>Now it's all in one pot, but it's super exciting and I love it.

00:30:56.093 --> 00:30:59.385
<v Speaker 2>I love the journey, this is some wild stuff, lily.

00:30:59.546 --> 00:31:00.647
<v Speaker 1>This is awesome.

00:31:00.647 --> 00:31:04.798
<v Speaker 1>So, in a perfect world, where do you see the collective moving forward?

00:31:05.265 --> 00:31:11.489
<v Speaker 2>To be honest, in the perfect world and I know it's going to happen because I manifest that I'm here for it.

00:31:12.470 --> 00:31:15.075
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to turn 43 this year by 50.

00:31:15.075 --> 00:31:15.957
<v Speaker 1>Well, you look great.

00:31:16.498 --> 00:31:21.107
<v Speaker 2>Thank you very much 143 this year by 50.

00:31:21.107 --> 00:31:22.049
<v Speaker 2>Well, you look great, thank you very much.

00:31:22.049 --> 00:31:23.974
<v Speaker 2>And by 50, which means another like seven years, right?

00:31:23.974 --> 00:31:29.347
<v Speaker 2>I want this brand to be huge, right, and obviously in the States and Europe, but obviously also potential.

00:31:29.347 --> 00:31:35.869
<v Speaker 2>We are growing very much also in Japan, you know, like to be huge and to have a lot of stores.

00:31:35.869 --> 00:31:40.951
<v Speaker 2>So obviously the next Pre-standing stores, pre-standing stores exactly, our own stores.

00:31:40.951 --> 00:31:45.493
<v Speaker 2>So right now we have one own store, which is in Berlin, right, which is our flagship store.

00:31:45.493 --> 00:31:47.643
<v Speaker 2>Very soon we want to open a store.

00:31:47.643 --> 00:31:48.987
<v Speaker 2>The next one should be in New York.

00:31:48.987 --> 00:31:55.971
<v Speaker 2>So obviously these are dreams, right, because then we have wholesale, we have direct-to-consumer set in place and our own stores.

00:31:55.971 --> 00:31:58.637
<v Speaker 2>So I think that's a great combination for a product.

00:31:58.637 --> 00:32:03.484
<v Speaker 2>But obviously, as you just said, the States is a pretty big country, right?

00:32:03.484 --> 00:32:07.737
<v Speaker 2>It's not like you fly an hour to Milan, but you fly from New York to LA.

00:32:08.705 --> 00:32:10.952
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you fly an hour and then you're at Disney World.

00:32:10.952 --> 00:32:11.875
<v Speaker 1>So it's very different.

00:32:11.875 --> 00:32:13.826
<v Speaker 1>You know, disney is not Milan.

00:32:13.826 --> 00:32:15.888
<v Speaker 1>So exactly, no, exactly.

00:32:16.250 --> 00:32:35.558
<v Speaker 2>So, but this is something I love, and how you explain it also, right, there's so many different customers in the States yeah, it's a whole Europe or whatever, right in one country down Texas, la even just because obviously, the most experience I have now is LA and New York right From, like, collapse and customers and all that.

00:32:35.558 --> 00:32:38.569
<v Speaker 2>It's crazy how different those two already are.

00:32:38.569 --> 00:32:43.876
<v Speaker 2>Oh, my God, I mean, it's just completely a different mindset, different use of the bags and everything.

00:32:43.876 --> 00:32:49.036
<v Speaker 2>So I'm super curious and I can't wait because I'm going to be doing a lot of.

00:32:49.036 --> 00:32:53.433
<v Speaker 2>We do always monitor, like when we gift bags or we do events in store.

00:32:53.433 --> 00:32:55.117
<v Speaker 2>We do a lot of monogramming, right?

00:32:55.117 --> 00:32:59.535
<v Speaker 2>So we do like, because on an everyday bag, you can put your initials and it's so cool.

00:32:59.535 --> 00:33:02.247
<v Speaker 2>It makes it more special like your own everyday bag.

00:33:02.528 --> 00:33:15.612
<v Speaker 2>So I'm going to be traveling through the whole United States doing a lot of monogram events and a lot of sales trainings and all the department stores, and I can't wait to also explore a new country for me, right?

00:33:15.612 --> 00:33:17.076
<v Speaker 2>I'm very excited about that.

00:33:17.076 --> 00:33:18.558
<v Speaker 2>Would you ever sell the brand?

00:33:18.558 --> 00:33:20.429
<v Speaker 2>Never say no, right?

00:33:20.429 --> 00:33:22.537
<v Speaker 2>As I told you, I'm about opportunities.

00:33:22.537 --> 00:33:26.528
<v Speaker 2>Yes, I don't say that I'm gonna do it or we are gonna do it.

00:33:26.528 --> 00:33:30.237
<v Speaker 2>Obviously, it's my husband and me, but we're absolutely open-minded to that.

00:33:30.278 --> 00:33:33.588
<v Speaker 1>Yes, Lily, this has been enlightening.

00:33:33.588 --> 00:33:46.394
<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna go back and listen to every single little piece to see if it's been duped anywhere else, to say that you said it with me and not with anybody else, because I'm sure there's got to be something, something that I can say we heard it here first.

00:33:46.996 --> 00:33:48.426
<v Speaker 2>This has been amazing.

00:33:48.426 --> 00:33:50.895
<v Speaker 2>What you, what you have first is I never.

00:33:50.895 --> 00:33:54.788
<v Speaker 2>It's the first time I communicate that we're going to the States to New York.

00:33:55.368 --> 00:33:57.292
<v Speaker 1>Well, good, but then you're going to just be here.

00:33:57.614 --> 00:34:00.750
<v Speaker 2>So yeah, exactly, yeah, exactly, so that's big news.

00:34:01.688 --> 00:34:01.788
<v Speaker 1>FYI.

00:34:01.788 --> 00:34:08.188
<v Speaker 1>The German consulate hosts events, so make sure you get in touch with their external PR team, because they do a lot of events too.

00:34:08.188 --> 00:34:09.733
<v Speaker 1>Definitely FYI, absolutely.

00:34:09.733 --> 00:34:12.911
<v Speaker 1>I know how consulates work.

00:34:12.911 --> 00:34:14.206
<v Speaker 1>I've been to a few of them in my day.

00:34:14.206 --> 00:34:15.047
<v Speaker 1>This, I've been to a few of them in my day.

00:34:15.047 --> 00:34:17.650
<v Speaker 1>This has been amazing beyond.

00:34:17.650 --> 00:34:23.876
<v Speaker 1>How can people find you, follow you, get their hands on beautiful V Collective bags To be?

00:34:23.976 --> 00:34:24.257
<v Speaker 2>honest.

00:34:24.257 --> 00:34:32.724
<v Speaker 2>I mean, we have our website, which is v-collectivecom, right, and then you can also add, obviously, our Instagram, and then you can also go on Lily Radu.

00:34:32.724 --> 00:34:39.833
<v Speaker 2>I also have my personal Instagram account where I share more founder stories and more behind the scenes stories of the brand.

00:34:40.505 --> 00:34:46.565
<v Speaker 1>So, and that's L-I-L-I-R-A-D-U, l-i-l-i-r-a-d-u, exactly Right.

00:34:46.565 --> 00:34:50.496
<v Speaker 1>And, by the way, you wouldn't want to say minus, you'd say hyphen or dash.

00:34:51.824 --> 00:34:52.507
<v Speaker 2>Oh, yeah, exactly.

00:34:52.507 --> 00:34:54.293
<v Speaker 2>See, these are the things I need to learn.

00:34:54.293 --> 00:34:55.867
<v Speaker 2>You say that for the German to say minus right.

00:34:55.867 --> 00:34:56.728
<v Speaker 2>These are the things I need to learn.

00:34:56.748 --> 00:34:58.612
<v Speaker 1>You say that for the German to say minus right.

00:34:58.612 --> 00:34:58.932
<v Speaker 1>Well, it's funny.

00:34:58.932 --> 00:35:00.456
<v Speaker 1>My good friend from Stuttgart.

00:35:00.456 --> 00:35:07.349
<v Speaker 1>She learned English in America and what they teach English in Germany is British English.

00:35:07.349 --> 00:35:15.407
<v Speaker 1>So she would get into trouble when you know she'd say clean the apartment and they'd say no, no, it's tidy the flat and there ain't no tidying of any flatting going on here.

00:35:15.407 --> 00:35:16.387
<v Speaker 1>I can promise you that.

00:35:16.387 --> 00:35:20.010
<v Speaker 1>So thank you so very much.

00:35:20.010 --> 00:35:28.679
<v Speaker 1>I can't wait to see what comes next and I can't wait to meet you in New York, yeah, and we're absolutely going to do a follow-up once you're feet on the ground running.

00:35:28.679 --> 00:35:31.360
<v Speaker 1>So thank you, Thank you, Thank you so much.

00:35:31.360 --> 00:35:40.648
<v Speaker 1>Have a good one, Thank you, Thanks for listening.

00:35:40.648 --> 00:35:44.862
<v Speaker 1>Don't forget to rate and review and follow us on every single platform at Handbag Designer.

00:35:44.862 --> 00:35:45.222
<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much.

00:35:45.222 --> 00:35:45.704
<v Speaker 1>See you next time.