Episode 3 – Conna Walker – From eBay to Empire

0:12Hi guys, I'm Rachelle Humes and this is Ladies Who Launch. Each episode will dive into the journeys of aspirational women who started from scratch and built their dreams into thriving empires. These are the founders, the risk takers, the go getters that are changing the landscape and making their mark in the world of business. We're here to celebrate their wins, dive into their challenges and share the invaluable lessons they've learned along the way. Ladies Who Launch is about sharing the inspiring stories that could empower you to take your own leap. So get ready to be uplifted by the resilience, creativity and unstoppable determination of today's most extraordinary women.

0:52This is your Girls Group Chat for business and beyond.

1:00From selling clothes on eBay to building a global empire in her 20s, my next guest story is proof that determination and clear vision is enough to change the game. She launched her brand at 17 years old, becoming a self-made CEO and creating one of today's most recognizable fashion brands. With no formal training, minimal resources and a big dream. Today we'll dive into how she carved her own path in a competitive industry and the bold strategies she used to turn her vision into a global phenomenon. Welcome to the podcast, Connor Walker.

1:40I'm so excited that you're here. Me too, thank you for having me. I'm so, so chuffed. I feel like this is a real full circle moment and we need to touch on that a little bit later on. And it didn't dawn on me until the other day, but we'll sort of deep dive into that a little bit later. You started House of CB at the age of 17, which is so impressive. And I read that it's actually the only job you've had. Yes, that is very true. Which honestly is mind-blowing to be such an entrepreneur. There's lots of ideas that I had at 17, which, you know, haven't worked out, didn't work out, didn't make it into anything.

2:26How does a 17 year old Connor have this idea that is the global empire that it is today? I think actually I didn't really have that. I didn't really think that it would be like a global empire. I just was like, oh, I need to make some money. And so I just started like selling clothes on eBay and um and yeah it wasn't like necessarily a full decision in the beginning which sounds very boring but um but yeah no it wasn't really a huge decision in the beginning to be like oh I want to create this huge brand it kind of just started out as me selling clothes and then being like oh this is I'm quite good at this it's going quite well yeah it's going quite well just a tad yeah exactly so then um after like a year or two I started designing my own clothes which is a very loose term.

3:16I was just like, yeah, I'll do this and that. And I would like sit in the warehouse and the factories and explain to them what I wanted. But yeah, it wasn't like a decision from the beginning. I felt like it kind of fell into place. You've stumbled across this beast that it now is. Yes, exactly. Yeah, so it was like bit by bit, which actually worked really well because I was able to like grow with the brand. And I think if I had had such high expectations from the start that maybe I would have been a bit off. Yeah, because I suppose it could blinker you a little bit. That kind of, because I know that you're, I suppose, putting it in layman's terms by saying that you sold some stuff on eBay and then you decided to do it yourself.

3:53But to have that real, like, drive, that entrepreneurial spirit, where is that born? I think, well, for me, both my parents are entrepreneurial, so I definitely learned from them and, like, being around them. They were importing furniture from China and they had done like various other things prior to that. But they, yeah, I learned a lot about trade from them. Not so much about fashion but about trade. I learned a lot from them. And then I think also just it's probably something that's just kind of in you and it's just like you don't really, I don't think that I would be great working with someone.

4:28I don't think they would, I think they'd find me quickly. Why do you think that? I just don't think that I'm great at taking direction. um it's good to admit that so yeah exactly so I feel like if you have that kind of personality type then sometimes um kind of entrepreneurialism works yeah and that like you say that's something that that's a fire within you that yes you can't put out yes yeah so talk about house of cb that was then celeb boutique yes so let's kind of deep dive into that so before so you're selling dresses on eBay, you then decide, okay, I'm going to design some of these dresses myself.

5:11Is that what, is that Celeb Boutique? Yes. So there was like a kind of crossover period. So at first I was just buying ready-made stuff, putting on eBay, selling it. And then I started designing my own stuff. Um, and I tried some and I was like, okay, let's see if this sells. And then I was like, oh, people are buying it. Okay, cool. Um, so then I was kind of like a blend of both. So I was still buying like ready-made stuff and then designing my own and then completely phased into just designing our own stuff. So that lasted, we started in 2014, no, 2010, 2010. And then by 2014, we were house of CB.

5:53So I think it was about three years of celebrity. And then by 2014, we were house CB and then we were fully designing all our own stuff. And then now, obviously, Since then, for the last 10 years, everything has been designed in-house and we do everything in-house. It's worlds apart, isn't it? Yeah, it is. It is. It's so crazy to kind of watch on and see your journey happen from the outside. So as you're starting at the time Celeb Boutique, what did that take from you up front? Because I know that you're the only investor in this. It's yours. There's no one else kind of with an opinion that's a shareholder that's got, you know, this is Connor's baby.

6:34And it started that way and it continues to be, which I think is so, so incredible and a credit to you. What, how did that look, that first investment of your own to get it off the ground? So I was really lucky. I lived at home. I had parents who encouraged me to, you know, be entrepreneurial. material they weren't like they didn't really put a lot of pressure on me to they put a lot of pressure on me to get a job they didn't put a lot of pressure on me to go to uni um but I was lucky that my parents could afford to give me they gave me like three thousand pounds um and that's what I did first to like buy my stock and I remember buying it and putting it in suitcases and bringing it back with me in suitcases originally um but that was kind of that original investment I guess and then I paid that back pretty soon after I sold all that stock and paid it back.

7:25And that original investment went straight on stock? Because I'm curious as to like, the landscape has changed so much since then, right? So much. £3 ,000. I don't think... You barely get a website yet. Like it's crazy how things have moved. Well, I started on eBay as well. So that kind of negated that cost at first. Okay. So I started on eBay. I put those on eBay. I took pictures of me in them. um and so there wasn't really any other costs realistically um so I put them on on there and then after a little while I think I was on eBay for about a year and then I had somebody made make a website for well Celeboutique and then House of CB.

8:06So what was your first what was your first recruitment who was your first recruitment? Um the first recruitment well originally the first recruitment was somebody to pack the orders because I used to do that before and after school because I was still at school at 17. Gosh. Until I was 18. This is so crazy. So my first thing was hiring someone to do that because I hated doing that. I hated doing the customer service. That was the worst. That is the hardest job. It doesn't get enough credit. No, I feel like everybody should have to work in retail slash customer service for like a year. So you just learn those basics.

8:41Very good character building. Yeah, it is. It really is. um but yeah so she was the first person I hired and then the first person as a brand um would have been one of our designers and then I think the second as a brand like when we moved to when we started designing um would have been our PR lady Polly who reached out to me herself years and years and years ago um are you still with Polly no no but I just remembered it now it just came up in my head that yeah no she was great she like reached out to us and she got us in all the magazines like you'll remember at that time like it was like magazines all the time every week yeah the weeklies the weeklies yes yeah yeah because it wasn't really that wasn't really much of a culture for like the daily mail online obviously social media wasn't like as big it was like it had started but it wasn't yeah and it was like twitter was the kind of big space which was obviously less visual and just like a few characters.

9:39Yeah, exactly. So it was such a different place to launch a business. And interestingly, around this time would be the time that we crossed paths, right? Yes, it was. But we didn't know each other. So it was really, so basically Celebrity Boutique, we had like a deal together where you would pay me to wear it every weekend. And this was when those like infamous bandage dresses which I was a huge fan of that was like bandage dress era wasn't it yes and when everyone was in the club and like going out every weekend and it was definitely that culture like um celebrities going out and the the magazines would like recap it every week and then everyone would like read the magazines and it's so crazy because I remember it so well you would send me a big delivery of these dresses and I'd try on my favorite and I would go for dinner and And it was that real, I know there's still that really big paparazzi culture, but there was that time where it was kind of, that has died a little.

10:35It's tipped off a little because of social media, because it's kind of like. Well, you have control of that now. You can post your own pictures. You can show people like yourself. And it's also helped journalism because someone posts pictures and then they can make an article out of the pictures that you've shared yourself. But at the time there wasn't that. So it was like you would get pictured and whether you wanted to or not, you would come out of a nightclub. and then that way then that's how those but that's quite if you think about it at the time it was quite unique what you were doing there you know I was in a pop band you were paying me to wear dresses yeah and now fast forward to like 2024 that's essentially like a celeb ambassador yeah that would you know have a paid partnership with to do social media yes that's exactly what it was it was like a partnership because I remember at the time we had started getting um placements from like various celebrities like in that UK scene um and yeah and it would like we said it would be in all the magazines and stuff and I was like I need to figure out who would be like a great representation of the brand and somebody that like we can have do this consistently and you were the perfect fit so but yeah no it's so funny it's like an early celebrity ambassador relationship before they were really like a thing yes exactly and we've never even really had an actual celebrity ambassador so maybe house of CB yeah so you're like the only one I'm going to wear that crown.

11:57So, so obviously that was such a huge, what was it? Was it the bandage dress that was the moment that you realized, okay, we're onto something here. This has really popped. Yes. So I feel like our initial product was the bandage dress and, um, that's what we became known for. And like you said, it was like the club staple, all the cool girls were wearing it. So timely. Yeah. Yeah. And, um, I would go out to the club and I would see girls in it. I'd be like, where's your dress from? And yeah, and so it became like, the bandage dress was definitely our kickoff kind of era, I guess. And then after that, we've had like a couple more eras since then.

12:37Like we had our corset era. Yeah, we had like corset and now we're kind of in cottagecore era. So, but it was our first. I think what you do so well is dressing the woman. Yes. It's so feminine to the core. And I think that's, yes, the bandage era is what launched you and what caught everybody's eye. But actually it's knowing how to dress a woman. And it sounds such an obvious thing for a fashion brand who's marketing themselves to women. But it's true. Like the cuts can be off. It's true. And that's what you do. Even your loungewear. Thank you. You know, it is feminine. Yeah, I think we really focus on that like hourglass silhouette and that kind of waist cinch.

13:19And whether it's bandage or corsets or cottagecore, it always kind of comes down to that like super feminine shape. And just creating products that women feel really feminine and really enjoy wearing rather than just kind of throwing something on. Yeah. You know. So then fast forward to the rebrands because this is what really interests me because you see brands do this. And it's not just that this is like a name change. Yeah. And obviously, you know what the CB means if you understand the history. Yeah. But to be able to kind of flip this on its head, where did that, why did you think, okay, this is time to relook at this?

13:55What was like, from everything being on you and you being in that driving seat, what was the light bulb moment that you had that you thought, okay, this needs a switch up? It was actually when we started designing everything, people didn't recognize or realize that we were designing everything. And so I was like, okay, I think, well, obviously the name, the name is a really interesting choice in the first place. Celeb Boutique was whatever. Do you know what? It's so nostalgic for me because I feel like it was when it was that, the kind of Assos was like as seen on screen. Yes, it was that error.

14:31Yes. I've said error like 18 times. Everyone wanted what everybody was wearing. Exactly. But it wasn't so instant like Instagram and it wasn't like share a link, buy it now. It was like how do we look like the people that we love? How to get the look. It was in the magazines again. It was like get the look, like get Rochelle's look, blah, blah, blah. It was like stuff like that. So that's where the name came from. And originally, as I said, I was just like buying ready-made clothes. So it was very much like get that kind of celebrity look, which, as you said, was a trend at the time. And so once we decided to like start designing everything, the name didn't really represent that change.

15:06And people didn't realize that we were designing everything. And then, ironically, we started getting copied. So then I was like, oh, so people didn't realize that we were designing it. And I remember one of our really early like A-list placements was on Jennifer Lopez. And we had posted it and people on Instagram were like, why are you lying? I was like, we're not. This is actually ours. Yeah. But people didn't realize that it was ours and that we designed it. So then I was like, okay, I think we need to change the name. I think we need to just kind of mark this new move into different territory of being an actual brand rather than just like somebody selling clothes.

15:48Yeah. If that makes sense. Yeah, absolutely. And so, yeah. And so I was like, okay, let's rebrand everything. Let's change the name. Let's change everything and really focus on the fact that we design everything. And so, yeah, that's what we did. The rebrand came around because of a need to reflect our change in direction and to kind of educate our customer on us being an actual brand rather than just like what we were doing the first couple of years. But it's not often that you see the reinvention be so much bigger than the original kind of idea. Yeah. Like what do you, who sits around a table?

16:25What, like how does that even happen? The scale of it. I think again though it was just one of those things where I mean I've been doing this for next year is our 15th birthday and so it's just like it's not been like an overnight thing no so it's we've managed to grow it like step by step at a pace that we can control yeah and I'm comfortable with um and so even though we rebranded it and changed direction it didn't necessarily go really big overnight like it kind of took a couple years to really ping to yes what I find so interesting is that I know that you are the founder you are the CEO you know as I said before this is your your ship that you're steering here brands often get particularly in their infancy when you're on to a really good thing like it's it can be hard to keep up with and I actually spoke to Jo Malone about this and she was saying that actually the reason that she exited her business was because they were being presented with all these opportunities but actually the cash flow didn't you know what it's like you can have this presence in this store but this costs a certain amount of money and the cash flow kind of then wasn't there because you know they're having to distribute here there and everywhere and that is amazing but it's actually sometimes more than you can handle.

17:49And that's where some people then say, okay, let's get an investor here or let's maybe kind of like give some shares away because they can handle this and they can inject some funds into it. I find it so incredible that you've managed to keep hold of everything. I know now that you're running out of your own factory. It must be quite tempting at some points to go, okay, you have a little bit here because there's so much pressure on us in-house. Yes. And there's definitely been times where I have considered taking outside investment, but personally, I feel like a lot of brands, once they get outside investment, they really lose their core audience.

18:29because when you get outside investment, you usually also get a new team with that or at least half of a new team and people telling you how you should spend your money, the direction you should go in. And a lot of the time, I feel like you kind of lose the essence of the brand in pushing over to this very corporate setting because you have to answer to your shareholders and they obviously really push for money, money, money, which obviously every company, you want money, money, money. I don't do it for the love. that's a small part of this yeah of course but um but yeah and I think that when you go down the shareholder route you lose a lot of autonomy of your company and and so for me it just was never really super appealing there have definitely been times where I've considered it for sure um but instead I mean we've always been profitable so that helps yeah but then we've always taken it kind of step by step like we haven't kind of bitten off more than we can chew um and that's when if you want to do really fast growth immediately, then you need so much cash flow to back that up.

19:34And that's maybe when you would go for investment. But I just feel like if you can own your brand as much as possible and hold on to as much as possible, then you should. You're winning. If you can. Yeah, absolutely. And I think there's a lot to be said for that slow and steady approach. There are so many people that are so quick to launch and the success is it's rapid. But then as you say it's really hard to retain it isn't it yes yeah how do you go about knowing your customer so well like as a as a brand and as a you know as a founder how do you kind of because I feel like that's one thing when I think of house of CB it's so niche in what it does like even the way that you shoot your content even you know the girly that's buying it how do you keep tabs on that what happens in the background well I think that the the team that's behind it including myself are like a house of CB girl so we know what we like we know what maybe we don't like anymore um and I think we've also grown up with our customers so like you said like our bandage era we were in the club we were having a good time I still go to the club occasionally I don't you know I can't do it as much now Connor I know I need to put that bandage dress back on and channel the old me.

20:47We'll have to go out next year. Yeah, exactly. But yeah, and I think we've just kind of grown up with our customer and we've stayed very, we've stayed very true to the brand. And like, as you said, like the fit and the style and just kind of staying true to those brand ethos of what our customer kind of likes. And that stays the same as they grow up. They just kind of look at it in a different way. So like the bandage girls could still be the cottage girls now. They're just a little older. Yes, yes, exactly that. So, yeah, and I think it's just we've always kept a really good dialogue with our customers as well.

21:25Social has been really important for us, and we were lucky that when we started was around the same time as social media started really taking off, I guess. Yes, so you've always been kind of embedded in that. Yes, exactly. I feel your price point as well is it sits at such an interesting place because it's the dress that you want to feel special. It's not quite at that like really premium designer price point. Yes. But it's not high street. It's in that like I want to buy a dress for my birthday and feel incredible, but it's going to last me. Exactly. It's like a special purchase and it allows us to make really nice quality garments that will, like you said, will last you.

22:04But at the same time, like if you wanted a few in the year, that's not going to be too much of a problem. It's not like a thousand pounds. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. But the quality is so... Thank you. That's what, honestly, you do so well. We try really hard. Own in your own factory. Yes. And I've had a little look I've seen on Instagram. I love you in your little pink truck. I can't. Yeah. It's like, it's just everything. It's just everything that I thought the house of Sydney factory would look like. How does that actually work? Because that is something that a lot of brands would shy away from.

22:42Yeah. It's super costly. It is. But I can imagine it comes with obviously so many benefits when it comes to copying and stock getting sold elsewhere that shouldn't be. Yes, yes. So actually that was the first reason why I used to use outside factories and that was one of the first reasons why I started working on my own factory was because we'd get copied all the time. And then people would sell like our patterns from the factory and like give them out to other people. or I remember one time I was using this supplier and she was like oh it's so crazy like from your designs I have this other buyer who buys even more of it than you do and I was like all right I'm out I'm done.

23:22And as if that wasn't flattering. Yes yeah she was like they're so good I was like thank you great. I'm selling loads of them. Yeah. It's so interesting how do you deal with that kind of copying mentality those kind of like me too brands because they're always gonna pop up I think it's just part and parcel I think it's just part and parcel of the industry and I think that we've always tried really hard to kind of push ourselves forward and figure out the next thing and what the next product is and like I said like we went from bandage then we went to corset then we went to cottagecore and we just always try and move it on to something else and I think that like fashion is not always 100 % new anyway, is it?

24:02So you're always kind of, yeah, you're going around and around. Um, but yeah. And, and going back to the, to the factory thing, it's just, you do have so much more control and you have control over the quality and what you put out, but obviously there's a lot more costs involved. And with control comes pressure. Yes. Yeah. When you're at the kind of top of the tree, how do you cope with pressure and running a team? because there's running a team in terms of like your day-to-day brand team and you know your global business so that's kind of you've got a team everywhere how do you go about that because it's not just the day-to-day who's in your office and around you you've then got the factory team and you've got everybody everywhere yeah how do you deal with that pressure um I think I mean I think people that would say like there isn't any it's fine are lying yes it's very stressful all the time yeah it is really stressful all the time um and that's kind of fine for me I don't really mind that it's stressful all the time and I think the way you manage it is you have to find really good people that you can rely on to be in kind of those top level management places so somebody who runs the factory that's really really good um somebody who runs the stores that's really really good and then you're just kind of overseeing those people rather than overseeing everyone yeah you If you thought of the bigger picture at lunch, it's way too overwhelming.

25:26Yes, exactly. So then you oversee your core, like high up team, your core management team. And then everything should fall into place from there. But of course, even that management team sometimes are going to need direction from you. A lot of the times they need direction from you. But that's kind of, I think is the best way to kind of manage that stress. Yeah, no, totally. You need a good team. What does your role consist of? Everything. so what like day to day how does that look so i oversee our product our product direction um i actually still even sit in product fits which is probably very bad i should have delegated that by now i think delegating is like the key to having a successful business but also it's really hard yeah so um but yeah a day-to-day for me i'll look at the fits i direct the the look and feel of the product and maybe we want to change product we want to change direction I do that I oversee all the creative direction of the brand as a whole so how the website looks any changes packaging photo shoots all of that and then also still dealing with the factory our store rollout what stores are we picking where are we opening them the store design so really I oversee pretty much everything um which is what I enjoy yeah and I think when it's your baby and you you have to be you don't want to be a control freak you don't want to micromanage but it's your it's your life it's so you it's not just a job yeah yeah and I think actually going back to the question you asked earlier about how do we kind of understand our consumer and stay with them and I think it's just that kind of I'm so um involved that it never loses that essence that it kind of began with because it was always kind of like my direction whereas which is what worries me like I said before if you get outside investment and somebody else comes in and takes that role then will it lose yeah that essence and is it hard to sort of I think that about exiting as well and we'll touch on that in a little bit but is it hard to see something that you were you know that was like running through your veins a part of you on the outside and kind of be objective surely that you could never be objective yeah no actually I'm quite critical of everything that we do like in a good way I think that sometimes you have to like take a step back and be like oh in a non-emotional way what are we doing do we like what we're doing does this work is this not working and sometimes maybe there'll be products that I'm like yeah this this style of product can do really well and it wasn't and instead of just kind of taking that personally you just have to be like okay they didn't like that let's figure out what's next what are we on to yes yeah what's the hardest part about your role like if your phone rings and you're like oh gosh give me a minute like if you're at dinner and your phone rings and you're like I'm trying to not be at work yeah I'm like goodbye yeah what's what's the hardest part um my accountant no I'm kidding um can't to stop spending so much.

28:33We're profitable and we're good. Don't worry. Um, but no, I think, I actually think it's not so much somebody calling or something specific like that. It's more, um, staying on top. And I feel like we have been quite a well established brand, um, for some time, like 15 years is quite a while. Um, and a lot of brands last about like 10 years, um, or they'll have like a hit product and then kind of cycle off a little bit. Yeah. And so I I think the hardest thing is actually staying relevant and continuing to like find products that are interesting to people that they want. And there's so much competition.

29:11It's such a like, you know, flooded marketplace. Yeah. And it's so hard to not be emotional or not be kind of, are they the sorts of things that keep you up at night when you're like, okay, I've seen this. Hang on. Like, do you, does outside noise come in? A little bit, sometimes. But you do have to just tune that out. And like you said, not being emotional, I think, is really important. I find that the hardest thing. Really? Yeah. I don't mind it so much. If I feel like, oh, OK, this didn't work, cool, then we'll just move on to the next thing. Yeah. OK, we have to figure it out. I think on the outside, I don't think anyone would know I'm emotional about it.

29:50But at home, I cannot shake it. I have to really sort of feel my feelings. You know what? OK, now I'm all right. I'm actually lying. I think that if you ask the team, because sometimes I'll be like, oh my God, did you read the comments? Did you see what I said? How could they possibly think that? But then I'm like, oh, okay, maybe you're right. I don't know. We have to figure out something else. It's like, it's not letting that ego get in the way and not being too precious. Yes, exactly that. Has there been a moment that you kind of, because everything you do, like, you know, it's clear to see how invested you are and how kind of you're in the fits and you probably don't need to be in the fits at this point.

30:29Yes. Has there been a particular launch that you were like, this was everything to me and it wasn't received in the way that you'd hoped or in the way that you thought it? I think that there's been like specific products that I may have really loved and then the customer is just not really loved. And you're just like, oh, OK, that's disappointing. Well, but I do always find it interesting to like look at their reactions, obviously the data of how things have sold, all that kind of stuff. and then like work from that for how we should move forwards. Yeah. And I always feel that it's really important to try new things and just see how they go.

31:07And you need that balance of your bread and butter product that always sells, you know they love it, and you push that forward, you evolve it. And then also at the same time trying other new things that you're not sure how it will be received. You're like, we should try this, we'll see how that goes. And then, you know, if it doesn't, then you're just like, cool, then we won't do that. And that is part of staying relevant, isn't it? continuing to try but stay true to who you are it's kind of a fine yes line to strike isn't it what is your bread and butter product um at the moment it's probably our cottage core stuff that's like our most popular that everyone loves it's gone like viral on tiktok every summer for the last like four or five years um could you like did you feel that as you were creating it were you like this is this is gonna fly yeah you know it was really lucky when we well we had been dabbling in it before covid um and we had tried a bit here and there and like prior to that we were very bodycon I would say and then obviously our corsets um but yeah and we had like dabbled in it a little bit before um COVID and then COVID happened and then lockdown happened and so nobody could go out and um and then we just it was really a stroke of luck that we happened to have our cottagecore full collection for the first time as COVID opened back up and people could go outside in the summer and so it was like perfect timing it was just like it couldn't have been more perfect That is so lovely.

32:29I always thought for the brands that like the loungewear brands, brands that had just launched at like the start of that year. And then they just went whoom. Yeah, exactly. Because we were just staying in. Yeah, exactly, exactly. And it was that kind of thing as well. And then it's just stayed since people have really loved them. And it was really interesting because, like I said, we kind of dabbled in it a little bit before, but it was really surprising to us how day wear is so well received for us when realistically for the past, I don't know, well, for up to 10 years, we had been known for evening wear for the most part.

33:05But there was no one that was making that day wear pretty. No, exactly. and making it a little more dressy and a bit more of a moment and a bit more something special. It comes back to that feminine play on everything, doesn't it? It does, yeah. And it comes back to that feeling special and dressing up kind of moment. When you look at like kind of those high-end brands, and like I said, you sit at such an amazing place between the two, how many drops do you have to do a year? Because you always see that resort or pre, you know, all those kind of fashion shows and, you know, they're a big key like markers in the year in terms of the fashion industry.

33:37How many do you do? Where does it slot as you're between the two? Yes, so we don't do as much as like a fast fashion brand. They release like thousands a month. It's like insane. But we do essentially a new collection every month, but like less amount of pieces than would be in like regular seasonal collections. Right. So we end up doing about 500 pieces a year, like styles, which works out about, give or take 10, 10 a week. 10 a week? I know. And then working back, just my brain is like, wow, wow. So working back from that, like we said, you're in the fits, you're there from the ground upwards.

34:18How, from you designing, you and the team designing a dress, for instance, and, you know, me being a customer and ordering it and it arriving in my house, that process for you guys, what's the sort of time scale and the lead time? It's about nine months and then we're pushing for it to be about a year. So by the end of this year, we should be, end of this year, early next year, we'll be about a year in advance. Right. So, yeah, we work. I mean, it takes about three months for us to develop products in fits and, like, that goes back to, like, that quality thing and the fit that we really want to make sure that it fits really well, that it feels good, that it lasts.

34:58So our development time for our products is quite a while, which is much longer than. yeah so you're always so far ahead yes yeah so it's good because we we don't really go by trends at houses CB we kind of just like decide what direction we want to go in we listen to the customers we see what sells what hasn't sold all that kind of stuff um and then we decide on the direction we want to go in we look at trends like a little bit but it doesn't massively influence our direction which must be like pretty refreshing yeah yes yeah and I just feel like as well that when you're in that kind of middle space, you don't really want to be competing with like these fast trends that the trend cycle goes so quickly now, um, that you, it's better to just kind of carve out your own space.

35:43Yeah. I think. Yeah. Um, so that's what we try to do. Um, but yeah, it's, it's good because we have enough time to be able to do that. We need enough time to develop the product, to design it, develop it, all that kind of stuff. But then we're still responsive enough um that if there is anything major that we want to be a part of yeah that we can you can be a bit reactive with it yes I suppose that's the beauty of having again it comes back to having your own everything you've carved out that space in terms of like from start to finish which as I hear it the kind of like the founder in me goes oh my gosh the pressure every you know of not ever having to outsource stuff but yeah also how liberating that can be That seems to have been your journey the whole way along.

36:28We've done it piece by piece. It wasn't just like overnight. I didn't start like, hey, I'm going to own my own factory. I'm going to make all these products. Yeah, we're going to design everything and pump it all out. What do you think are the sort of key things a founder should focus on from the start? Because that really interests me that, you know, as you said, you were in a nice position where that you lived at home and you didn't have that much responsibility. And you were young. Like you were going to school and you were doing it between everything else. What would you say a founder should focus on up front?

36:58What is it to get right from the jump? I think now looking back, like I didn't really necessarily start with a brand story. I had a brand story, but I didn't necessarily know it. Right. And I think that that is actually really important for brands. I think that kind of knowing your brand story and brand story being not just like you personally, but you know why you've chosen to do that brand and what the product is and why I guess like not quite your unique selling point because I don't always agree with like having to have a USB yeah I mean lots of brands aren't necessarily unique but they do really well yeah well sometimes it's not about reinventing the world it's just like how you're going to make it a little bit different and you'll speak to somebody yes and I think making that decision from the beginning is really important and kind of um having a clear plan and sticking to it rather than just kind of like flip-flopping in the middle like oh do we want to do our own products do we want to be trend-led do we want to do this do we want to do that and I think you have to pick um a clear route to begin with and and try that fully and if that doesn't work then you can kind of pivot and try something else but I think if you're just kind of one foot in one foot out um well it's hard isn't it you're not yet you've not got that sort of clear direction and I suppose you kind of like you say this wasn't necessarily the plan yeah you know the selling dresses on ebay and how that looks but actually you have had a story and it is flattering yes the female body that's been your story the story from the beginning but it's kind of I didn't necessarily recognize that at first so I think it's nice to sit there and kind of figure out what that brand story is did you ever face any challenges in terms of your age because I find it so interesting because really like the odds worst act against you, let's actually like break it down a little bit.

38:44First of all, you're 17. Secondly, you're female. That just to not be kind of intimidated by certain situations and have that kind of drive and that sort of willpower in you, I think is so admirable. Did you ever face kind of any challenges I suppose employing people that are older than you or how does that look that really interests me I mean definitely when I was younger as well that like I would hire people and they would just be like oh I'm not really I know better like you know and it's good to hire people that do know better um and you want to listen to those yeah exactly and it's good you want to hire people that know things that you don't and that can bring things to the table but I did find a lot of the times that they really struggled to take direction from me um and perhaps that was their bias I don't know yeah I would assume so I remember one time I went um to they like obviously when I hire people I get to pick them so that's not so much of an issue like I haven't faced it too badly because if I interview you and you seem like you won't work well with me then I simply won't hire you so it's like I didn't have to face it that much but obviously there have been kind of moments especially when most people I was hiring at the time were older than me not now as I'm an old lady at 32

40:13but when I would kind of go to like outside people and their teams then that would be when there was a little bit of friction and I remember once we went to a marketing team we wanted to do like some adverts or whatever. And the guy was like, yeah, this print marketing is not just about making pretty pictures. And I was like, yeah, no shit. Obviously I know that, but it was just very like, the tone. Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, okay, got it. But how empowering that every time you're like, okay, about that. Yeah. I'm sure they would be begging to do your marketing. I know. But for those kinds of things, I don't really take it too seriously.

40:49If I don't like person that I'm working with, then I just won't work with them. That's the good thing about having your own company is that you can pick and choose. You don't have to, you don't have to work with them. Exactly. We don't have to stay in this situation if you don't want to. How do you manage time? Because it's the thing that we all wish that we had much more of, but I know that you split your life between the UK and being in the States, in LA, which I, which sounds so lovely to me, But when I think about the practicality of it, I'm like, that means that somebody's always awake and they then always need you.

41:27Yes. Someone's going to be there when you're on that many time zones. Oh, yeah, absolutely. Somebody always needs you. No one leaves me alone. No. So how do you how do you do that? How do you manage your time? How do you kind of make sure that the team in London are propped up OK and everybody everywhere is good? I think I think the first thing is I don't mind. I work all the time. Like if I'm awake, I'm working. And so I'm happy with that. I'm fine with that. You've got like the always on approach. Yes. Yeah. And, um, and don't get me wrong. Like we also have a really good team. I found a really good team.

42:02So most people can kind of handle their day to day without necessarily needing to, they don't need to like talk to me every single day. Um, they'll talk to me every week and there'll be a variety of people that I speak to every day. but it's not like you shouldn't have to hold people's hands and do their job for them like day in, day out so yeah for me I don't mind like you know if you want to have a big company you're going to have to work a lot and you have to that's the reality yeah exactly and you just have to be and I'm always on my phone and that's fine with me you're going to have to work hard yes no you're going to have to work hard and you're going to have to put the time in I think if you want a big company then that is the cost the nature of the beast Yeah, that's the nature of the business.

42:45What do you do though? What's that thing that makes you not look at your phone? What do you do? Because everybody needs, it's okay always being on, but you need a little bit of respite. So what's your thing? How do you go, right, I've got to take myself out of this. It's stressful. This hasn't arrived. This isn't on time. This is trouble this week. Yeah. I've got to sort of escape. How do you do that? I really like, obviously in LA, there's so many like wellness options. It sounds so LA of me. No, but we're getting better here. Yeah. We're getting better. Yeah, I mean, the weather even helps. I'm like, you know what, I'm going outside.

43:16I'm going to go on a little hike. But I think actually just literally disconnecting, putting your phone down and going outside is really nice. Yeah. And I love, like, I love an infrared sauna. Oh, I can't take my phone in there. Perfect. Yes. Like, no one can bother me. Goodbye. But, yeah, just, like, completely disconnecting. Travelling, I love travel. I love to just go and see new places. So just anything that just makes you not look at your phone. And it just rests your brain for that moment in time. Are you an early riser? I am. Okay, that's good. I am. I actually fully believe in like getting up early.

43:49I do. I know a lot of people are like, oh, it makes no difference, but it does. Oh, it does. It does. It really does. Yeah, I'm up at like six most days. I've slowly trained myself to do that after kids, like pre-kids. There's absolutely no way. Unless I was like working and I had to be up and about, there's no way. but I actually find the days that you're, that you actually don't have any plans. Yes. To get up and like, I feel like I'm like killing the day. Oh yeah, me too. Even if I'm like on holiday or whatever, I'm up early. Are you? Even if I go out drinking the night before and I'm hungover, I'll be up early.

44:20Oh, so am I, but I don't wish for that. No. That's like a toxic trait. No. I'm like, why am I awake now? A hundred percent. I got in a few hours ago. Yeah, no, no. Yeah, that's horrible. I don't wish for that. I'm like, what is that? The alcohol, something happens. But yeah, I'm always up early. I think it's good to start early and you just like, you get so much more out of your day. And it's also nice to be done kind of early because then you can kind of have your afternoon a bit more free. Yeah. To do what you want to do. Yeah, exactly. If you want to do something a bit more. You gain some use time.

44:48Yeah, exactly. Which is important. When you've got that pressure and things can be heavy, it's important to just look after yourself. And I love to like just disassociate and watch a really good TV show and just goodbye. I'm just rotting on my couch. Yeah. By the end of it, the TV show is watching you. Yeah. It's like, are you still there? Am I still here? I don't know. I don't know. Who knows anymore? We touched on it before. Do you ever, I mean, I feel like I know the sense of this because of where this has gone and having spoke to you, but do you ever toy with the idea of exiting? Oh, yeah, definitely.

45:24If anybody wants to buy a house to see me for the right money, call me. But the right money is really key. It's a big part. yes no definitely 100 i think anybody who builds a big brand it's always a consideration yeah um and i think that maybe it would be interesting to float it to put it on the stock market i don't know yeah i'm always open i'm always open it's so and how do you think you know the connor that is you know the girl that's in every fit the girl that's got her own factory the girl that is so on it how do you think you could like see the brand from afar but not having I mean I think I would say that it's fine I don't think I'd be too bothered um you're sailing off into the sunset yeah exactly right bye guys yeah no but I think that um I think that obviously like it's you know it's grown up with me I've grown up with it I don't know and life does move at some point doesn't it?

46:26Yes, exactly. It really does. Yeah. But for the meantime, I am also really enjoying where we're at. And I think that we've come to a place where it's really interesting. Like we're, I don't want to say too much, but we're launching a lot of different products and it's going to, I think it's going to become much more of a lifestyle brand and so much bigger and so much more interesting. So it's nice to be here at this kind of, what feels like a very pivotal moment for us. It feels like we're kind of, you know. It's exciting. Yeah, it is exciting. I think it couldn't grow anymore. Yeah. We're talking, let's talk numbers a little bit because you touched on, honestly, it's mind-blowing.

47:02It's actually, we have to do this because you touched on 500 pieces roughly you're turning out a year. Yeah. What does that look like in revenue? What was your turnover last year? Last year we did over 200 million. So that was pretty solid. I mean, that was a strong year, girl. That was a good year. That was all right. Too many cashflow problems there. Yeah, exactly. And this year we'll do more than that. And we have a nice steady growth year on year. So, yeah, it does, you know, we're self-funded, no debt. So we're good in terms of that. And that's why it's also like, I mean, there's the brand Zimmerman.

47:36That has been like owned by the, I think their brother and sister, I want to say. I love Zimmerman. Their family anyway, family members that have owned that for 30 years. And they only just exited recently. recently um and so I was like okay that's an interesting you know direction yeah because you don't really see too you either kind of keep control of your brand and you and you own your brand forever or you obviously sell it um but usually people sell it like within that 10 year mark and so I'm like oh so it's nice to see a brand that's kind of held on to it for a little bit longer and then sold it so I don't know I'm open to both I enjoy where we're at and I'm also So like, we can...

48:18Yeah, and who knows where the story will end? Yes, exactly. Because like you say, this is kind of, this story's written itself. It's like it's working, yeah. Yeah, yeah, and it's doing all right. Yeah. And you've got stores here. So you've got the Westfield store. Yes. You have got what was a pop-up. Yes. On Oxford. I mean, that's the dream. If you're a fashion girly and like we've all grown up like, you're East London, Essex, East London, Topshop on Oxford Street is like, is actually a landmark. and it's not Topshop anymore me and my friends will still call it Topshop and we're directly opposite, we see it it's like to have that must be the dream location yeah no it is and it's done so well and it's like it was obviously when we, it was a much bigger not in size but a much bigger moment for us with our retail than we had done previously we have stores in LA and we have stores around the US and like you said we have the one at Westfield here and we have a couple others in the UK but nothing on such like a prestigious yeah street um and so yeah it's done really well we opened it as a pop-up like you said and then we took the rest of the four floors so it's like 45 ,000 square foot which is rather large um I'm like oh nervous no it's fine um but it's really exciting because we are going to have our bridal floor on there which is our first like bridal retail thing we've obviously done our bridal collection bits all online which is so smart thank you yes it's done really well for us it's really fun to be able to kind of create something that's important and it kind of ties back ties back into those like special moments um that girls kind of come to us for anyway um but yes so we're gonna have like a really good bridal suite there which is our first like bridal retail experience um and yeah it's just very exciting and it is it is really nice to like go to Oxford Street and be like oh we have a store on Oxford Street like it's Oxford Street yeah and it's nice that some other brands have opened up there as well and it's kind of like rejuvenating the area um so it's not just like the old traditional brands there's like a nice influx of new brands as well the UK girl in you must be like this is just that because there's lots of things like you know opening stores in in LA and having such a focused team in LA and you know the world and it all being so big and exciting but to you know nothing be the kid that used to go yes to Oxford Street that must be like a real pinch yeah no it was nice and actually yesterday um yesterday was Sunday and so I was there um with like some of my family and we were just like walking down Oxford Street and it was very like it was so busy it was absolutely rammed like the whole street was just packed because So obviously all the Christmas lights and stuff are on.

51:04And it was just really cute. It was like, oh, no. That is huge. It's huge. It's such a big moment. I want to do something now, which we call the rocket round. Okay. So essentially it's quick fire. Yeah. And we like a waffle. We like a chat. But we're trying to keep this brief. We're trying to keep these little concise. Okay. So this really interests me. And because you've done this from the ground up, I'd like to know, what are, do you believe the non-negotiables for launching a business? Um, having a really good product, um, knowing your audience and knowing your brand story. Yeah. Okay. When did you first realize that you'd truly launched?

51:48Um, I would say when we changed to House of CB, when we kind of did that rebrand, that's like the first couple of years were like my practice run. And then that was our like this has happened this is it yeah then that's when I had a plan what do people normally seek your advice or help for um for business stuff usually just like in general um yeah just what do you think I should do and a lot of people have asked me actually about um getting investment and stuff which I usually say don't yeah yeah well listen you're you're proof of that the proof's in the pudding um I love this one what brand do you wish you'd founded Oh, that is a good one.

52:30Maybe Zimmerman, actually, thinking about it now. I think that's just such a good brand. I love Zimmerman. They're just so good. See, you're on the feminine. Yes, yeah. It's not necessarily always my personal style, but I think they just do such a great job. Do it well. Yeah. If you could choose one female mentor, past or present, who would it be? Oh, probably Vivian Westwood. Not as a designer. I just feel like she was just so cool. And she just didn't care about anyone's opinion or anything else. She's so inspiring. Yes. And even like back then when it's like, you know, that she, maybe I'm sure there were so many obstacles in her way, being a female and being so ballsy.

53:12And so like unapologetically her. And she just didn't really give a shit. At least that's how it comes across. Yes, exactly. That's a good one. If you could trade one of your current skills for a superpower that would help your business, what would it be and why? I probably would want to be able to see the future and be like, oh, yeah, this is the product we're doing. Perfect. We'll move into that now. I mean, if you know what's going to happen, then you can make all the right decisions. You won't make any mistakes. We're going into a global pandemic. Let's get the tracksuits out. Yeah, exactly.

53:48Pyjamas for us. Yeah, there's no guessing. I'd like to know, before we wrap up, I'd like to know what success now looks like to you and how, because we all measure success differently, right? You are a very, very successful woman. Thank you. But how, has that, has your idea of success changed as you've grown? Yeah, and I think that on a personal level, it's more about being like confident in yourself and in your decisions and trusting in yourself. And even if maybe things don't go as planned, that you can kind of trust that you still have the ability and you can trust yourself to still, you know, be solid, even if the outside factors aren't necessarily solid.

54:28And then on like a business level, just, yeah, I mean, success is always just having a great company that you're proud of and that you enjoy and that you can keep pushing further and further. So you got that girl. Thank you. You got that. And lastly, I love this bit because every week we ask our guests to leave a tip. something tangible something that someone can really take away from this if you had one piece of advice to a lady looking to launch what would it be um I think it would be to not be too emotional about the things that happen and just kind of look at it as as data and just be like okay you know this didn't work out or this did work let's lean into this um and yeah and just not to be disheartened and just kind of look at everything as a learning curve and I think if you look at it as a learning curve and not as like a personal reflection of you um then you can make better decisions and just kind of move forward that way it's the hardest thing but it's the most important thing isn't it yeah and you do feel it I mean like it's not nice when people oh I hate that yeah as long as that feeling gets a little softer over time yes exactly yeah and you get used to it and it's fine.

55:43Now I promised myself when I did this podcast that I, because I'm nosy, I like to visualize everyone's working day and I like to know because we're talking about ladies who launch, I also like to talk about ladies who lunch. Yes. So the lunch hour is very important. And you know, if you're listening to this, you're probably listening in your lunch hour. How do you spend your lunch hour? Where are you? What are you eating? How does it look for you? It's so varied. It's so varied. I'm a foodie. Same. This is why I'm so nosy about this. Yeah. I love good food. If I'm on set, I don't know, it's probably, we're probably ordering something, in which case it's going to be a bit naughty.

56:24Always. Good. And then, yeah, if I'm at home, then it's pretty chill. I don't know. I like everything. It's just whatever I feel like eating at the time. Okay. I'm not very, like, set. My day is very varied. And would you, like, break for lunch or would you have it at your desk or? Both. Either or. Sometimes it's a working lunch and sometimes it's let's go to a nice restaurant and to have a drink as well while we're there. They're the best lunches. Yeah, they're the best lunches. They're like, cheers, we did a great job. Today's been great. We've got lots to do on this afternoon. But who knows if it's going to get done.

56:53Pops another bottle of wine. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I love chatting with you. You are absolutely brilliant. Dream guest. Thank you. I'm so glad I could come. Thank you so much. You've obviously been the dream guest. I've loved talking to you. Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

57:15Don't forget to follow us on Apple and Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts so that you don't miss out. Because next week we're going to talk to another incredible lady who launched. Or if like me, you're a watcher, don't forget to follow us on YouTube and make sure that you like and subscribe.

57:35Thank you.