Ali Mejia: Cofounder of Eberjey

22:45Ali Mejia:Amazingly, people were in love. Like they were because they were exquisite. I mean, these laces, if you could imagine like the most beautiful laces I've ever seen. I don't even think I've seen laces that beautiful since. So everything was impeccable and Anna was amazing. So people are like, wow, what is this? Like I would come bring them into the office and people would like start taking them out everywhere. And I think that's when Mariela was like, wow, you know, like people are really like this. I think she started to notice. So talk to me about next steps from there. So Mariela one day, like six months later says to me, do you really want to do this lingerie brand?

23:27Ali Mejia:Because if you do, I want to do it with you. And I couldn't believe that she said that because she really did have a complimentary skill set to mine. She was analytical. She was really business minded. You know, I was dreamy and vision oriented. So when she said that, I was like, Oh, my goodness. Yes, yes, yes, yes. Let's do this together. And that was it. We left to figure it out. No business plan, nothing. Just let's figure it out. What about the financial piece of it? Like, how are you going to support yourself and fund the business? Well, we both lived at home. We did have a little bit of savings.

24:08Ali Mejia:And we figured we each had$10 ,000 to put in so that we knew. Now how far that would take us? We had no idea. Again, we're naive. We're 23 and 24 years old. It's not like we have a ton of experience building businesses. So we just were having fun. And we're like, you know what, if worse comes to worse, we get a job again. It wasn't like we were thinking that deeply about it. So we got to work, I started to source real fabrics and laces that I could order in bulk. And I also had to find another pattern maker, a cutter, you know, all of like those pieces had to come together. And then Mariela was trying to figure out, okay, how are we going to distribute this?

24:52Ali Mejia:How are we going to keep funding it? So all of those parts came together rather quickly. And we started selling locally here in Miami to these really cute boutiques and they did really well with it and they kept reordering. So that's when we're like, okay, we need to tap into other markets. So we decided to go to New York to do a trade show. Okay. So then at that point in time, what do you have as collateral? I'm assuming you have a name. Do you have a brand book? Do you have a style guide? How many samples? Like if I came up to you at a trade show, what would you have pitched me at that moment in time?

25:26Ali Mejia:Our line was probably about 20 SKUs. We actually had inventory of things because we had to manufacture. At that time, that was like the only way. So we knew we had, you know, so much inventory of each style. We created a line sheet, cut and paste at the time, like with the Xerox machine. This was the 90s. So we had to kind of figure it out. And we had pricing. And we sent the postcard to all of the attendees for the show saying, you know, we're launching our new collection, come visit us because that was from our direct marketing days. We kind of knew that part. And thank God we did that because we had the worst positioning of anyone at the show because we signed up like two weeks before or something.

26:12Ali Mejia:And so thank God we sent that postcard. Well, three days into the show, nobody had showed up at our booth. Mariela and I were about to cry. And then suddenly this woman walks in, very chic lady, and she shows us her postcard. She's like, oh, I'm here because of this postcard. She starts going through the racks and pulls everything out and places this amazing order. I mean, it was a lot. And Mariela and I just knew that it would cover the show expense at least, Like the show is like$5 ,000 or something, which was a lot for us. So her name is Lena Jane. And she has a store on Columbus Ave in New York.

26:53Ali Mejia:And I'm still forever grateful to her because she really put us in business. So we tally up her order. I can't remember how much it was, but it was a nice order. And then she says, double it. I have a store on the Upper West Side. Yes, yes. We were so excited. That was it. And she really, really put us on the map. So forever grateful to her and for our little direct marketing postcard. I mean, see, this is what I mean. The skills that you learn, you know, along the way take you a long way. That's amazing. Oftentimes when I've spoken with people, founders talk about how one of the main difficulties of starting a company, especially when there's product involved, is like there's so many costs that you have to spend on ahead of time just to produce the thing to then sell it.

27:42How were you figuring that piece of it out? Was just every time you would sell locally in Miami, that would then fund the next round of production? And so with this, were you actually getting a check ahead of time to produce all the things for this New York buyer? Or what was that like?

27:59Ali Mejia:Well, we had already produced. So thank God we had all the inventory. And because I was buying fabrics locally from jobbers and people that would resell things, it was quite inexpensive. So our margins were actually quite good. It was such a cash flow problem for so many years. That's why there are factors. Yeah. For folks who might not know a factor, and please correct me if I get this wrong, it's basically like you as a brand can take an order. Let's say you have a million dollar order from Nordstrom. I'm just making this up. You could take that order to a factor and they basically will front you the cash to produce some of it because they can see that you have this purchase order.

28:41They're sort of like a bridge loan almost, correct?

28:44Ali Mejia:Exactly. But we never actually factored, which was incredible. Honestly, now looking back, Mariela and I are like, wow, like I don't know how we bootstrapped this thing. I mean, we really did. Well, low overhead costs to start, it sounds like. Her father gave us a tiny little space in the attic. So we had no overhead costs and we were both living at home. So that really helped. We had no mortgages. We didn't have children. So we were scrappy. We really were. But yeah, somehow we made it through. And then we started getting into more stores. And we got into anthropology a few years later. And that started as seven stores.

29:24Ali Mejia:And they grew to like 200 stores. So that was one of the big accounts that we grew with. Yeah, we started getting into like amazing stores. The Nordstroms and the Bloomingdales and all of those bigger accounts took a lot longer. We had to find sales reps to help us get into those. That was a harder process. In those early days, independent stores, that was your main bread and butter, I'm guessing. So once you get one buyer in New York, is it easier to get others? Or was it primarily Miami at that point in time? How were you thinking about expansion? A lot in New York. And she started selling it really well because there was nothing like it at the time.

30:03Ali Mejia:Now there's so many sleepwear brands and little lingerie brands, but at the time, there were really no new contemporary lines. So we stood out and we did really well. And then in the shows, we just showed up at all of the trade shows and that's how we would pick up new accounts and, you know, accounts in Nantucket and account in Atlanta. I remember we got a couple in California, just like little by little, but really showing up at the trade shows really helped. And how would you talk about the brand to potential buyers when they would come by your booth? How did you explain the brand proposition, the brand values, the SKUs that you chose to create?

30:43How did you talk about the brand in those early days?

30:46Ali Mejia:In the early days, we were really focused on we're a contemporary line with the softest fabric. So softness was always part of our DNA. Like people weren't talking about it in that way. Like this is for you for how you feel when you come home. It was like this aspirational storytelling. And it was true. Like we really believed it that when you come home and you remove your clothing, it's like removing armor. And you're back to like your authentic self. So we would give the spiel. A lot of people didn't buy it, but we also had really cute silhouettes and we had, you know, soft bras and French briefs that we created and kind of invented.

31:25Ali Mejia:And so they were drawn to that. So it wasn't just the pajamas. It was also like these little soft bra sets and underwear. And that's what we were saying. We were just like, listen, there's no brand like us. You know, we're really designing for ourselves. At that time, it was very like Victoria's Secret or Calvin Klein. It was really vava voom or really plain and androgynous feeling almost. And we were trying to position ourselves as somewhere in between this really feminine brand that understands what women really want. This is for you. Female gaze. Yeah, exactly. And that was quite revolutionary at the time.

32:03Ali Mejia:Like now looking back, we're like, wow, you really were onto something. and a lot of people really resonated with that message. And that's what we went with. But I think the fabrics were unique. The silhouettes were roomy. Like they weren't bodycon. There was a lot of ease in the clothes and the fabrics were lightweight. Like we used to do this mesh and lace boy short with a little bralette and it was barely there. So it was so the antithesis of the pushup bra and the baba boom, you know, sexy male gaze. vibe of the time. So I think that really resonated. I mean, I remember like it felt revolutionary, like, oh, this is for me so that I feel good.

32:45That's just not the way people were talking about anything at that point in time. It was really amazing.

32:51Ali Mejia:And for me, I learned that confidence does come from within. It is that inner work and anything that helps you come back to you and feel just really comfortable and authentically yourself Like there's nothing better. Very much so. So you were also pretty early on e-commerce and you had a website back in like the very early aughts. Tell me about your thinking there and what made you have the wherewithal to start e-commerce years before anyone else was doing it, basically. Yeah, we actually used the website more for marketing because at the time we were getting a lot of press hits and we would drive all the traffic to the website.

33:36Ali Mejia:We were selling a tiny bit, but we weren't marketing it because by that point we had gotten into so many stores and we were scared that our retail partners would find it, wouldn't agree with it. And we were just nervous at the time. It was either or. Like you were in competition? In competition with them.

33:59Ali Mejia:So multi-brand retailers should understand that there's room for everyone. And if someone was shopping online at that point in time, they probably already knew and loved the brand and like they weren't going in person for whatever reason. But the concept of direct to consumer was not present at that moment. So it was really the wholesalers, the independent stores, the, you know, multi-brand retailers held all the power. And so it was a deterrent for many brands for many, many years. Now it's seen of like, you can't start a brand without a website and e-commerce capabilities. Everyone knows that that is an important part of the omni-channel strategy, but the ecosystem was very different back then.

34:41So it makes sense that people would be territorial about you potentially encroaching on their sales. So as you are continuing to grow, did you ever think about raising money? Because you've always been independent, right? There are a variety of reasons why people don't take money, what were yours?

34:59Ali Mejia:First of all, I don't think anyone would have given us money back when we started. Again, it wasn't the time when entrepreneurship was a thing. I mean, it was still early. Also, we didn't really have experience. So who would have really given us any except for our friends and our family. But I think because we started down this bootstrap path, we just kept going. Then we started getting loans and then we got a line of credit. And so we just kept going and going. And it was tough. I mean, listen, it's not for everyone. We couldn't do a lot of things that we wanted to do, especially on the marketing side and hiring key team players that would have really helped us, but we couldn't afford it.

35:44Ali Mejia:So, you know, at the same time, though, we really valued our freedom and the ability to go at our own pace and learn the business, the slow and hard way. So I think it just suited us. And we weren't really in a rush. We were enjoying growing organically. And yeah, there were times, of course, that we were like, oh, my gosh, we need money. But we somehow figured it out and got through the hump. I mean, then when we changed our business model to be, you know, 70 % D to C, everything changed. And they're like, oh my gosh, why didn't we do this before? Talk to me about that change. So when COVID hit, obviously so many businesses were affected and we were one of them.

36:32Ali Mejia:All our orders got canceled by the majors, every single one and everything. So everything shut down and we had all this inventory in the warehouse that we had to sell. So we just decided, let's do it. We had already been working more on our website and we knew that this is where it was headed. But again, because of the fear of what the department stores would do, we had been treading lightly. But once COVID hit and we had no choice, we were like, okay, we're all in on D2C and we doubled down on everything that could possibly take the business to the other side. And it really worked. Obviously, the first month was hard.

37:18Ali Mejia:But after that, we were just at the right place at the right time. People wanted pajamas, people wanted loungewear. And we had been doing this quietly for 20 odd years. So I think that people trusted us and they looked to us and we just became really connected with our community. And it really changed our business. Talk to me a little bit about your creative process and your work process and how that has evolved over the years. It's one thing to love pajamas as a young person. It's another to make that your full business and your full work. How do you think through product innovation? How do you think through assortment?

38:03How do you think through newness? How do you think through all of that, especially since, you know, it started from a more organic, less trained space?

38:13Ali Mejia:Exactly. I mean, I really evolved with the product, but we started, we were in our 20s. So we were making little sheer things, a slightly more sexy. I would never say we were ever a very sexy brand, but we definitely use more fabrications that were sheer. And as I grew up and, you know, I started understanding to what women wanted more. So I was no longer only designing for myself. I was getting customer feedback. I started just asking people, friends, family, feedback, tell me what's working, what's not. And so in my 30s is when I started to like really hone in on like just the right elastics and under the bus for support, nothing that digs too much.

39:00Ali Mejia:like those more universal shapes that are the volume drivers, because those little beautiful lacy things that my friends, they're like, I can't believe you don't make them anymore. I'm like, only you wanted them. So I started seeing like what was really performing. And then you start using data to inform where you go. But I think I've evolved a lot. I used to be really hands on. I used to do everything from sitting with the designing, sitting with the pattern maker. I did all the fittings for so many years of every single product, even when I was pregnant, which is crazy. And then, you know, just managing the creative side and putting photo shoots together and doing all the visuals, the brand storytelling.

39:50Ali Mejia:But I don't do that anymore. I've evolved my role. Now I'm more of a creative advisor. So it's wonderful because I get the space now to work on all these other projects that I'm deeply passionate about. So it's been a wonderful process. Also, scaling the brand has been a very different experience than when you're growing organically. You have to look at the numbers. They don't lie. But at the same time, I'm still pretty instinctual of this fabrication versus that fabrication. I see bigger visions and I see bigger, almost like category extensions versus going in with the nitty gritty. That's my job now is to kind of try and steer the ship toward something bigger and more meaningful.

40:36So talk to me about some of those category expansions, because today, you now offer men's and kids pajamas, robes, loungewear, monogramming, a full bridal collection, like of all of the categories, what has been most personally fulfilling to grow and try? And also, do you have anything new on the horizon that you can tell me about?

41:01Ali Mejia:What makes me the most proud is when Ebreu J is gifted, and it's gifted as like an act of love. And with all of these pajama categories, the men's, the kids, even dogs, we've created this whole world around connection and softness. And, you know, our tagline is for the softer side of life. So this is how we all live in this softer space where we honor ourselves, we tune in, we're just more connected. And the fact that we offer it as a family moment is my proudest moment, because it is what I would have loved as a kid to have my whole family there with me in their pajamas in the softest, cuddliest fabric.

41:52Ali Mejia:And I feel like that has brought me to this point of, wow, you know, we've really done such a great job. And again, that Eberge is gifted. It's gifted to moms. It's gifted for brides. When people are in the hospital and they need comfort, a lot of people give pajamas. It's in the most intimate moments. It's like in those amazing personal intimate moments that I get to be a part of people's lives that way. It's surreal and I'm so grateful for it. So I would say it's not necessarily a product category. It's this whole ecosystem that we built around the brand. so as you have continued to grow and as the company has continued to change and you went through a rebrand in 2021 your role has continued to shift how do you know when something is right like yes the data you can see in that but like how do you know something is ready to launch whether that's a new collection or a new category i think a lot of it is intuitive believe it or not still because we do a lot of sample testing.

43:07Ali Mejia:We actually now make samples for the whole team, whereas before it used to be just for me and we do size runs. So we bring in more people and we have an incredible team and they're passionate EverJ fans. So they give us a lot of feedback as well. We're also just always tuning in to not just what's trending, but how do we do a version of that? I remember doing butter yellow about, I don't know, maybe eight years ago. And people were like, no, Ali, yellow does not sell. And I was obsessed with this color. It's my favorite, favorite color. And now we did butter yellow and it's exploded. So I think it's also timing things right.

43:52Ali Mejia:And sometimes maybe you're too early with a product or the product needs to be tweaked slightly. So we're just more in touch, like customer emails. We ask for a lot of feedback and people are just so open to sharing fit issues. And sometimes it's really just that it's like something isn't perfect. But the second time around, it's amazing. So like also not to give up on products too quickly. Like that's one of my learnings where we were starting out. We would give up on things quickly. Or I guess we just didn't have the customer contact the way we do now because we were selling through stores and we couldn't get that immediate feedback.

44:34Ali Mejia:But we gave up on things that we should never have given up on. So sometimes I bring them back and I'm OK, it's time to bring her back. And we go into the archives and it's really such a fun process. I love it. Talk to me about some of your greatest hits, your best selling products. Did you know that they were going to be the greatest hits when you made them? Well, our greatest, greatest hit is the Giselle pajama. That's what put us on the map. Beloved by Oprah, beloved by everyone. So tell me a little bit about creating it. Yeah, that was back in, I think around early 2000s. And I had shifted from working with mesh, which was that sheer fabric into a Modal Lycra fabric that was buttery soft.

45:21Ali Mejia:It just had more potential. Like you could do more with it. And again, so I started with camisoles and a little tap pants. And then one day I was in the sample room and I had always loved classic pajamas. It's like my thing. And it's like, why don't we cut this silhouette in this fabric? And it was like, why hadn't I thought of that before? It was such an obvious thing. And the second we made it, it was like, this is it. Because it was the classic men's style pajama in the modern, comfortable, stretchy, delicious material. It was like, hello, why didn't I think of that before? But I did. And it took off right away because it was so universal.

46:00Ali Mejia:And I think that that's what you forget as a designer, because you want to make the coolest product or the nicest thing. But ultimately, the products that are really good are the ones that fit the most people, are universally flattering. They're timeless. They're in your closets forever. You're not sick of it. So that was what the Giselle is. And now we do it in every iteration. We do short, we do long, we do strappy tops with bottoms that are at every shade of color that you can imagine we've done. Yeah. So that was a really good one. The other great product is the Inez washable silk pajama, which I'm wearing in brown coming soon.

46:41Ali Mejia:And this was also an instant hit because, you know, not everybody's a Modal fan. And this feels a little more elevated, but it's the same classic silhouette. And we now have iterated into also a million different styles. Our soft bralettes are really, really good as well. So yeah, so there's been a lot of hero products throughout the years, but the biggest is Giselle. Amazing. So I also want to talk about something totally new for you, which is that you have a children's book coming out called The Butterfly Studio. Talk to me a little bit about this piece of your career. Well, this is my third life, Hilary.

47:24Ali Mejia:I'm embarking on another adventure. So The Butterfly Studio is a book about a little girl who yearns to be creative, but she's stuck, you know, wanting to be a good student and a perfect child. So this is about uncovering and she meets two fashionable butterflies who show her the way and they happen to be fashion designers. So it's really a book about tapping into our creative energy, listening to our inner voice and yeah, setting our creativity free. Very aligned with my story. Love it. When is the book coming out? So the book is coming out in October. Yes. And alongside the book, I'm also going to be doing some creative workshops with young creatives.

48:12Ali Mejia:I really want to give back in that way. So just a new adventure for me. I'm really excited. That's very exciting. I love it. Congratulations. Thank you. So we like to talk about mistakes on this podcast because everyone makes them, but we don't always talk about it. And I think it's really important for women to hear stories about mistakes, because what you're really hearing is stories about resilience. So I'm hoping that you can tell me about a mistake that you've made at any point in your career and what you've learned from it. I'd say, first of all, there are no mistakes. We all know that. There are always growth opportunities.

48:52Ali Mejia:But I think learning to focus was a big one for me, because as a creative, I crave new. I crave making spontaneous products and not thinking them through. So I think what I've learned is that focus is really powerful. So that's one huge lesson. Like a tangible mistake. So we did a red colorway once and I don't know what happened in the QC process, but they bled all over people's sheets. No. Yes. And we were horrified. I mean, you can imagine the customer service complaints. And that was a huge one for us. And so we did major damage control. Of course, we took everything back, sent everyone new sheets.

49:39Ali Mejia:But what it taught us was that we needed better processes and better systems. And after that, we set up a whole QC process. And that never happened again. So these mistakes help you. They force you to make changes for the better. And so it happened and we learned and we were honest and we showed up to our customers and that was that. It's only a mistake if you don't learn from it, right? Exactly. Exactly. So a lot of the folks who listen to this podcast are in their first lives and they want to make a pivot or try something different, but they're afraid and they haven't made that leap yet. As someone who has pivoted in her career, what advice would you give someone who's standing there thinking about it, but just hasn't made the move quite yet?

50:31Ali Mejia:Yeah, look, it's scary. Of course it is. But also what I would say is listen to the inner voice. It knows. Try to get quiet to understand what it is that is pulling you towards something and move toward it slowly. I always talk because I get asked this a lot by young creatives. Like, how should I approach this? And what I say is try and make it tangible, like whatever your dreams or your ideas are, try to make them tangible, make a prototype or, you know, sketch it out and try to get something made. Because once you feel it and touch it, it changes the energy and it makes you believe in it. And if you're still excited and passionate to keep working on it, you'll know that'll lead you to where you need to go.

51:17I love it. So my last question is also my favorite, which is if you could go back in time and speak with your younger self and give your younger self some advice, what would you say besides stay in Florence longer?

51:34Ali Mejia:I would say to little Allie to not be scared of her sensitive side, of her softness, that that's her superpower. I grew up believing that that was weakness and instead bought into this idea of success that society has concepted for us. But truly, I wanted Ali to honor that soft side of her and know that that's what's gotten her this far. I love it. Well, thank you so much. It has been such a pleasure watching your brand grow and thrive over all of these years. It's been a part of my life for 20 some years. Like I just think it's so amazing. And I have enjoyed sitting down and getting a chance to talk to you about it.

52:28So Ali, thank you so much. This was a pleasure.

52:30Ali Mejia:Thank you so much, Hillary. That was so much fun. Thank you.

52:41That was the co-founder of Eberge, Ali Mejia. For more inspiring interviews with women like Ali, head on over to secondlifepod.com, where we have so many more for you to peruse. If you like today's show, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And don't forget to rate and review us. We love seeing you spread the word on social. And now you can tag us in your posts. We are at Second Life Pod on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. We always want to know who you're interested in hearing from on the show. So send in your requests to hello at secondlifepod.com, or you can DM us on Instagram.

53:21I'm at Hillary Kerr. The show is at Second Life Pod. Our DMs are always open. I'm Hillary Kerr, and you've been listening to Second Life. This episode was produced by Hilary Kerr, Summer Hammeris, and Natalie Thurman. Our editor is Natalia Perez. Our audio engineers are at Treehouse Recording in Los Angeles, California. And our music is by Jonathan Leahy.