SUMMER REPLAY From Fashion Concept to Launch: The Birth of Gallola with Katrina and Lexi von Hahn

Toronto based sisters Katrina and Lexie von Hahn have known for years that they wanted to create a business that reflected their Latin American roots and that has resulted in Gallola - a fashion and lifestyle brand they recently launched with their first product: a shoe they designed that's inspired by the timeless Argentine carpincho style and handmade in Mexico.  

In this episode we talk about:

• Lexie and Katrina's individual journeys that have taken them around the world
• starting a fashion and lifestyle brand from scratch 
• manufacturing your own designs
• how crucial building a network is for a young business
• not being afraid or too shy to reach out and ask other female business owners for help
• the importance of research
• working with family and being a new mom with a new business
• bootstrapping a creative business that manufactures product and much more! 

This episode is brought to you by Fine Lime Designs Illustrations

For a summary of this episode and all the links mentioned please visit:
Episode120: Katrina and Lexie of Gallola: Starting a Fashion & Lifestyle Brand From Scratch

You can find Melissa at finelimedesigns.com, finelimeillustrations.com or on Instagram @finelimedesigns.

You can find Gallola at gallola.com or on Instagram @gallola.

Transcript

Melissa: 0:00

This week's episode of the And She Looked Up podcast is braldfjalsdfjaldfjaldfjdsought to you by Fine Lime Illustrations. If you love quirky, colorful art transformed into fun handmade stationery items pretty much guaranteed to brighten somebody's day that's just what you'll find in my new online shop at FineLimeIllustrations. com. That's fine, as in I'm fine, lime as in the fruit, illustrations. com. Browse the entire collection or sign up for my email list to see some behind the scenes peeks into my studio. You'll also get first notice of new product launches and subscriber only sales, and as an added little bonus, you'll also receive a free colouring sheet to help you relax and de-stress from your day. And now on with the show.

Melissa: 0:58

Welcome to the And She Looked Up podcast. Each week, we sit down with inspiring Canadian women who create for a living. We talk about their creative journeys and their best business tips, as well as the creative and business mindset issues all creative entrepreneurs struggle with. I'm your host, Melissa Hartfiel, and after leaving a 20 year career in corporate retail, I've been happily self-employed for 12 years. I'm a graphic designer, an illustrator and a multi-six figure a year entrepreneur in the digital content space. This podcast is for the artists, the makers and the creatives who want to find a way to make a living doing what they love. Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of our summer camp replay season. As always, I'm your host, Melissa, and if you are a regular listener of the podcast, then you know that we put the show on hiatus for the summer and we dive into the archive vault whatever you want to call it to bring you some of our favorite episodes from the last few years, and that is exactly what we are doing today. On that note, speaking of new seasons, we are less than a month away from the start of season five, which is really exciting. I was just working on signing up some guests for recording sessions yesterday, and I am pretty excited about what is coming this fall. So, yeah, cool stuff.

Melissa: 2:32

Until then, though, let's get back into another replay episode, and this week we are going back to earlier in season four, where I was able to talk to Katrina and Lexi from Gallola. com, and this is one of my favorite episodes from last season. It was a treat to get to talk to a sister duo, which is a first for the show. They were also the first fashion design duo that we have had on the show, so that was also very exciting and one of the things that I really loved about this episode was how willing these two sisters were to ask questions. They asked questions all the time. They asked for help all the time. They were not afraid to reach out to other people in their industry who were maybe a little further ahead from them and ask questions. And they said one of the things they mentioned was how many people were so responsive to that.

Melissa: 3:38

And I think there's a lesson there, because I think most of us are a little afraid to reach out for a whole variety of reasons. I think we're afraid that people will ignore us or they'll say no or they'll tell us not to waste their time things like that and I think we struggle along in a silo or in silence or on our own for much longer than we need to because we're just afraid to ask the question. And I think sometimes the hard part can even be figuring out who do you ask the questions of. And this is where we got into talking about research in this episode and if you listen to the podcast regularly, you know that Heather Travis, who comes on frequently as a co-host. We talk about the importance of research all the time. It is so much a part of being a business owner is doing your research and figuring out who the people are to talk to, where the places are to go to get what you need, and so I think there was some really great lessons in here and in this episode. They had not yet launched their website they were just getting ready to but Gallola. com is now live and you can go and you can see some of their absolutely beautiful products. They're put off with a shoe and their shoes are what are available on the site right now, and Gallol. com is actually spelled G-A-L-L-O-L-Acom, but there will be a link to it in the show notes. So I hope you enjoy this episode. It was a lot of fun to record and I think there's some really valuable lessons in here.

Melissa: 5:20

So on with the show, and this week I have my first sister duo on the show. My guests today are Lexi and Katrina Von Hahn, and they are not only sisters, they are also the co-founders of Gallola, a lifestyle brand that's inspired by their Latin American roots, where they develop showstoppers with Latin spirit for your wardrobe and your home. Their time living in Chile, argentina and Mexico has left an indelible mark on their sense of style and their eye for design, and, after years of having their collected treasures from the region, complimented by friends in North America and Europe, they decided to create a brand that celebrates the history, culture and lifestyle of Latin America. Gallola is a direct to consumer e-commerce brand that will be launching this fall with original women's loafers handmade in Mexico and inspired by the timeless Argentine carpenter style. So welcome to the show, ladies.

Katrina: 6:23

Thank you so much. We're thrilled to be here and thank you for the opportunity.

Melissa: 6:28

I am very excited to have you here. You are my first sister act, for lack of a better word but we are going to have a great conversation today because we haven't really had anybody like the two of you on the show before, and I am really excited about not only talking about bringing a physical product in the fashion sphere to market, but getting started with a business like that, which I think for a lot of people can be a little bit intimidating. So, before we dive into that, the first question I ask everyone who comes on the show is did you feel like you were creative as a kid? So, katrina, I will throw this to you first. Maybe you can let us know how you resonated with creativity when you were a child. Absolutely.

Katrina: 7:15

I think, long story short, the answer is really no. I, growing up, felt that creativity was associated with being artistic, and because I wasn't very good at the arts or very interested in the arts, I just believed that I was more left brain, I was more methodical, more analytical and therefore just wasn't creative whatsoever. But I would say, in the past couple of years I've started to subscribe to a very different definition of creativity compared to when I was younger, and now I see creativity as more along the lines of being innovative and thinking about things in a different way and making things in a different way. And so I guess, along with that definition, now I would say I'm creative, but for the longest time I didn't. And while Lexi and I are quite similar, we actually we differ on this, so I'll let Lexi share a little bit of her answers to this too.

Melissa: 8:11

Lexi, let us know what you were, how you felt about creativity as a kid.

Lexi: 8:15

So I would say I was creative as a kid. I don't necessarily think I was the best singer or artist or kind of the best in any creative field, but I always had creative outlets. So whether it was ballet as a little kid or needle pointing, crafting, attempting to make jewelry, whatever it may be, I always have had creative outlets that have kind of always come alongside me no matter what else I was pursuing, and I think that's only continued to evolve now. So I guess to a certain extent Gallola is almost like a culmination of all these creative outlets coming together and getting to see that creativity continue to flourish. So it's fun to see how it's been able to grow from when I was little and attempting to pick up whatever craft I had seen most recently to know.

Melissa: 9:08

There's always such an interesting question to ask everyone because it's sort of like Katrina mentioned a lot of people associate creativity with being able to paint or draw, as opposed to it being more of a mindset type of thing. So it's just it's always my favorite question to ask. Now, before we get too much into the business, tell us a little bit about your background, because the two of you, you were both born in Latin American countries, but different Latin American countries, if I'm remembering correctly, and you have both lived in a lot of different places around the globe. So tell us a little bit about your background and how you got from where you started out to where you are now, which I think is Toronto, correct?

Katrina: 9:53

So Lexi and I well, I should say Lexi is my older sister and we feel really fortunate that we had the opportunity to be born and raised overseas.

Katrina: 10:02

So Lexi was born in Santiago, in Chile, I was born in Buenos Aires, in Argentina, and then we lived for many years in Mexico City and then from there we each moved on to a number of different places. We went to high school in Canada I'll let Lexi touch on her experience more but she went to the UK for some years, I went to the States and now, as you mentioned, we've now both ended up back in Toronto, and while we've had our own trajectories and our own courses, our time in Latin America really left a lasting imprint on us and we feel so fortunate that it's our favorite place. It's a very special place for us, and so we've had the opportunity to go back many, many times, and while we're no longer living there, it's still such a part of who we are. But I'll let Lexi share a little bit more about what she was doing, maybe once she went to the UK.

Lexi: 10:50

Yes. So I think part of this answer kind of continues on to your original question of whether or not we were creative. So after high school I moved to Scotland where I went to the University of St Andrews. I studied art history and business there. So while I love the creative side and art history really kind of was my passion, the business side had to come alongside that. So I did a dual honors degree so it's a four-year degree and then after that I moved to London for two years where I studied law, before moving back to Toronto. I was originally working at a tech startup here in Toronto before switching over to a venture capital firm, which is where I am still working now, alongside our work with Gallola.

Katrina: 11:39

And for me. I went to college in the States. I went to a small liberal arts college in Maine called Colby where I studied Latin American studies and sociology. So I knew that I wanted Latin American studies to be a part of whatever I studied more formally and it was an incredible opportunity. And then from there I worked for a little bit. I ended up going back to graduate school. I went to the University of Toronto for qualitative research and then I ended up at a research consultancy and there we worked on brand marketing and market research and insights and then after that I left to pursue Gallola and then also do freelance research on the side.

Melissa: 12:18

So you guys, between the two of you, have this very eclectic background and it all kind of comes together very nicely when you're starting a business. Especially having a law background Like that's very helpful.

Lexi: 12:34

Yeah, we definitely didn't take the most direct route for absolutely anything we've ever done, but we like to think now that kind of that winding path each of us took has allowed us to kind of collect little tidbits of information but also experiences that we're trying to kind of tie everything together now with Gallola and have the best start possible for our business.

Melissa: 12:57

Anyhow that works, especially when you look back on it and you realize that all these little steps led you to where you were supposed to be, even though they weren't obvious in the moment. So the beauty of hindsight, that's right. So tell us a little bit about Gallola. What gave you the inspiration for the idea to start this? Because it is a physical product business and it's in the fashion realm at the moment. I think you're planning to do home goods as well, but that's as a creative. That's intimidating to me. So what gave you the inspiration to start it?

Lexi: 13:38

first of all, this is one of my favorite questions to answer because it is Gallola, something Katrina and I have been dreaming up for many, many years. So after living in Latin America, we obviously got to experience everything that Latin America has to offer, whether it's the culture, the history, the fashion, the travel. Everything there is just kind of left a lasting imprint on us. But alongside that we kind of got to experience things that I think we've now realized are so unique and that maybe people here in North America wouldn't necessarily have the opportunity to to see or to experience. So Katrina and I always wanted to find a way to kind of bring those elements to our our life here in Toronto and had always chatted about starting something.

Lexi: 14:27

I think what that something was was a little bit up in the air for a long time.

Lexi: 14:33

But then during the pandemic, we had a little bit more time on our hands to kind of think through what it is we wanted to do and how we wanted to bring this part of our life that's meant so much to us and turn it into something tangible. So after a lot of kind of thinking it through and talking through options, we decided that Gallola was, it was time to bring a Yola to life, and so, while we have tons and tons of ideas of what it is, we we want this brand and this company to be. We're starting off with a woman's loafer. So it is a loafer that's inspired by a material in Argentina but it's handmade in Mexico. So we're kind of bringing in a lot of the different elements in this first item that that we're launching with, and we just hope that from there we'll continue to grow and bring these kind of timeless stove stoppers, both, as you mentioned, for your wardrobe and your home, to to everyone we know here.

Melissa: 15:34

So what made you decide to start with a loafer? Because it doesn't sound like the easiest thing you could have chosen.

Lexi: 15:40

I will let Melissa take this one, but you are very right on it not being the easiest thing.

Katrina: 15:45

Exactly I I couldn't agree more, Melissa. We look back and we think, wow, why is it that we started with shoes? They are one of the toughest products to create from scratch. But ultimately we decided to start with shoes because one we're shoe girls, we love shoes, our mother is a shoe lover and we also think that shoes are really a communication tool to tell the world who you are and it says a lot about you.

Katrina: 16:11

And we felt that our loafer could really encapsulate everything we wanted to do with Gallola. So we knew that it could be representative of the brand and that it's sophisticated, it's elevated, it's really unique, and we felt it was a really great introduction of Gallola into the world of fashion and home wear as well, and specifically with this loafer. You know, as Lexi said, it took us a while to figure out what of the many products we had in mind, but we wanted to start with. But we felt like this loafer was a great representation of us, just to add a little bit more color and a little bit more detail to what Lexi said.

Katrina: 16:45

It's made out of a really beautiful, supple, textured leather that is inspired by the Carpincho leather, which you find only in Argentina, and then it's handmade in Mexico and actually what's considered the shoe capital of the world? A lot of people, when they think of shoe manufacturing, they think of Italy or Spain or Portugal, but most people don't know that the largest shoe capital in the world, with the most manufacturers and canneries in one city, is actually in Mexico. So we really felt like it was meant to be and this was a great place for us to start with the loafer. But you're right, it's been a challenge, but we're figuring it out step by step and it's been a tremendous learning opportunity.

Lexi: 17:24

One other reason I think that we really wanted to to launch with this shoe is we think that Gallola is a brand that can kind of stand and represent women in, hopefully, eventually, men, but starting out with women in of all different ages, of different interests, and so we found this shoe is something that can be worn by women of all ages, in different seasons, different phases of life. So it was something that we feel kind of doesn't pigeon hole us in any way, because we are really hopeful that that there are going to be women, from teenage girls all the way to, hopefully, grandmothers, who can all wear this shoe and love it and and have it represent their unique style.

Melissa: 18:05

You cannot beat a classic shoe, so yeah, couldn't agree more. Okay, so you have got this great idea for a lifestyle brand that celebrates who you are. That's great, but how did you figure out where to start? Like before you decided a shoe would be the first thing you would do? Like how did you, how did you figure out where you wanted to start and what was your biggest challenge getting things off the ground?

Katrina: 18:36

I think I can speak for both Lexi and I when I say that our biggest challenge was just questioning is this even possible? We are two people who do not have experience in shoe manufacturing or in fashion or starting an entrepreneurial journey. Can we do this ourselves in the way that we want? That was the, the key, pivotal question that we needed to see if we could answer and the way that we answered. It was in the first couple steps that we took. So just to kind of outline what those steps were, I think the first one was just making the mental decision that we're going to go after this, and I think that's really powerful deciding okay, we're committed, we're going to do it, let's see what happens, let's go for it. So that was the first step. I think the next one was really leveraging our skills, and for me that was market research. I worked in market research for many years, so it was trying to do as much upfront research as we could about the industry, about starting a business, you know, about the technicalities of footwear. That was entirely new and I think we were really surprised to see how much we could gain from the resources that were at our disposal. We listened to every podcast, including this one, and she looked up, we watched a ton of videos, we read books, we read online so really trying to just absorb as much as we could. To start then from there.

Katrina: 19:58

Our next step was speaking with other entrepreneurs, and we would encourage people who are in this position to speak to other entrepreneurs who are maybe in a different industry. It doesn't have to be the same field that you're in. I think you can gain a lot of insight from speaking with people who have different perspectives, and I know for us, lexi and I at first were hesitant to speak with entrepreneurs before we felt we were 100% ready. I think it's easy to think, no, no, let's hold off and speak to them later on, but I actually think it's more beneficial to speak with them earlier on so that you can then incorporate their advice or their recommendations and immediately start to start to implement it.

Katrina: 20:37

And then the next step that we took which took us a couple months to get to this point, but we then felt ready was speaking with specialists in the industry that we were trying to break into, and for us that was shoe manufacturing. So it was after about three months of research and speaking with other people that we decided it was time to attend a virtual trade show that was in Neon Guanajuato, which is where we ultimately decided to find our partners to manufacture there, which, as I said, is the shoe capital of the world. And by attending that virtual trade show we had the opportunity to connect with so many different specialists, whether it was shoe designers, shoe reps, people who actually run the manufacturing, and from there we were able to tease out our idea and really explore it in much more detail. So those were kind of the first four key steps that now, looking back, we can attribute to being most helpful, but at the time we kind of felt like we were fumbling around and just trying to get our footing and figure it out.

Melissa: 21:34

Yeah, I think that's one of the biggest challenges when you're first starting out is just not knowing where to even go. I mean, how did you even find the trade show, like, how did you find the shoe manufacturers, all those things? Those aren't something you just wake up one morning and know, right, right.

Lexi: 21:53

We also have the benefit there that we kind of tried to take advantage of of our backgrounds and the skills we had acquired along the way. So we have Katrina as our in-house researcher, and so the fact that her her previous role was all about research meant that while it may not be easy to find a lot of those answers, if there's a way, katrina will find that way. So it was a lot of digging and we had a lot of calls that maybe didn't necessarily lead anywhere, but oftentimes one call may not be how we found the person, but that would lead us to someone else and it kind of became this long chain of research and Katrina is incredibly persistent.

Lexi: 22:34

So where there's a will, there's a way and it was a lot of digging, but the beauty, I think, of starting a company in this day and age is that there are so many resources out there. If you're able to to take the time to find those resources and just scour through as much as you possibly can.

Katrina: 22:52

Built on that. You know we found the trade show just by googling. You know we knew, having lived in Mexico, we knew and had heard of Leon that they manufacture shoes, but not to be. We didn't know the degree to which they manufacture shoes. So we did research there and it was in learning about the city and all the manufacturers that we actually saw perfect timing of their annual trade show. It was in March of 2021, so this was three months into us deciding we were going to go into it. So it was perfect timing.

Katrina: 23:20

And then while we had a ton of conversations with professionals at that trade show, it was all through zoom or whatsapp, it was all virtual. We actually ended up finding the manufacturer that we work with now through a referral. I reached out. I sent a cold email to a creative consultant in Leon, in the city that manufacturers choose, and explained the criteria that we had and what we were looking for. It just said do you know of anyone that fits this criteria? Let us know.

Katrina: 23:48

You know I sent it thinking I would never get a response and then the next morning they said I actually think I have someone that could fit your needs then and we were introduced to our current manufacturers. So I would encourage other people to not be afraid to to see if anyone has referrals or they know of anyone that might be able to help, because that's ultimately how we found our partners today yeah, it's all about your network and that, actually, one of the things you mentioned just a few moments ago was connecting with other entrepreneurs, particularly those that aren't in your field, and this is so important.

Melissa: 24:21

I talk about this a lot, but how did you start making those connections? Because I think this is really intimidating to a lot of people, especially if they're a little introverted or shy like how do you find people to talk to? So what were some of the things that you both did to help you or to connect with other entrepreneurs, particularly if they're not in your field? I think that's even harder so for this.

Lexi: 24:47

One part of it came through through social media and podcasts. So we were kind of listening to as many podcasts as we could and oftentimes if we heard someone who resonated with us or who we felt their story either followed a similar path to ours or that kind of what they were exploring now could be helpful, we would just reach out. So if we could find their email, we would email them. If we couldn't find their email, we would reach out on Instagram or kind of. Wherever we could get a hold of people we would reach out, similar to with the manufacturer, where oftentimes we would reach out not expecting a response but figuring there was, there was nothing we could, there was no harm in in trying. So we would reach out and more often than not people responded.

Lexi: 25:33

We have found that the kind of the creative world, especially the all the females we reached out to, with almost 100% kind of response rates.

Lexi: 25:45

People wanted to help, so some people would respond by email and answer questions that way. Others were happy to hop on a call and go from there. We also were able to connect through kind of we'd speak with one person and they'd recommend we speak with someone else, and now there's people we speak with on a kind of quarterly basis. They may not be doing anything similar to us, but they're going through this entrepreneurial journey and so we touch base just to kind of be a sounding board from for one another, and while we may not be doing the same things, it's incredibly helpful to have someone we can chat with, and it really just has been a matter of trying our hardest not to be shy, even if it's incredibly tricky at times, but just reaching out to people and and kind of laying our cards on the table, explaining this, this process we're going through, telling them the journey where we've been on and asking them for help, and more often than not, people want to help them.

Melissa: 26:41

That's the thing you can't get a yes if you don't ask the question.

Lexi: 26:46

So I I know, it's I.

Melissa: 26:48

I'm quite shy and I know it's always one of the hardest things for me to do, but I have learned over the years that if you don't ask, people can't help, and so, yeah, for all of you listening, that is a great tip just go out and ask people who you are curious about, what they do and who resonate with you, and grow your own little circle, because that network becomes so powerful later on when you are trying to do new things or you need somebody like a new manufacturer or an accountant or who knows.

Melissa: 27:20

So, once you got on the process of going, let's talk a little bit about money. So I don't need like specifics of your financial situation, but when we start a new business, particularly a physical product business where you have to actually get something out into the marketplace, there is a lot that we think we need. There's branding, there's a website, there's the actual product, possibly employees, media awareness, and I know you guys, between the two of you, have a lot of those skills. But where did you decide in those first days to focus your resources on and not just your money resources, but also like your time and your energy, because I know when you're starting out, you think you need to do all the things.

Katrina: 28:11

Absolutely. It can be really daunting, and especially when you see a success stories of other brands, it's easy to think you have to follow the same checklist and that you need to do the exact same thing to get to that success. And so Lexi and I were very intentional about thinking about what our strengths were and what our areas of expertise were, so that we could really handle those. But then also recognized, as you said, we can't do everything, and so really tried to think about okay, what are the areas that we can't do? And of those areas, what is going to have the most impact for our brand? What's most important for us and I'm sure that that will differ based on you know who you're asking that question to but for us what was really important was having a strong relationship with our manufacturer and strong branding. So that meant we immediately saved up and put money aside so that we could go and visit our manufacturers. Once we were deeper into the prototyping process. Once we had had a few prototypes, seen that things were working and could see the long term relationship there, I went down and visited our manufacturers, which was a really, you know, a big expense for us, but one that we thought was really worthwhile. And then the second area that we felt was essential to the brand was branding, because Gallola is so much more than the products that we're selling. It's really about the world that we're creating and what we want people to feel when they step into the Gallola world.

Katrina: 29:37

And so we knew that we wanted to bring on a graphic designer, but at the same time you know that can be a huge expense and we understand why we completely support it. But that meant we had to get a little bit scrappy and figure out some kind of unconventional ways to do it. And actually what we ended up doing was finding an incredible graphic designer who, you know, had graduated quite recently but had a lot of potential. We loved her style and we thought it was a great opportunity for us to build a relationship and grow together. So, you know, while we had originally thought maybe we'd bring on an agency or someone with more experience, that was something we couldn't take on at the time, but we ultimately found a partner in our graphic designer. We love her. She's also she lives in Venezuela, which is something that we love, and that was the way for us to get the branding that we wanted in a way that worked for us at the time.

Melissa: 30:31

Yeah, I think that's really important to remember everyone. You can't do everything and you can't afford everything when you're first starting out, so it's like where, where are you going to get the most bang for your buck? I do a question, though like how did you do the prototyping? Like was that something that two of you were actually making, making shoes in your apartment, or how did that work?

Lexi: 30:50

We were physically kind of doing the gluing or any of that. We were doing the designing. So while we've never actually this is kind of our first time designing anything we had to kind of learn on the go. So we were drawing out what we wanted in order to be able to share that with with our manufacturer. We did work with our manufacturer for the prototype. So we took kind of a slower route instead of kind of going down and doing it all in one go, where we'd kind of figure out different elements we wanted, so first making sure we had the garbinchos style right and then going on to the actual shape of the shoe and kind of moving forward that way. But we were not physically doing the creating part.

Lexi: 31:30

We were kind of dreaming of it and then sharing that with our manufacturers so that they could execute it, and then we could tweak it from there.

Melissa: 31:41

Okay, that's really interesting to know. I know that a lot of artists that are kind of in the niche that I'm in are starting to look at developing products and going overseas, and there is this whole. They don't necessarily understand the process, but, yes, you do make a prototype first and usually you get to touch and feel that physical prototype before you sign off on it and say, okay, let's, let's do a run of whatever.

Lexi: 32:08

And that was incredibly important for us, especially because we are creating a loafer. We want this to be an item that is not only beautiful and elegant, but comfortable, and something you will reach for time and time again, and you can't know exactly how that will feel until that loafer is on your shoe. So the prototype was key for us, so that we could not only see exactly what it is we were building, but also make tweaks to make sure that it's exactly what we had envisioned.

Melissa: 32:36

Exactly Cool, okay, because you're actually manufacturing a product that usually requires money upfront, which is something we don't always think about when we decide we want to make a thing. Did you have to look to outside funding, or are you bootstrapping that? Like, what way did you decide to go? Because they're both legit sources of finding funding?

Lexi: 33:01

Yes. So we considered this a lot at the beginning. I work at a venture capital fund, so that kind of that whole process of looking for outside funding is very familiar to me. My, my kind of other job is speaking with entrepreneurs on a daily basis, so we had kind of, I guess, a bit of a benefit there where we were able to really understand what it would mean to raise capital.

Lexi: 33:23

Ultimately, we did decide we wanted to bootstrap. So we wanted to make sure that this brand grew organically and at a pace that Katrina and I were comfortable with. We have so many plans for Gai Yolab, but we wanted to start a little bit slower and really make sure that everything we bring out is exactly what we what we've hoped and dreamed for. So we decided to bootstrap the company, which, as I mentioned, meant it was a little bit of a slower process as we kind of worked through it all. But up until now we are very comfortable with that decision and happy we went that route, just because it means that everything we put out is Katrina and I, encapsulated in a brand, and that's kind of one of the reasons we've decided to go out with fewer SKUs. So we're doing a low-firing, two-color ways and starting there and then growing slowly that way, but as opposed to being able to go out with a whole website of items, we'll be going kind of step by step and launching that way.

Melissa: 34:25

It's a good way to do a proof of concept as well, to make sure that you're on the right track. I mean, if you're, two colors of your shoe sell like crazy. You can add a third and a fourth color, or special addition colors, or however you want to do it.

Lexi: 34:39

So, katrina, mentioned that we've been very scrappy so far and I actually think that that's it's kind of we're seeing it as a benefit. So it's forced us to really think creatively and every decision we've made we've had to really sit and think on it and make sure it's the best decision for us. We are bootstrapping, so there is every decision we made is we make is coming out of our pocket, so we want to make sure that it's it's the best step. So I think it's forced us to be incredibly intentional, which I think is not a bad thing when you're starting a company.

Melissa: 35:10

For sure. When you're, when you bring in outside funding, you're no longer the only people, the only owner and your decisions. I don't think it matters who you wind up working with. They're always going to have an interest in what you're doing, no matter how hands-off they say they're going to be. So you always have to. I can't think of the word I'm looking for, but you're always responsible to shareholders or to whoever is funding you.

Melissa: 35:39

So, yeah, that's if I'm a big fan of bootstrapping, but it's not always possible. So it's good to know that you have both of those options and being from a venture capital. So you've got law, you've got venture capitalism, you've got market research, you've got.

Lexi: 35:54

you've got it all between the two, kind of pulling all the different areas.

Katrina: 35:59

We're trying, that's our goal.

Melissa: 36:02

So let's talk a little bit about the manufacturing process, a little bit more about it. So you've told us how you found your manufacturer and through the prototype. So how did you like? What were you? What were you looking for from a manufacturer you mentioned? You had certain criteria and it sounds like being in a Latin American country was very important to you. So tell us just a little bit more about that process.

Katrina: 36:28

Right, lexi and I went into the process with a bunch of a bunch of criteria, as you said, but then, the more we learned, the more we realized, oh gosh, we need to add to this list. You know, it's only in conversations with other manufacturers that didn't work out Did we realize OK, maybe what we need is an X, it's actually Y. So for us, we knew it had to be a manufacturer in Latin America. We were looking either in Argentina, we also looked in Brazil, but ultimately felt like Mexico, and where we went in Mayon, gonecuevo was the right spot. For us, that was essential.

Katrina: 37:02

A big thing was that we needed a manufacturer that would work with low MOQ, low minimum order quantities. That was one of the. The most limiting factors was because a lot of manufacturers have really high MOQs, or for them it's considered low, but for someone like Lexi and I it's quite high. So that ultimately meant that the pool of people we could consider was much smaller. And then, from there too, it was about finding a partner that that we had confidence in and that we were really comfortable with.

Katrina: 37:31

I think, given that we're too too younger woman who don't have any experience in this industry, it would be really easy for someone to kind of write us off and just kind of push us aside, but we wanted to make sure we partnered with someone that listened to us, who gave us feedback, who really felt like a partner in this entire process, and we're really thrilled to say that that is ultimately what we found in our current manufacturers. You know we ask silly questions all the time and we're always given really thorough answers. We're being told nothing is a dumb question and we really feel like the experience that we have while it might not be ensue manufacturing like it is being valued by our partners and that they see the long term goal as well. So that was something as well. It's less tangible, it's harder to kind of define that, but feeling really comfortable with the people we ended up going with and feeling like we were both equally involved in this process.

Melissa: 38:24

Does it stress you out at all, Like worrying about the manufacturing process will stay up at your standards and not being in the location where the product is being made. Like does that keep you up?

Katrina: 38:39

It's a big consideration and something Lexi and I had to think a lot about at the beginning, but ultimately we felt that, given our mission at Gallola, which is really to celebrate the beauty, the history, the tradition of Latin America, we had to manufacture in Latin.

Lexi: 38:53

America.

Katrina: 38:54

That was kind of a non-negotiable. And then from there that was why we decided it was important for us to go and visit our manufacturers. I think in this day and age it's pretty easy to send things back and forth via FedEx and text all day, but we really knew we needed to go and visit. So that was important. And then, as I just mentioned, I think what's great is that while we're not there and we can't just take a 20 minute ride over to visit our manufacturers, we get videos and photos and phone call updates from them quite regularly. So I think that allows us to feel like we're really involved in the process, even though we're not necessarily in the same country.

Melissa: 39:28

So is that something you'd recommend for someone looking for a manufacturer? Is the type of communication that you have with them Like? Is it beyond just an email back and forth? Yes, Absolutely.

Katrina: 39:41

I think Lexi and I at first were a little concerned. We were like is it normal for communication to be this informal, this frequent, this casual? But I actually think that is more normal. When we've spoken to other entrepreneurs, they've mentioned that too. They say you know, whatsapp is the way we communicate and, as you said, melissa, I would try and find someone where you feel like you can have large formal conversations but also have informal daily check-ins and where that's not considered a big thing but that's normal and that's protocol and that will be an acceptable part of the process and the type of communication you're going to have.

Melissa: 40:16

Did you find that there was? I mean, we keep hearing about supply chain challenges and shipping challenges and all of that. Is that something that you are? You're laughing? We're both laughing.

Lexi: 40:29

So that's something that you've. It's part of our daily conversations now. So unfortunately, we have not been spared. We, along with the rest of the world, get to experience these kind of supply chain issues and setbacks. I think at this point it's kind of become a little bit it has become part of the norm. So we now know that whatever we may have anticipated timelines to be, things are likely being achieved. It has cupped us on our toes, but it's also again we're trying to see the positive in a lot of these. So it's forcing us to look at things in different ways, making sure that every decision we're making we need to make that decision that every partner we're going with is an essential partner for us to try and make sure that we're keeping delays to a minimum. But we can't control the world. So those are all elements we've definitely had to face.

Katrina: 41:24

And one thing that we've communicated to our partners that maybe if someone else is sitting here listening and they're working with other manufacturers, something for them to keep in mind is that we've shared with our partners that we understand surprises happen. All we ask is that we be kept informed of them, so that way it's not like things are happening and we're not aware and then they escalate and it gets to another point. We want to know the second. Something happens. We understand Plan A might not have taken place, but we just want to ensure that we're kept informed so that we can try and find a plan B immediately.

Lexi: 41:58

Yeah, that transparency has been key and I think if we didn't trust our manufacturer then it would be really a little bit more daunting to go to come across these potential hiccups. But because we know that they have our best interests at heart and, as Katrina said, we've been there, we've met them, we know that they will bring those issues, even if they're not fun ones to have to figure out. As long as they bring them up to us as early as they can, then we will find a way around that and figure it out. So I think that communication has been key and our WhatsApp texts are just going back and forth.

Melissa: 42:34

I feel like you can never have too much communication when it comes to things like that. So, shifting gears a little bit. There's two of you in this, so how do you and I'm asking this because I've had a business partner in the past and so I know that this can be a challenge sometimes but how do the two of you decide who does what?

Lexi: 42:58

So from the beginning we kind of sat down and thought about, kind of where each of us had areas that we felt really passionately about. So Katrina's mentioned researching a fair bit, so she has taken a lot of that research side. A bit more of the kind of designing portion of it has been things I've done. Obviously we've. There's the two of us. We both feel passionately about where this company is going. So we obviously will discuss everything with one another and bounce ideas off one another.

Lexi: 43:26

But there's certain areas where we each kind of it was just a natural draw. We each went one way or the other and then kind of going from there as things come up. It's kind of ever evolving. So Katrina has more time during the day to work on a lot of this, which means she is the one kind of speaking with our manufacturers on a daily basis, whereas I work at the venture capital firm. So I can't be calling someone at 1pm on a work day. So there's kind of that break up there. And then on top of it I recently had twins, so by the time there's a little bit less of it right now.

Lexi: 44:06

So Katrina is making on a lot more responsibility, just based on the limited time on my end. But I think it's kind of come around organically where if there's something that one of us feels we really want to tackle, we'll give it a go, and otherwise we'll sometimes start a project together and see if one of us is feeling more strongly or has more ideas or it's just coming to us more naturally, then we'll take the lead on that and the other one can focus on something else. So it's very much an evolving process of who's taking what on.

Melissa: 44:36

Because your sisters? Do you feel like there's a natural trust level there? That is just it's there already. You don't have to build that trust up.

Katrina: 44:46

To that question I'd say yes, I think there's an inherent level of trust that we have with each other. But what's been really nice is, while I know Lexi really well, working together has given us an opportunity, I think, to see new sides of one another, to see strengths that maybe we hadn't seen before, and so I think, while we had a trust level that was there automatically, I think we've been able to actually grow that even more, having had the chance to now work intimately together to see those other sides, and I think, as Lexi's sister, that's been really fun to see. I had heard about her work and you hear about work situations, but actually seeing her live in action, kind of tackling those head on, has been really exciting to see that side.

Melissa: 45:31

Do you guys ever get into fights?

Lexi: 45:35

Yeah, I don't think we could be sisters if we said we did.

Katrina: 45:41

But that's been something to navigate too. I mean, I think you, in a regular, typical corporate work situation, you have to figure out how to work with your coworkers, and I would say it's the same for us is trying to figure out how, when there is conflict, how can we manage it and how can we really resolve whatever the issue is at hand.

Lexi: 46:00

So that's something we've had to navigate as well, but our finding ways to do that Because we're going to see each other at family dinner whether we're in an argument or not, so we might as well get through that as quickly as we can to make everything else less awkward.

Melissa: 46:15

That was one of the first things we had to learn when I first started working with my business partner was very often we were very different and we would get into a huge fight, but we'd have to be at a public event in an hour, so you just have to figure it out. You have to figure it out because you have to go beyond display so and people can tell when there's tension there. So it taught us a lot about getting to the heart of what was bothering us and working out a way to get around it, absolutely.

Katrina: 46:44

And Lexi and I. I think what's great is that the most important things about the business are things that we're automatically aligned on. You know the vision for a guy like Yola, the mission, why we're doing this, the legacy we want to have, we are on the same page for all of that. So, while we have different opinions maybe of you know the best way to organize our email or whatever it is, you know, fortunately we align on the really big, really important parts of the business.

Melissa: 47:11

That is a huge, huge key. If you both have the same value set and the same alignment on the really key things, particularly money and the overall vision goes a long way to making the ride a lot smoother. If I just think you know something like as silly as like how they hold their pencil, Like at some point, you just have to let it go Right, it doesn't matter.

Melissa: 47:37

It doesn't affect the overall vision of the company. So you are actually, before we get to that, like so you just mentioned you just had twins, so how has this been negotiating all of this as a new mom Congratulations, by the way.

Lexi: 47:54

Thank you. It has been a bit of a whirlwind. So I had twin boys. They arrived two months early, so I was not at all ready for them to come yet. So I definitely went a little bit more silent than I had anticipated in kind of every aspect of my life. But it has been almost three months now and we are getting back on track with everything. So I think thankfully I guess this actually relates to your last question a lot Thankfully I've been able to to take that time when I needed it. I knew that anything that had to get done, katrina was, was on, so I didn't at any point worry where things were going. I knew everything would get sorted when I wasn't there to help out with it. So I definitely have been leaning on Katrina more than I had in the past with my side of the work. But hopefully now, moving forward, we will be more on a normal schedule and I can pick up my slack again.

Katrina: 49:00

I actually think it's a good thing. I think it's great that you know in the early stages of guy, you know life, we are making room for the other important elements of our personal lives and I think it's from the from the get go is setting a precedent that yola is our first baby I joke to Lexi that she was her first child but we are going to, we're going to make it a success but also balance it with our life and make sure that we can. We can have both and I think this is a precedent from the beginning.

Lexi: 49:31

Yeah, I'm excited to be able to show the boys all these things we're creating and we're already planning a trip for for this December to to go show, show them Latin America. So we're going to Chile and Argentina with our whole family and they'll get to see all of the spots that inspired us to start. Guy, you know that they may not remember it. We will remember it and we'll show them photos for years to come. Start early.

Melissa: 50:02

So you're launching soon, and I'm not 100 percent sure when this is going to air. So maybe you'll have even launched by then. But what are your launch plans at the moment? Because at the moment I think you just have a landing page. So yeah, tell us, tell the audience, where you expect to be.

Katrina: 50:21

We are so excited to launch. This has been a long road and we are thrilled to finally be at this point. We're currently in production for our first full inventory order and we will be launching soon. The exact date is TBD, but once we get those details, we'll be sure to share them with Melissa and with this community. Given that we're an e-com business, much of our launch is going to be online and digital.

Katrina: 50:45

So not only when we launch will we be launching with our two loafers, but we're also going to launch other parts of our website and, more specifically, that's our blog called Con Amor, which means with love in Spanish, and we've been working really diligently the past year to create really great content for our community. So we have incredible interviews with people that have connections to Latin America, we have recipe recaps, we have city highlights, we have phenomenal interviews with different boutique hotels. So we're really excited for our community to not only get to see our really stunning products, but also to join this Gallola world and immerse themselves in it and hopefully learn things and see things that inspire them. And then, alongside that, we are also going to have a launch party For those that are in Toronto. Feel free to reach out to us. You know doors are open. We'd love for anyone to join, but we have had so many family members and friends that have been incredibly supportive and we want to celebrate this milestone, so we're going to have a great night once we do launch with this party.

Melissa: 51:45

That is awesome. Can we just go back to one thing that you were just talking about there? Because, like it, just it's so great, the whole thing that you're doing building with your blog and bringing in the whole lifestyle and culture of Latin America. Like you are really making this the word I'm looking here for, but like this is how you build a brand. Everyone. I just I just want to to emphasize how important it is. You're making it a very immersive experience. That's the word I was looking for and this is so important. It's when, when you are getting out there and you're launching something, it's not just about the product. It's about how the product and the brand makes the people buying it feel, or the people you want to have by a feel, and so you are not only bringing them a shoe. I mean, a shoe is a shoe. Let's be really honest here.

Lexi: 52:39

Right.

Melissa: 52:40

But at the end of the day, you are bringing them into this world. That means an awful lot to you, and you're showcasing all the different aspects about it, not just the shoe. So, and I just I feel like so many people when they're starting out building a new brand and it doesn't matter if it's a physical brand or digital brand, but that is so key there is more to it than just the thing that you're making. It's really about how you make those people feel, and so we didn't even talk about this earlier, but just hearing that you're doing all that like makes me so excited for you, because it's that's how you do it. That's how you build a brand, so I really wanted to point that out to everyone. Thank you.

Katrina: 53:23

We're so excited about that too, because, at the end of the day, gallola was really the reason we created. It was to honor the feeling that we get when we're in Latin America and to honor the love that we have for the region and for the place that we were born and raised in, a place we love so much. So, while we are excited to bring these really beautiful products to our community, it's really about so much more than that, and we hope people take a little piece of Latin America with them, or inspiration or something they've learned from the community, alongside beautiful shoes.

Melissa: 53:57

Absolutely, absolutely. So, as we get ready to wrap up, I do have a couple more questions for you. One is through all of this process, what has been the biggest challenge for each of you and I'll throw this to Lexi first, and then we'll ask Katrina- I think for me, I would say, the biggest challenge is figuring out the exact steps we're supposed to take for each part of this process.

Lexi: 54:25

So there's no roadmap we're following, there's no kind of guidebook that we have to know what to do next. So just understanding how we can take all these ideas that we have swimming in our head and how to bring them and make them a reality. In addition to that kind of figuring out of, all those ideas we have.

Lexi: 54:44

Which ones should we prioritize? What steps do we have to take in order to make everything else fall into place? I think there's obviously been many challenges we face, but for me, I would say the biggest one is just figuring out how to make this dream come to life.

Melissa: 55:01

Do you think that you've found the answer to that, or are you starting to feel more comfortable with figuring that side of it out?

Lexi: 55:10

I would say so. I think a lot of those fears and those harder parts have felt a little less daunting once we found a manufacturer that we trusted. Once we have our brand we have it in front of us, we can see what it. Once it's all feeling a little bit more tangible. I think I've come around to the idea that the steps we took were probably the right steps for us, and I'm sure we'll continue to evolve and change and there'll be things we'll tweak. But now that it's less of this abstract idea that Katrina and I talk about at every single family dinner, that is something we can actually share with people and we can show people this loafer that we'll be launching soon. Once it's become a little bit more real, I think that fear has started to dissipate a little bit, but I'm sure it will be replaced with a new fear soon.

Melissa: 56:06

It will Sorry, but it will. Katrina, what about you?

Katrina: 56:11

I think I'd echo what Lexi said, but in addition to that, I would say one of the biggest challenges for me has been remaining patient.

Katrina: 56:21

As someone who loves to take ownership of things I'm very direct and I love to take matters into my own hand With the business I've had to learn that you have to relinquish a lot of that control and especially when you're producing a product with manufacturers and with partners who are other people other than yourself. That has been a huge lesson for me Realizing that things will take more time and more money than you initially planned, but now that we know that we can budget for that in the future in terms of both time and investment, learning that good things take time. When we got our final sample in after countless iterations close to a year of iterations we got the final one, fedex, up to us here in Toronto and we opened the box and it was right. It was the one. It was an incredible moment. I think. That reassured me that things might take longer than you planned for and you need to be patient, but you will get there if you continue to have tenacity and dedication for the cause.

Melissa: 57:30

What is the thing that you're most proud of that you have through this whole process? Katrina, I'll stick with you for that.

Katrina: 57:39

I think I'll go back to that moment of when we opened the final sample. I mean, we had seen many different versions, many samples, many iterations, and then, when we saw the final one, there was just so much pride in that moment, I think, to seeing how Lexi and I have been committed to this. This has been many years of dreaming about it and over a year of actually working on it and seeing that, while we faced many challenges, we persisted and we're going to keep on going. One thing for us is that we really I don't like to use the word failure, but it happens we channel failure and use it as fuel to keep going.

Melissa: 58:20

Yeah, that's a healthy way to look at it, because small businesses fail all the time. I don't mean like fail as a business, but you have mistakes, you're going to make mistakes, and how you come back from them is always going to sort of determine how you move ahead. What about you, lexi? What are you most proud of over this journey? I?

Lexi: 58:41

agree with everything Katrina said, but I am holding out. I am going to say what I will be most proud of will be the day I go somewhere and I see someone who is in a gaol or has a gaola item and there's someone I don't know. So I have no doubt that we will have friends and family purchasing these items, but I'm holding out for the day I see someone who I have zero connection to, who has purchased one of our items without knowing us, and so I'm holding out because that will be what I am most proud of. That will be a very exciting day for sure, absolutely so.

Melissa: 59:16

For those of the people out there who are listening right now, if you and they're, you know we have a lot of people who listen to this show, who are creative, but they haven't quite pulled the trigger yet to actually launching a business or starting something. So if you were to give those people one piece of advice based on everything you've gone through to this point, what would that be? And I'll start with Lexi for that one.

Lexi: 59:43

So my piece of advice would be to take a step forward. So it is daunting to take all those ideas and I think we kind of take these dreams we have and the idea of putting them out there and making it a reality is really nerve wracking. But it's never going to happen unless you actually take that step. So it doesn't mean that you'll do everything in a day and you will take that idea and incorporate the company and turn it into reality all at one time, but taking those steps one step at a time, to go from having a dream and actually making it come to life.

Lexi: 1:00:16

So I think I speak for Katrina and I when I say that we have wanted this to happen for a long time and we've found ways to bring Gaiola to life while also kind of having everything else continue. So that meant for us that I am working at the Venture Capital Fund and Katrina is freelancing on the side so that we can bring Gaiola to life. So I think my biggest advice or a tip I would give people is to take that first step, which will be followed by a second step and a third one. But nothing is going to happen unless you start putting those pieces of the puzzle together.

Melissa: 1:00:56

Absolutely, Katrina. What about you? What piece of advice would you want to put out there?

Katrina: 1:01:02

I have two things. The first one is to build on what Lexi said there at the end about, you know, taking a step, but make it a step that works for you. Do something that you know works with your circumstances. So, you know, don't feel like you have to quit your job immediately and devote 150% of your time to this. You know, as Lexi said, we've made it work for our reality, which means Lexi still works full time, does this on the side, and I freelance in order to support this venture.

Katrina: 1:01:31

So find your next step, but one that's going to be realistic for your life and the stage that you're in right now. And then, secondly, it's not as much a piece of advice but a motto someone told me a while ago and I love it and I try and remind myself every day If you're not your own biggest advocate, who will be? So be your own biggest cheerleader. Support yourself, because that's going to start the momentum and people are going to see you know this firecracker and they're going to believe in it too. But be your own biggest advocate and start from there.

Melissa: 1:02:02

Some great pieces of advice there. Ladies, thank you so much. This has been such a great chat and it's really nice to meet both of you, but before we sign off, please let everybody know where they can find you. Yes, absolutely.

Katrina: 1:02:19

We're so excited to continue engaging with the Angie Lookup community, so please don't hesitate to join our Gallola community or to reach out to us. That place would probably be social, so Instagram and Facebook were at Gallola, which is G-A-L-O-L-A. We're also recently on TikTok, which is new for us, and, as Melissa mentioned previously, we do have our landing page up where you can subscribe to our newsletters just by inputting your email address. We promise we will not spam you, but you will get promo codes and early access to things and more information about Gallola as we lead up to our launch. And one last thing to say as well Alexi and I spoke a lot about connecting with other entrepreneurs during this conversation, and we just want to say that if anyone else is listening out there and ever have any questions or want to connect, please don't hesitate to contact us, because we'd love to be a resource or a sounding board or just have an opportunity to connect with people.

Melissa: 1:03:20

Absolutely, that's very generous of both of you, so we will put links to all of this in the show notes for the episode and please do let us know when you actually have the website up and you're all launched. We will definitely share that with the community. And, yeah, I wish you both so much luck with this. It's very exciting and I'm really excited to see where you go with it.

Lexi: 1:03:43

Thank you, and thank you for having us on here today. It's been so fun to get to dig a little bit deeper.

Melissa: 1:03:50

Thank you so much. All right, everyone. That is it for this week. I will be back next week with another brand new episode, so until then, thank you for listening. Thank you so much for joining us for the Anchi LookDepp Creative Hour. If you're looking for links or resources mentioned in this episode, you can find detailed show notes on our website at AnchiLookDeppcom. While you're there, be sure to sign up for a newsletter for more business tips, profiles of inspiring community and creative women and so much more. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe to the show via your podcast app of choice so you never miss an episode. We always love to hear from you, so we'd love it if you'd leave us a review through iTunes or Apple podcasts. Drop us a note via our website at AnchiLookDeppcom or come say hi on Instagram at Anchi LookDepp. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.