How did you get to where you are today?
Looking back on everything, it totally makes sense. I started with an interest in fashion, then right after college, I got my first job at a multi-brand showroom. I didn't even know that showrooms, buying and selling through this third party, existed. I just found out about that job through a friend. From there I started to do lookbooks for the designers in the showroom because for some reason I felt like their lookbook could be better. So I would just do it for free, for fun, and then I started a little side business producing lookbooks. From there I wanted to get into buying, so I worked for Nasty Gal when they were starting in 2011 so that was after they moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles. For Lisa Says Gah, I’m doing sales, producing lookbooks, and buying; so every past job has kind of surfaced with this one.
What did you study in college?
Advertising and Italian.
Were you able to apply your degree in advertising to your job at the showroom?
Advertising was the most creative major at my school, it was as close as I could get to fashion. I learned how to pitch ideas and create a story.
Totally.
But still, at my first job I was so green. I had no idea how anything worked. That job opened my eyes to, "Okay, there are designers that make the product, they have seasons, they have the showroom where they sell the product to all of these different buyers who buy for their customers.” While being a showroom assistant, I shadowed and watched everything that was going on. I was pretty much steaming all day, so I just listened in to get an idea of how it all worked.
Did you learn any skills as a sales rep or a buyer that helped you with Lisa Says Gah?
For sure. As a sales rep, you're the voice of the brand, and responsible for its success in all of these different stores. As a buyer, you're doing the same thing but for a business. You're responsible for making the right choices, making sure that your customers are going to like what they see, and that it sells. Having that instinct of knowing what's going to work takes time, you can adjust as you see, but you also have to have an eye for it, too.
As a sales rep, were you involved in that process?
I had worked within the showroom for about four years and over time I became more confident in knowing what the buyers wanted to see, so I became more involved. We would look at a collection and edit down things that we didn't think would sell or that there were too many of. For instance, “You have six jumpsuits, let's narrow it down to two so that there’s a better chance of selling through,” because sometimes more options confuse buyers. Then we would explain that to a designer because they have a different vision. It’s about combing through things to help both parties meet.
How did you come up with the idea for LSG?
After I had left Nasty Gal, I moved to San Francisco and didn't know what I was going to do. I had done fast fashion, and I had worked for different designers, so I felt like I had a really good experience with both.
My idea was to start a shop that was focusing on sustainability, slow fashion, and highlighting female designers who were doing something cool within the contemporary market. So the initial idea was to say, "no" to fast fashion say "gah" to these designers.
What made you want to support independent female designers? Was there a gap or a need that you were trying to fill?
There was, yeah. I was really into Maryam Nassir Zadeh five or six years ago, right when her line came out and I thought, "Yes, this is what needs to be happening." At Nasty Gal I was doing research and traveling for new brands and I was inspired by that, as well. Going to Australian Fashion Week and meeting with these new designers, I felt like there was a lot of exciting things happening, but they were getting lost. Or that a lot of the independent brands felt like they fit an older market and I thought that it could still be young and on the pulse of what's new, at an affordable price point. People are really into that market right now and it's great to see more stores opening up, but at the time it felt fresh and new. It needed a platform, and I wanted to build that.
What were the first steps that you took when starting LSG?
I had actually been consulting for Nasty Gal after I moved because they weren't fully prepared to fulfill my role. So I was in this perfect place where, for the first time, I had stopped working full time and I just had the time to do it.
I just DIY-ed a lot of it, I used Squarespace which is really intuitive, easy to use, beautiful, and inexpensive. I figured out all the business licenses and shot everything myself.
Four months after the business launched, it was self-sustaining, but I had no overhead. I was working from an apartment, and my only expenses were inventory, so I knew what I needed to survive and I just did what I could.
How did you go about building a team? Who were the first people that you brought on?
I actually hired people pretty early on as contractors. I realized that I needed one: an accountant, and two: a copywriter. So the skills that I didn't have were the first things I looked for. Someone to help with the interviews, the product copy, and then accounting, which at the time was once a month. There was a lot of interest locally so I hired an intern, Gabriela, who became my first employee. Everyone started out as freelance, I said, “I can only give you a certain amount of hours and we’ll see how this goes.”
How many people on your team now?
Six. Gabriela is our assistant buyer; she also works on the blog and on partnerships. Kara is our in-house designer for our collection. She's also a graphic designer, so she does all of the emails and any marketing that we have going on. Then we also have two people that do order fulfillment / shipping, a copywriter who's freelance, and an accountant who comes in once a week now. We’re still a small team.
What was the copywriter’s role?
Product description, email marketing copy, and editing, any blog interviews and designer bios.
What kind of culture do you strive for in your business? What are the most important values for you?
That’s so funny because I was just making a list of core values. Our mission is to really focus on the woman behind the brand and make that feel really special.
Also, enjoying your job but working really hard at it. I want everyone to feel successful and proud of what they're doing.
Totally.
You said in an interview with OKREAL that one of the most important things about being a leader is to do “what's right, beyond self-interest.” When have you been confronted with having to make that decision?
I have a hard time letting go of designers that I love and believe in, even if we're not seeing the sell-through. So that can be a struggle, especially if you've developed a relationship with everyone; saying "I'm sorry, I really wanted it to work, but it's just not working." I'll try as much as I possibly can to keep it alive and to keep it going, but there is a time where you just have to cut it off because it's a bad business move. So a lot of times, it's just remembering that you are running a business and you have to make tough decisions. I have to make sure that my employees and my vendors are paid. My number one is my employees, our brands come next, then maybe I'd come in after that.
Once you decide to sell an item from a designer, what is that process like?
So the whole process, when you think about it, is so much work for one item. We typically go to market week in New York, which is usually six months before shipments arrive. We go through the collections, take photos of everything we're interested in, and then we come back and put everything together. After that, we place our buys, prep the website for the product pages, and make sure we have copy. By the time it gets here, we unpack it, take measurements, and shoot it. If it's a new brand, we’ll do an interview to introduce the brand to the customers. And then orders get placed, it gets shipped, and hopefully doesn't come back!
What are some of the ways that you've taken LSG from the site to real life? Obviously, you have a showroom here in SF, but how do you keep it as an experience and not only online?
We did an event in New York in July 2018, it was so much fun. It was a panel and party at The Standard Hotel in the East Village. We got together some of our New York based designers, a couple of writers, and a YouTube blogger. It was a panel of about six women that were not all necessarily in fashion, but had been interested in it. It was packed and just such a beautiful conversation around sustainability in fashion. Then we had a pop-up for the weekend and I loved being IRL with everyone. We had an Australian come in and she was like, “It's so gah, I can't believe it." So the brand comes out in person as well, which is really special. I hope we can do more of it.
LSG, it's part inspiration, part shopping, part blog. How do those mediums work together?
I think that they compliment each other well. It’s about giving the brands more of a voice and a story so it's more than just a shopping site. We feel like we're driving inspiration and people come to us for discovery. So we want to make sure there's constantly something new and interesting they can engage with either on the blog or new arrivals. We don't have a ton of product so we want to make sure that the conversations keep going.
How has the community in San Francisco impacted your business?
I really counted on San Francisco, especially in the beginning. I always tell people, “start locally, even if you're online.” You can tap into your community to support you, I don't think we would have been as successful if we didn't initially engage with our community here first. It’s important to be connected with where you are.
We did a pop-up a month or two after we launched, in March 2015, at an art gallery in SF. We put a ton of time and energy into making it work and it was actually one of our best pop-ups to date. I reached out to local press first, emailing everyone in SF that I thought could be involved with the brand and it got a lot of press in the beginning, which was great. Then we did a pop-up every quarter for the first couple of years. So I think we did build that community.
How does starting a fashion business in SF differ from one that's focused in LA or New York?
It feels a bit more removed out here because you're not surrounded by it, and I think that can create this new energy for testing things out. It’s such an incubator for new ideas out here, too. There's not as much talent in the bay for fashion, people don't flock here for that, so you just have to be more creative. Our models were just people we found, I had to be the photographer, and it just worked out that people liked that unedited, raw kind of imagery.
What would you say is one of the biggest lessons that you've come across as a business owner?
Keep it simple. There's so much going on, I could be freaking out right now if I wanted to. It's never going to feel 100 percent, and your weeks are going to fluctuate so you cannot ride your emotions off of how your business is moving. You've got to keep calm, and check in with yourself.
When you do get overwhelmed or stressed, what steps do you take to feel a bit better?
When I'm stressed out, I try to remind myself that next week will probably be totally different and better. But I have started working out, which I think is helpful. I think taking care of yourself is important. And that's something that I always thought was like, “Oh, all of these people are always talking about meditating and working out and eating healthy.” Who has was time for that? But you really do have to make sure that you're okay, and that just passes on to your employees. So take vacations, take a day off from your phone, take little breaks. You can't totally leave it all but just take little moments.
What key traits do you look for in a potential employee or intern?
Confidence. Someone that's really comfortable with themselves is going to take more initiative and be okay talking with me if there's an issue. And enthusiasm; they love the brand, they’re passionate about it and they're eager to learn more. The rest of you can just learn.
What advice would you give to someone who looks up to you?
Just do what you love, and do what you want to do, it's really simple. If you put in the time, you can do it. It’s really not that hard. You just got to put your all into it, stick to your vision, and space will open up for you.
In terms of running a company, do what you need to do right now. You can get really caught up with worrying about all these things that need to happen in order to have a business. Like a business plan and investment money. Which you might need for certain businesses, but for mine, I knew “These are the things I need right now: a site, product, and your basic business licenses to get going.” Everything else just kind of happened as it needed to. You can just get started without having to worry about the things that will hold you back. I gave myself a year to live off of a certain amount of money, and you know when it's time. It’s either going to work, or it’s not.
I’ve also gained a lot of knowledge from talking to peers and listening to interviews, like, “Oh, this person did this and that either makes sense for me, or it doesn't.” Understanding that everyone's business is so different and that you can take advice from people, but only you know what's best for your business. There's no one path to success and that's what I've learned over the years.

When you first came onto Man Repeller, how did you and Leandra decipher what needed to be done and what needed to be learned, in order for the site to grow?

When I started, Leandra had a vision for the next wave of Man Repeller, which was a media property beyond personal blog. Kate Barnett (who most recently was our president) was there to help that vision come to life. Charlotte Fassler handled visuals, and I came on as the first full-time writer besides Leandra.

So it was the merging of a very small team, ideas, and voices; then realizing what holes were there, what opportunities we were seeing, and then identifying what we needed to tackle. When the company expanded, more opportunities arose, and Leandra needed to fill more roles to help take us to those opportunities, so the company grew in a very organic way.

Because Man Repeller started as a personal blog, there were no formal expectations of what it had to be. At the time, there was no real precedent set, either, in terms of going from blog to media property. It meant we had the luxury of taking risks, and doing what we were interested in doing, or what we were excited about, rather than having to prioritize some of the things that more traditional media had to at the time. We didn't have to publish 20 stories a day. We just had to make sure we had a core readership who was excited to visit Man Repeller each day.

Man Repeller was one of the first to transition from a blog to a media property. So with no real roadmap in front of you, what were and still are some of your key goals?

The first goal was making sure that we were charging toward our mission. And that’s still our goal today. I guess that sounds obvious, but as a company grows, you want to make sure you’re focused on what got you excited in the first place. I think the nature of starting small allows you to be open and weird and communicative with the team -- everyone in the room has a voice and can hear one another's voice. Those things allow us to identify what isn't working, or have quick adaptations, or flexibility if there is an exciting idea that we want to try. I don't think it's realistic for every company -- I know we’re lucky -- but when you're a small team and your main goal is storytelling, you have room to express yourself.

How do you manage having high standards for Man Repeller, but also being reasonable with your team?

It has definitely been a learning experience. I'm very much someone who's used to doing everything herself -- but doing everything yourself is rarely (probably never) the best answer.

Learning to trust who you manage is so important because the quality of individual work can improve greatly when you delegate, and the work that you produce as a team improves when other people are given room to take ownership over what they are producing, or what they’re working on.

I think that creating space or finding opportunity for others to find their emotional attachment in whatever they're doing is important to me and a goal of mine as a manager. I don't know if I always succeed, but I try to have a pretty open-door policy. I really, really, really, always welcome ideas. I try to not be married to what I think is the best way of doing something, and I also try to encourage problem-solving. By all means, if you don't like the way that we are doing something, whether it's a process, or a format, or whatever, tell me. But also, let me know your solution. If you have a solution, but don't know how to get the resources to make the solution a reality, tell me that, too.

That doesn’t always mean that you can wave a wand and make whatever someone wants come true. The shitty part of being a manager is not being able to give someone what they ask for, or having to give feedback (or receive feedback!) that's not all sunshine and rainbows. But there's something important in having a place where people can at least feel heard, you said your piece, someone listened to it, it's been ingested, and it didn’t just bounce off of a wall. I try to exercise that as often as possible.

I know that the community is highly valued at Man Repeller, so I was wondering how has listening to your readers helped shape the direction that Man Repeller has gone in?

In a major way. We have community events now, which is the most literal manifestation of listening to and interacting with our readers! In terms of content, since I started working here, we’ve always read what the commenters have said and have taken it to heart. A lot of times, it's really positive and nice to hear, and it’s really nice to read through. There have also been times when our readers felt that we could do better, and we take all of it to heart.

I can wholeheartedly say that at Man Repeller everything is done with such sincere intention, and the nature of having a continual feedback forum means that you can learn from the audience. It’s about listening, absorbing, and thinking about the feedback in a constructive way.