Fave hits: Building the jewelry brand that Megan Markle adores, with Kimai’s co-founder Jessica Warch (part 1)
Female Startup Club
Branding
"We want people that are line with our brand to wear our pieces, and we wan't as well lack," she says. "It's about telling us stories, about educating customers on what they're buying."
Today on the show we’re learning from the co-founder of London based jewellery brand Kimai.
Kimai is a modern fine jewelry brand that delivers true traceability by using lab-grown diamonds and recycled 18k gold. By using lab-grown diamonds – which are physically and chemically identical to those that are mined – and recycled gold, they cut out all mines and middlemen and control the whole jewelry process, from design to delivery. They operate on a mission to prove that diamond mines are not forever, and that the biggest luxury is knowing where your jewellery comes from, and safe in the knowledge that it doesn't harm people or the planet.
In this episode, we chat through the serendipitous moment that generated $150,000 worth of sales, her approach to fundraising and how they built a new brand in the midst of a pandemic.
It's a good little reminder that if you thought cold emailing was outdated, it might be time to change your mind. Jessica talks us through a mind-blowing story that reminded me just how important it is to try your luck. No matter how big the goal. Jessica is a strong believer in cold emails. She cold emails everyone. Even investors. Looking online, figuring emails, guessing emails, or finding them.
The Kimai founders were on the hunt for the perfect match for their brand and landed on Meghan Markle. She was the dream. But how do you reach royalty? Looking into her close network to figure out how can we get in touch with her and how can we tell her our story. Through a few cold emails, they got her to wear their products a few months after launch. Their strategy was all around looking at her close friends that might be more accessible than she is. With the help of LinkedIn, Facebook, and guessing emails, the girls gave themselves the chance at a stage on which to tell their story. Why they’re doing what they’re doing. And Meghan loved it. They ended up selling to Meghan through cold emailing a friend, and the rest is history. In the 2-3 weeks after she wore the earrings, they made $150,000 without any marketing. They then took advantage of that situation to go and fundraise with the advice: take advantage of the situation because you never know what happens afterward. A $1.2M seed funding round later, this is clearly a fairytale ending.
Now, let's get straight into it.
LINKS WE MENTION:
Jessica's Instagram
Kimai's Instagram
Female Startup Club's Instagram
Doone's Instagram
Doone's TikTok
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