Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Host: You're listening to the Levy Inspiration Grant Program podcast, where we share stories of business students following their entrepreneurial passions to every corner of the world. I'm your host, Tyler Seybold. Through the program, students at the Kellogg School of Management can travel to any country of their choosing to immerse themselves in a particular topic with an eye toward building a business around it. When they return, they sit down with me to reflect on the experience and share what they learned along the way.
[00:00:37] Much of adult life feels like a constant attempt to tap into who you were as a kid, finding a way back to the things that bring you joy. For Lucy Grierson, that meant getting back to her entrepreneurial roots and reconnecting with a craft first mastered by her ancestors.. Combine that with her love for the robust culture of the American West, and everything suddenly came together. She would create an apparel business built on the values she grew up with. Even though she felt like she knew the region well, Lucy also knew that to build a company founded on identity and values, she needed confirmation on exactly what those values would be.
[00:01:16] For her Inspiration Grant trip, she traveled to Colorado and Wyoming to meet with successful Western business owners and observe the habits of locals to answer the question: What does the culture of the American West stand for, and how do you build a company that honors those ideals?
[00:01:31] This is her Inspiration Grant story.
[00:01:43] Lucy: Starting with my entrepreneurial roots, I think it goes back to all my ancestors. My great great grandmother was an embroiderer. She came to the U.S. with her brother from Poland and he went off to World War Two and then she was left to kind of work for herself and support herself.
[00:02:02] She did that through sewing and embroidery, and that was something that then was passed down to my grandma, who also sewed, embroidered, taught me how to do it. They used to sew like, Polish dancing outfits and wedding dresses, and then sell them to people in Michigan where they're from.
[00:02:21] Then my grandma had taught me from a young age how to sew, but it was really when I was, I think age 15, I started my first little business and it involved the sewing machine because that was something I had learned from the female entrepreneurs in my family from before.
[00:02:35] What I did was I was a volleyball player at the time, and decided, because we all wore volleyball spandex under our dresses for school dances because a lot of the times it was like the fingertip length and people wanted to be, you know, appropriate, and so at the time I was like, that just ruins the look when you have a Nike symbol popping out from your like beautiful homecoming dress.
[00:02:55] I collected spandex from all of my volleyball friends and I decided to sew lace on the bottom to make it a bit more feminine. And then I gave them back and tried to sell them and make a business out of it, and it was kind of like my version of Spanx, but in high school. That was kind of the start of my entrepreneurial journey.
[00:03:13] Something that was really near and dear to me because I took a craft that my ancestors had really mastered and that I enjoyed, and then applied it with my wanting to start a business. I always thought in the back of my head, like that was a great experience, I want to continue doing that in my life.
[00:03:28] Coming into Kellogg, I knew this was a time away from corporate work to really tap into my creative side and get back to my roots. I think I came in to Kellogg saying, I want to start a business. Pretty soon I realized being from out West and coming from Colorado was a part of my identity here. Why not combine my passion for Western style with the embroidery piece and embroider some, Western culture onto denim, which was another product that I love to wear. And so that brought me to where I am today with trying to start a Western denim brand based on Western values and really sharing that with others. It's just seemed like the world of possibilities was endless with this idea, not only to create something that I would want, but it seems like a lot of other people want.
[00:04:40] Lucy: A hypothesis that I had going into this was that Western ideals are based on hard work, resilience, and authenticity, and, you know, if I were to go to create a Western brand, that these were the values that I would want my brand to emulate. I think these are Western values. I want to test, are they truly Western values from going out West to places that I had never been to?
[00:05:00] Hard work, comes from even my ancestors who were in Michigan, like the blue collar working class, automotive industry. Hard working to me was always like very important in my childhood, instilled in me. In the West, you take pride in that hard work and kind of maybe taking the harder route and doing difficult things.
[00:05:18] And then the second one was resiliency. Everyone experiences this throughout their life, whether they realize it or not. Out in the West, grit is like key to what they do each and every day. And that was something that I think speaks to the resiliency of Western culture.
[00:05:33] And then the last one I mentioned was authenticity. When you think Western wear, like the exact product, it's usually a very authentic piece of clothing. However, something that I really learned is like authenticity in being a leader.
[00:05:47] I grew up, my parents always saying, especially my grandpa, would always be like, be who you are andit doesn't matter they like you or not, like you be you and you will do great things. And I think that is something that's really kind of a Western value is not only through the products of being authentic, but like, you yourself as a person.
[00:06:05] That was the hypothesis that I wanted to test going in, and I think I got a lot of good feedback on validation that they are Western values, but there's also a lot more to it.
[00:06:15] One of the hypotheses that I wanted to test was that there is a market for a lifestyle Western brand that's not too high end, but also not too technical, and there's something there that's in between an opportunity space.
[00:06:39] I realized that I was defining the market wrong when I was looking at that, because, when you think about high end versus not, you're really talking about price point there. And with Western wear, what I uncovered from my trip was that it was less about price point and more about quality. People in the West will pay for quality. There's only a market for high quality out there.
[00:07:00] I remember I was at a cowboy bar and these guys came in, they had dirt under their fingernails. They were true cowboys. And I look at their jeans that they're wearing and it was a high end brand. And I was like, that is super interesting to me. I would never think that a cowboy would care to wear high end, but I realized: he doesn't care that it's high end or in fashion, he cares that it's high quality and one that will last him throughout time and is actually authentic Western.
[00:07:26] That being said, the actual differentiation in the Western market comes from that aspect of being designer versus work wear. So what a woman in Aspen wants to wear out to dinner is a very different product than maybe what a ranch hand needs to wear day in, day out and last him many years.
[00:07:44] When you define the Western wear market, it's less about this price point element, it's more about the art and design behind it. And then also no matter what end of the spectrum you fall on, whether it's designer or workwear, it must be high quality.
[00:07:58] One of the research questions that I went in asking all of the Western business owners that I met with was: what does the Western culture stand for? And it was interesting because I asked all of the business owners I met with and each response was super eyeopening.
[00:08:21] One of the people I met with was the general manager of the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, which is a renowned bar in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It's an iconic sign when you go in the heart of Jackson. He said the thing that he wants people to know about Western culture is it's all about giving back to your community. He seemed to be on like every board in the town of Jackson. I think he was on like, the board of the airport, the school district, very involved with. Whatever the community was doing, he was involved.
[00:08:54] He's in the tourism industry and you'd think his business decisions would be pleasing tourists. And a part of them sure are welcoming people into Jackson Hole. However, the other half of the equation is making sure the locals feel welcome, too. And so he described that the bars are set up to invite locals. It's not just a tourist trap. It's not just to have people come in for one drink. It's also to have the locals come in after a day of hard work and really connect with each other.
[00:09:18] So Western culture that he wanted to spread was that community is everything, and it should drive a lot of your decisions and even in business.
[00:09:26] I went into this trip thinking there's a huge opportunity space to have the Western wear market break into e-commerce. Because I'm sitting in business class learning about direct-to-consumer brands, and, today it's so easy to build a website and have a Shopify and reach the masses across the country.
[00:10:05] I was very confident in this view of all of these Western wear brands are great, but like their websites aren't that good, and their shipping times aren't that good. This is where I can really make a difference in the Western market.
[00:10:16] What I was super surprised by was it wasn't just one business owner, it was, in fact, every business owner that I met with said their business is built on relationships and those relationships are happening in person. It is not a online ordeal. Where like a lot of high tech brands nowadays can grow like wildfire online and they say, we grow our business on the ground, in person by having relationships with people.
[00:10:42] And it's funny if you go to a lot of these Western business websites, you'll think, when's the last time someone updated this? And they're okay with that.
[00:10:51] A lot of their business strategy and distribution channels were word of mouth, which was taking me back to like the olden days. I feel like, and I'm like, Oh my gosh, this is ripe for disruption, like this is opportunity.
[00:11:04] However, how they described it proved to me that it's not because the way that Western culture is, it is based on relationships. And if you're selling something authentic, you can't form that relationship online. And if you're selling something genuine, it's not going to be through a click of a button. It's going to be through a handshake in person. That was something that was like super eye opening to me.
[00:11:26] So I am starting a Western denim brand called Desperado Denim, and Desperado Denim was created to inspire others to live authentic and with unity.
[00:11:51] On my trip, I learned that authenticity is the core of your product, of your leadership, and the way that you live your life. That's something that I really want to come through with Desperado Denim. And then I said unity and that relates to exactly what I learned on my trip of that whole aspect of coming together, supporting your community, building something that, not only is a benefit to you, but to those around you in the place where you're from.
[00:12:15] That is the goal of Desperado Denim.
[00:12:20] I'm taking a bunch of Entrepreneurship classes. I'm in New Venture Discovery right now. I hope to finish the Venture series, applied to Zell Fellows, I'm in the Propel program.I'm really gearing up, but I really hope to grow and to start this business and, have a fully functioning business by the end of graduation and then bring it back with me to Colorado.
[00:12:42] This trip, I didn't expect it to propel me as much as it has. I feel like after this trip, I had done the most extensive customer discovery, and also like immersing myself in the West. Like I'm realizing now when I was there I had access to Western culture at my fingertips, and that was priceless to me as I go forward.
[00:13:03] And then also,I have emails and texts from all the business owners I met with, and their last message to me was: if you need anything at all, you have my number, please call. I was a little nervous at first meeting with these business owners that they would think like, okay, competition or like she's trying to get into our space and take away.
[00:13:21] And instead I was pleasantly surprised that they're welcoming me in, they want me to succeed. They want to help, and it just speaks to the community.
[00:13:29] Lucy: At Kellogg, you know, we're all trying to figure out who we are as a leader. At its core, authenticity is important. I walked away from my grant trip realizing: to sell something authentic, you have to be authentic. And that's where it really came down to me doing a ton of reflection on what I value as a leader and how I'm going to show up leading this company.
[00:13:57] When you figure out who you are as a leader, don't lose that authentic side of you. And when you're making business decisions that are, life changing in the future, stay authentic to what those values mean to you. And I think that is a huge part of Western culture.
[00:14:10] Cowboys don't care what you think of them. They are who they are, and they're going to work hard and they're going to do their best. They're not worried what other people are thinking about them, and I think that's something that I hope people, especially in today's world, can take with them and remember that at the end of the day, if you like who you are, that's all that matters and that's most important.
[00:14:48] Host: The Levy Inspiration Grant Program is made possible through the generous support of Larry and Carol Levy and is managed by the Entrepreneurship program at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. To learn more about the Levy Inspiration Grant Program and other ways we support student entrepreneurs, visit our website at kell.gg/entrepreneurship. That's kell.gg/ entrepreneurship. I'm your host, Tyler Seybold. Thanks for listening.
