I have met Sebastien for the first time in 2005 or 2006 after VEJA was just started. Both founders had no Shoe making experience and they only offered a small line of canvas sneakers. Their production mode seemed crazy …….in a time when most brands moved their shoe production to Asia they were sourcing and producing in the brazilian jungle.
Today VEJA is a very successful growing brand. VEJA shoes are sold in the best stores allover the world, but best of all, they still work with the same producers they had started with in 2005. I am looking forward to my interview with Sebastian and I am curious to listen to the VEJA story.
in this episode we talk about:
- 2 bankers quit their job and start an ethical sneaker brand
- working with Altereco
- from student to entrepreneur
- a generation hacked by the Internet
- how to develop a brand without formal knowledge
- you can do whatever you want if you follow what you want
- understand the consumer
- a trip to Brazil
- organic cotton and fair trade cotton
- working in the field with the producers
- follow the path of production
- create a better production from A-Z
- Why Veja is not using advertising
- why Veja production costs are 5 times higher than regular shoe brands
- Design + Economics = Success
- real stories vs artificial stories
- learn to walk before you run
- how Veja started with only 10000€ of investment and a loan
- add 100% of yourself into the Brand
- how they started Centre Commercial in Paris
Links mentioned in this Episode:
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