fashion funding Archives | FASHION CROSS FUNCTIONAL

November 14, 2017

CASH & FUNDING: Raising Capital As A Fashion Brand

Hi guys,

In today’s post we interview Rachel Chicheportiche, the President of the high-end accessories brand Jerôme Dreyfuss. It is an excerpt from our book, The Fashion Business Plan, that explains what makes a business plan in the fashion industry so specific and helps fashion designers write their very own business plan.
Making soft and supple leather bags, as well as shoes, for the cool downtown girl, the brand has been carried by most stylish women in the world, including Julianne Moore, Keira Knightley, Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Kruger and Jessica Biel. It has significantly expanded worldwide. Besides the Parisian flagship store, stores were opened in New York, London, Seoul, Tokyo and Taipeï.
Rachel Chicheportiche has managed both capital raising (MEUR 3) that enabled to fund the brand’s booming activity.

What were the key success factors that enabled the brand to raise capital?

Key success factors are mostly good products and good financials, to be able to raise capital it is important to explain your business plan and the potential of the company, on the other hand, team is crucial, there is no company without a right team.

You raised capital twice with the same investment company. Why did you choose them?

I choose them because we had a good fit, I rely on them and they rely on us. That being said, raising capital is always a question of conditions, they are prerequisite of any raise of capital. To define good condition we must know how the money will be used, and when.

Which elements of your presentation did the investors especially appreciate?

I think it is a mix of my personal energy and my strength of conviction, investment companies see so many people, if you want them to invest in our company, you have to convince them, to have them believe in your vision of the market, its evolution, and your way to address it.

Once the capital raised, what are the specific requirements from the investors? How do you report to them and what did you implement in order to satisfy those requirements?

Obviously financials reports which helps you to stay always on the safe side and to be sure you are in line with your strategy and you targets.

Which advice would you give to emerging fashion designers who think of raising capital to develop their brand?

The only thing I would say is: If you were an investor, would you invest in your company?
Think about it

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Interested in raising money for your own fashion brand?

Here is the tool you need to get for yourself. The fashion business plan provides you with a step-by-step approach to write it all down.

June 10, 2016

CASH & FUNDING: The 7 Steps to Write your Fashion Business Plan

Hi guys,
We have been talking a lot about fashion business plans lately.
But what is it for? Why do you need it? and what is inside?
The Business Plan: a courtesy for your investor
When you apply for a job, you need to send a resume and your fashion portfolio to the recruiter and share your experience in the framework of an interview.

It’s the same when you raise capital. The Business Plan is your passport to the funding. Everybody including the investor knows that it’s highly probable that reality will differ from what you wrote in the Business Plan. However it’s a basis that shows what you are aiming at, how you plan to do it, based on which assumptions.
The specificity and the difficulty of a fashion business plan
Any usual business plan book begins with two questions: What is your product? What need does it serve?
The answer to those questions are simple: you sell fashion pieces. And they are used to dress people, carry around objects if you sell bags, etc…
Now how can you concretely justify that the world really needs another brand? Would we die if your brand does not exist?

If we analyze fashion through the angle of need, the answer is clearly no. We do not need another fashion brand.
So need and hence the traditional business plan is not the adequate angle to present your fashion brand.
Because in the end for you, it’s not a question of need, it’s a question of impact.
Transform a yellow spot into the sun

Picasso once said “Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.” and that’s exactly what you need to prove in your Fashion Business Plan: you have the ability to transform a yellow spot into the sun.

As a fashion designer, your job is to dream. Your job is to translate your inner world in a brand. Your job is to stir up desire, arouse curiosity, give people what they want and create an obsession to reach maximum impact.
What guarantees maximum impact?

A powerful vision
A collection and a brand strategy that perfectly reflect this powerful vision. In the brand strategy, you have to share your knowledge of your target customer.

The structure of a Fashion Business Plan

Present your fashion brand identity
Present your target audience
Present the main conclusions of your market research
Summarize your conclusions in a SWOT analysis
Present your strategy and tailor it as much as possible to your fashion brand identity:

Present your financial estimates and show how your strategy (and the related action plans) can make your business profitable:

Startup costs
Financial plan
Profit and loss statement
Cash flow analysis
Break-even analysis

7. Present your exit strategy

Photo Credits: MBFW Berlin 2013 Lena Hoschek by Patrick Raczek – Creative Commons
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How to write a Fashion Business Plan?

Find the complete version of this article as well as other tools to help you through your fashion business plan, with the number one FXF guide.“The Fashion Business Plan” by Bako Rambini is available on Amazon.

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June 6, 2016

Fashion Designers: From A Dream To A Fundable Business

Hi Guys,
This weekend I remembered my grandfather. He was one of the best tailors of my country. My family used to earn a lot with their craft. And when they lost their main client, they lost everything.

They dedicated their entire lives to Beauty. I could still hear the sound of their breathing with the gentle sound of the needle stitching into the fabric. And I still can see the feeling of injustice in their look, as they showed their handmade pieces to the wrong client or ended up selling our property and transforming my grandfather’s once prestigious atelier into a little grocery shop to make both ends meet…
Once I started helping brands fund their projects, I was almost sad to see how easy it could be to raise the money, once the business plan was made.

Purify your creative vision. Align your collections and your strategy to your vision.
Can you imagine if you could make your inner world a reality? Be bold and mesmerize your customers. Create…

Because as I told Forbes Afrique Magazine in the edition of May 2016, a Fashion Designer who can’t create…It’s depriving the world from beauty and pure emotions.
So find out how you can go from a dream to a fundable business.
Happy productive week!
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From a dream to a fundable business

Find more tools to help you through your fashion business plan, with the number one FXF guide. “The Fashion Business Plan” by Bako Rambini is available on Amazon.

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To receive more fashion quotes and fashion designer tools, follow us

February 26, 2016

CASH & FUNDING: 8 great advice to pitch your fashion business to the right investor

: Source: Getty Images – Getty Images EntertainmentVictor Boyko

Hi all,
Looking for investors to fund your brand can be very complex. Things do not stop at delivering a business plan. You have to pitch to the investors and only then the whole process starts. And then, you need to land the right investor.
We found a great Fashionista article with 8 tips to find the right investors.
Here is what they recommend:

Learn to speak the investors’ language. You will find a beginners’ guide in our previous article.
Don’t court VCs who haven’t already invested in fashion and e-commerce startups.
Don’t talk to associates. Talk to partners only.
Play hard to get
Don’t accept money from someone whose vision doesn’t align with yours.
Get someone with a business background to make your pitch deck
Keep your pitch short
Emphasize your strengths

And I particularly insist on not accepting money from an investor who doesn’t share your vision. Not getting into that business relationship will save you from lots of later issues.
The tips are good in general, I hope you’ll…
Enjoy!