I'm here with one of the stars of Shark Tank,
Barbara Corcoran.
(crowd cheers)
Thank you
I mean, Shark Tank is one of your many credits on your CV.
And also joining us today is a CEO who started her million
dollar lifestyle brand on Etsy.
(Interviewer gasps)
Oh, my favorite place in the world.
Please welcome Grace Eleyae.
(crowd cheers)
Hello
Hi Grace how are you?
I'm doing so well. I'm doing so well.
Thanks so much for having me.
[Interviewer] Well, you built your brand with $10,000.
How did you do it?
Yeah, so we started the business in 2014.
I had been, the idea itself came about a year earlier
because I was on vacation
visiting my family in Kenya and I,
all of the hair on the back of my head had broken off,
unfortunately, and I,
if it could have been alleviated had I just been wearing a
scarf. And so that's where the idea started turning to it.
There has to be something out there that it's stylish enough
to feel cute when you're on vacation,
but also still protective of the hair.
And so a year later I made the first prototype in February
of 2014.
And from there in May or so, my brother,
I was telling my brother about the idea and he basically
offered me a $10,000 credit card. He was like,
here's a credit card for $10,000, worth $10,000 on it.
Let's see what you can do with this. And with that,
I made my first manufacturing run. I,
I created our first website and we built all of our
contents.
And in September of 2014, we launched the business.
[Interviewer] Oh, wow.
All right. Well,
we have a small business owner from
Columbus, Ohio who calls herself a Mompreneur.
Which is the cutest thing ever.
And she's eager to ask for advice on her growing business.
Take a look.
Hi,
my name is Jennifer Sanger and I started Jamison and Bexley,
Jameson and Bexley was started to provide adventurous
clothes for adventurous kids. It started in September 2017.
I knew I wanted to start this business and I wanted to name
it after my son and his big sister Bexley.
I went in to provide clothing that kept my kids,
looking like kids and offer different types of clothing for
gender neutral options as well.
My husband and my kids are super supportive.
If you ask my daughter Bexley,
this is her company and I just work for her.
And my son is the best little sales man ever at my pop-up
shop.
My company created the mixer club T-shirt to show my kids
that even though they are multi-raised,
they're not loved any less.
And they are mixed with both.
Being a Mompreneur is everything it's being able to watch
my kids grow me,
being able to let them see me grow a business.
My business over the past year, kind of skyrocketed.
I left corporate America,
right when our state shut down to COVID and I was able to
put 110% into my side hustle,
which is now my main hustle. I'm strictly online.
But my hope, fingers crossed is to have a physical retail
storefront one day and to be everywhere in the U.S and even
international
I've always wanted to be in fashion my whole entire life.
So to make my dream as a little girl come true,
just to show my kids that, Hey, if mommy can do it
so can I.
(crowd clapping)
[Interviewer] Please welcome, live in person
Jennifer Sanger.
(crowd clapping and cheering)
[Interviewer] Jennifer what is your business need?
And what's your ultimate goal?
So okay.
So first off Drew, you are my best friend in my head.
[Interviewer] Oh my God.
I'm actually your best friend in reality.
Like yes. Since high school, like everyone's going to
be like,
oh my gosh. Jen is like on Drew Barrymore.
I'm like yea, look at me now.
So yes, and Barbara, you are my favorite shark.
You got good taste.
Yes, yes.
I watch your show for fun.
But no, like I need help.
[Interviewer] I would love to hear from Barbara.
What is your advice?
What are your feelings about brick and mortar also?
Well, specific to you?
I don't like the idea.
I hope you don't mind me telling you what I think really
right?
No, my husband will agree with you.
So he's gonna be like I told you, so.
We, we don't want to give that guy the satisfaction.
Absolutely not.
Okay. But let me share my thinking with you.
I could visit envision you in a design studio where you
manufacturing and visitors are coming in at the same time.
There's something very exciting to see how things are done
and to get to talk with the entrepreneur,
not as wanting to sell them something,
but bring their kids in, take tours.
And then you accomplish two things at once.
What I don't like about retail is you have to really ramp up
your production, get a lot of quantity going,
and it's guesswork.
You don't really know the rents are outrageous on retail and
you have to sign a long-term lease.
And it's hard to anticipate whether your company will
outgrow it, when they'll outgrow it,
or whether they won't measure up to it.
[Interviewer] I tried a pop up shop. It's so hard.
I mean, and everything has really moved to online.
So maybe at least at first focused there,
but I'd like to ask grace what her thoughts are on this,
because she's actually doing it.
Yeah, no,
I actually completely agree with what Barbara and Drew have
just said. You know,
we live in a really special time where beforehand,
we used to have to find our way into small rooms,
build with people who make really big decisions for national
brands, right?
And now we can go directly to the consumer. So I actually,
my advice is to go directly to the consumer,
continue selling online and sell that way.
As opposed to getting like Barbara was saying a 10 year
lease that you have to, you know, keep her.
But again, I don't want to step on any dreams.
I, I, you know, if that's what you want to do, but I think,
I think there was a little bit of a pivot that you could do
do there in order to grow, grow exponentially really big.
We went from the $10,000 credit card to selling
over a million
products to over 500,000 people,
because we sold online primarily at first,
before getting into retail.
[Interviewer] Now Grace, would you invest in Jamison
and Bexley?
Is this a company that makes sense to you?
Definitely. So Jamison and Bexley you,
it sounds like Jen,
you were in the position that we were in when I was
basically running most of the,
the operation with my family out of my parents' back room.
And so what I'd like to do is invest $20,000 right now in
your business, to help you get to the next level.
(woman weeping)
(crowd clapping)
(crowd cheering)
Your doing amazing things.
(crowd clapping)
I'm trying not to cry
because my mascara might run but oh my God.
[Interviewer] Do it, do it, do it.
(woman laughing)
The fact that you've created products that people are buying
right now already, it's such an amazing feat, you know,
that you could create something that people want to
purchase. It's already an amazing feat.
So I'm happy to, to, to invest in your, in your dream.
Thank you so much.
[Interviewer] And that's not all everyone in the audience
is going to go
home with $150 gift card. Deem able on www.graceeleyae.com
(crowd clapping)
And you'll be able to purchase these products
that you see here and more.
[Interviewer] Jennifer Sanger, I believe in you,
Grace Eleyae thank you for your generosity,
Thank you.
as well as your opportunities that you're giving and
and Barbara
What I'm afraid.
[Interviewer] I,
I just think the world of you and I'm so glad to finally be
in person with you and be able to show you that love and
scare you slightly. This is such an honor thrill.
I love it. I love you so, as everybody.
Thank you so much.
[Interviewer] Shark Tank, Season 13
airs Friday on ABC at 8:00 PM eastern, 7:00pm central
or you can be like me and binge it on the couch for hours on
their marathons. We'll be right back.
(upbeat music)