277 | The Real Goal: Building Something That Works | with Emma McIlroy

Honest Ecommerce

Emma McIlroy is the founder and CEO of Wildfang, a multi million dollar fashion brand on a mission to rewrite the future of gender.

Wildfang embraces your masc, your femme and everything-in-between. Wildfang has raised over $1k for charities that focus on racial justice, as well as queer, immigrant, and women’s rights.

Pre-Wildfang, Emma spent over a decade honing her marketing skills at brands like Barclays and Nike.

More recently, Emma has been named one of Inc.’s Female Founders 100, Oregon Entrepreneur of the Year, a Henry Crown Fellow and her "Yeah Maybe" TED talk has racked up over 100k views.

In This Conversation We Discuss:

• [00:43] Intro
• [01:23] Challenging norms & gendered clothing options
• [03:02] Expanding from brick-and-mortar to Ecommerce
• [04:12] Launching physical & online store side by side
• [05:05] Strategizing & focusing efforts before going live
• [06:51] Gaining momentum & navigating press attention
• [07:39] Doing personalized outreach strategies
• [08:55] Reaching varied audience segments
• [10:06] Putting in the effort to sell the vision
• [11:09] Building a website with no experience
• [12:37] Dealing with early days mishaps
• [13:43] Electric Eye: Your true Shopify expert
• [14:40] Challenges of selling others' products
• [15:53] Deciding to build own products
• [16:47] Endorsements and retail limitations
• [17:29] Moving from third-party to vertical business
• [18:04] Ensuring ethical production practices
• [18:39] Rediscovering the power of public relations
• [19:31] Intimidating expectations in the industry
• [21:05] Rejecting 'Advice Tornado'
• [21:58] Reflecting on industry shifts over a decade
• [23:09] Focusing on longevity & resonance in business
• [23:47] Staying true to your brand's strengths
• [25:06] Block out the noise & focus on what matters
• [26:41] Connecting on social: join WILDFANG's community
• [27:17] WILDFANG ventures into wholesale

Resources:

• Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on Youtube
• Masculine, feminine, and everything-in-between workwear wildfang.com/
• Follow Emma McIlroy linkedin.com/in/emma-mcilroy-she-her-97811422/
• Schedule an intro call with one of our experts electriceye.io/connect

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