The Real Goal: Building Something That Works | Emma McIlroy | WILDFANG

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 wholesaleResources:Subscribe to Honest Ecommerce on YoutubeMasculine, 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/connectIf you’re enjoying the show, we’d love it if you left Honest Ecommerce a review on Apple Podcasts. It makes a huge impact on the success of the podcast, and we love reading every one of your reviews!