by Linda Castillo
Fashion week kicked off in New York City on Thursday and here locally, Laura Moreno, cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Ladada is bringing fashion to the Bay Area and beyond. Ladada is a fashion subscription service for women. Customers take a Lifestyle Quiz to find out the exact style and fit for each customer providing a truly personalized experience. Each month customers receive a box with 4 to 5 pieces from the latest fashion from up and coming designer brands and they are only charged for the items they keep. Shopping made so simple!
In addition to running the successful business, Laura is also the designer for the Ladada Signature Collection. In May 2014, Laura’s Kickstarter campaign was successfully funded to launch the Ladada Signature Collection. Laura took her knowledge of what her customers love to create her own line of dresses that were classic and unique pieces that transition from day to evening looks. The introduction of the line created a hybrid inventory management system combining inventory with other designers along with her own collection.
Laura describes the Ladada Signature Collection as contemporary, feminine, and classic with a little edge. Laura draws inspiration from new designers who are pushing the envelope, fashion shows, social media, street wear to designs from Paris. When looking at a fabric, she doesn’t just see the color and texture, she looks at all the possibilities. The dresses in her collection range from the $80-$120 price point and they can be purchased on Ladada.com.
Laura’s career in fashion was a happen chance through a series of opportunities that led naturally to where she is now. While fashion was always a part of Laura’s upbringing, she fondly recalls growing up in Mexico where her aunts taught her how to sew. She never really thought fashion would be a career when she came to the United States. In fact, in high school after taking a career assessment test that indicated she had a high propensity to social work and criminal law, Laura ended up following that track and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Law. She was very fascinated with investigation and police training and she was going to become a lawyer or work within the FBI Investigation Linguistic Program.
As fate would have it, after graduating from college Laura ended up in San Diego during the dotcom era with a lot of opportunities in the financial market. She took a position as an account executive becoming a licensed broker learning all aspects of the business from operations, trading, compliance and more. It was in this position where she was first exposed to the fashion industry. Her work led her to travel frequently to New York and she began to explore the NY fashion scene.
In 2009, Laura dived into fashion by posting her designs on her blog and selling them. She began to get a lot of feedback and interest in her company Lalydesigns.com. Because she didn’t have a formal fashion background, she entered the fashion scene in a very nontraditional way. She took a lot of time to understand the entire process to create a collection from start to finish. There was so much research involved to understand the manufacturing process, figure out margins, sourcing and more. A one-stop resource didn’t exist so Laura collaborated with other designers who were also trying to launch their lines to do the research together. Launching a line was also very expensive, just producing one sample could cost upwards of several thousand dollars and up until this point Laura was self-funding her company.
In addition to figuring out all aspects of launching a collection, Laura also became an expert in delivering the perfect pitch. She was the winner of Avion Accelerator, Latino StartUp Alliance, PitchForce and a Shark Tank finalist. Laura explained that the Shark tank was an educational experience going onto national TV and in front of people who have been extremely successful. Again, this opportunity came as fate would have it when Laura was attending the Magic show in Las Vegas where the Shark Tank happened to have an audition booth. She decided to audition for Ladada and two weeks later she received a call. The actual selection process for the show wasn’t until several months later. There was a long vetting process beginning with submitting a professional video, pitching the producers, and pitching against other companies in the same space. She learned a lot from this experience and about the TV industry.
The Shark Tank experience definitely set Laura on the right track to deliver the perfect pitch. “You really need to know your company. You must be able to answer what problem does your product/service solve for the consumer, how will you grow, how will you make money. But you also have to be believable, trustworthy and passionate,” explained Laura.
Laura has taken a truly unique path to establish her career in fashion. She advised that whether you want to be an independent designer or a designer that works in a design house, you should start selling and networking as early as possible using different avenues such as Pinterest, Facebook, and a blog. “If people are liking it and want more it’s a source of validation of what you are doing,” says Laura. “Above all stick to your own aesthetic and what your are good at, where you shine.”
Laura’s passion, creativity and drive led her to creating a successful and unique business, Ladada. We are sure you will see more from this rising Latina designer and entrepreneur. Who knows you may even see her on the next Shark Tank episode!
Note: All images courtesy of Ladada.com
Linda Castillo is the Founder and Executive Editor of http://www.modernlatina.com/. She writes on topics that empower and inspire Latinas including art, motherhood, green living, culture, travel, and issues transforming the Latino community. Linda has earned a B.S. in Business and a M.S. in Mass Communications from San Jose State University.