Entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation are key factors for any lifestyle business’ path to success. However, strategic tools and mentorship are needed to strengthen the core business operations. Below are different types of platforms you can join to grow your brand.
Business operations and strategic management have been difficult tasks for creative-oriented professionals. It takes placing planning, sourcing and efficiency as top priorities within the organization to become a competitive fashion business.
To get on track, creatives are not alone, as many institutions and platforms around the world offer mentorships, access to training programs, and advisor counseling to guide them in this process.
Some cluster platforms group companies or startups with a focus on sustainability, others on the improvement of fashion’s value chain (for supply and sourcing), some of them are innovation-oriented, either in the creation of materials or the value proposition and solutions they offer to the market.
This type of organization brings entrepreneurs and designers together, to share their experiences, learn from similar challenges, and create a support system environment to fulfill their company’s purpose.
Knowledge transfer is possible, as it allows a very broad range of topics such as beneficial collaborations, market testing, and research outputs to refine their business models, accessing expertise and equipment of established firms.
Today we share some organizations and relevant programs for the growth of a lifestyle business company.
Fashion for Good
Fashion for Good is a global collaborative innovation platform to tackle the problems faced by the fashion industry.
They work alongside different agents bringing them together with innovators, manufacturers, and market players with the aim that they “collaborate effectively to bridge the innovation gap and bring these innovations to the mainstream”.”These corporations benefit from innovation scouting and screening capabilities, comprehensive technology landscaping, and their hands-on support in piloting and scaling innovations.
Located in Amsterdam, Fashion for Good’s Innovation Platform gives promising startups the support they need to grow and scale. The platform allows for innovators’ introductions with brands, manufacturers, and access to the mentor and investor network. This way, entrepreneurs can benefit from expertise and funding, depending on the stage of maturity of their business idea, in addition to the opportunity to test their concepts with consolidated corporate partners.
Their Scaling Programme, on the other hand, supports market-ready innovators who have passed the proof-of-concept phase, and are ready to scale their innovations in the supply chain in partnership with large and industry players such as Adidas, C&A, Kering, PVH Corp, and Stella McCartney.
This kind of program offers deeper coaching, bespoke fundraising support, and hands-on guidance with these pilot projects.
Ethical Fashion Initiative
Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) supports African design talent and has been helping to bring African fashion design to the world stage since 2013. This initiative is targeting brands with innovative imagery, rich textiles, and skilled artisanal traditions for increasing the quality production, getting the financial support they need, and positioning themselves on the international landscape of fashion innovators.
EFI Designer Accelerator focuses on business development projects who require additional support to accelerate their businesses in the global marketplace committed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. To further propel these activities, EFI is engaged in expanding its partnership with a group of financial institutions to create an investment facility for new businesses in the African creative industry.
The program will help entrepreneurs in three key business areas: production support, business processes and strategy, and creating brand value. This training approach includes 1-1 mentoring, workshops, conferences, financial advice, digital strategies, and ways to improve their value chain.
Fashion Incubator San Francisco
Fashion Incubator San Francisco (FiSF) is an entrepreneurial innovative approach to business development. The Designer-In-Residence program offers fashion entrepreneurs the tools they need to scale their businesses in the long term, with personalized support, mentorship by industry experts, and networking events.
The incubator aims to help members to stay current on industry trends and bring together the regional design community, offering high-profile opportunities to showcase new lines and innovative design.
Fashion Incubator San Francisco is located on the first floor of Bloomingdale’s in downtown San Francisco, the Incubator is housed in an industrial 1,500 sq. ft. studio workspace. Designers have access to cutting tables, sewing machines, a co-working space, a storage room, a fitting room for customer appointments, and an eat-in kitchen area. The Incubator also has a multi-purpose room that is used for photoshoots, seminars, meetings, pop-ups, and more.
If you are a startup or a fashion entrepreneur who wants to take the next step inside the fashion industry, there are different paths to pursue your career goals.
Educational tools such as an MBA in Fashion Businesses is a good choice and will create a solid base of knowledge, besides networking, and be aware of global institutions, as the ones described above, that can help you scale your business and make it grow.