Building a Cult Brand

03/08/22 • 30 min

3 Listeners

IN THIS EPISODE:

The fashion industry is one of the largest contributors to climate change, and concerns around sustainability and the environment are growing among conscientious consumers. Join our host, Philip Guarino, as he interviews Andrea Baldo, the fashion CEO with a steadfast commitment to social and environmental responsibility.

As the CEO of Ganni, Andrea and his team have cultivated a creative and innovative brand through transparent and authentic customer communication. The result? Ganni has built a cult following, a community which has driven its explosive growth. From its humble roots as a Danish company, it is now one of the hottest brands on the international stage. But just how did they do it? Listen and find out.

GUEST BIO:

Andrea Baldo is CEO of GANNI, the Danish contemporary fashion brand which has developed exponentially over recent years with its Scandi 2.0 sense of style full of personality and contrasts.

Andrea received his degree magna cum laude in Economics from the University of Verona and he is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.

He has over 20 years of experience in the Fashion and Luxury Goods industry: initially as strategic consultant at Bain & Company and then holding top Management positions at brands including Diesel, Marni, Maison Margiela.

Since 2013 Andrea is also Executive Fellow of the Strategic Management Department at IESE Business School in Barcelona where he annually teaches in the MBA program and for which he writes business cases and technical notes on Fashion and Luxury Goods industry.

IN THIS EPISODE:

GUEST BIO:

Andrea Baldo is CEO of GANNI, the Danish contemporary fashion brand which has developed exponentially over recent years with its Scandi 2.0 sense of style full of personality and contrasts.

Andrea received his degree magna cum laude in Economics from the University of Verona and he is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s General Management Program.

Previous Episode

De-Risking Your Start-Up

1 Recommendations

IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode our host, Denise Silber, is joined by Jon Hu and Samantha Dale Strasser, PhD, co-founders of Pepper Bio, a Boston-based life sciences start-up expanding the potential for successful drug discovery. By combining their knowledge of industries from venture capital to electrical engineering, Jon and Samantha share lessons that are applicable to almost any start-up.

Using transomics technologies, these founders are operating at the cutting edge of the intersection of technology and biology. Jon and Samantha share an honest account of how they have worked to de-risk the building blocks of their company: the product offering, the science behind it, their management team, branding, and more. This episode is not to be missed by any entrepreneur looking to pave a smooth path to success.

GUEST BIOS:

Jon Hu, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pepper Bio. At Pepper, Jon leads recruitment, partnerships, and investor relations to build the company and achieve its mission to treat the untreatable. Hu is experienced in pharmaceutical research and development (Shire Pharmaceuticals), private equity (Bain & Company), and venture capital (Guild Capital). Jon earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and Economics from Northwestern University.

Samantha Dale Strasser, Ph.D., Co-founder of and Chief Science Officer of Pepper Bio. At Pepper, Strasser leads the science team and the advancement of transomics for drug development. Strasser developed the foundation of Pepper Bio’s technology during her time as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at MIT, where she earned her PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Strasser’s PhD co-advisor was Pr Kevin Haigis of Harvard Medical School and the research lab was at HMS Teaching Hospital Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Strasser earned her M.Phil in Physics at the University of Cambridge, as a Churchill Scholar, and her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and Applied Mathematics from Northwestern University.

Next Episode

She's Rewriting the Beauty Playbook

IN THIS EPISODE:

Join our host, Denise Silber, as she interviews Aisha Dozie, an ex-global capital markets executive who is turning the cosmetics industry on its head. Aisha’s company, Bossy Cosmetics, is inventing products and a brand for a previously unacknowledged customer, the ambitious woman of any age. Learn how Aisha went from burnout in finance to stardom in marketing and social media, even landing her products on Oprah’s Favorite Things list.

Together they discuss how Aisha used design thinking philosophy and listening to her future customers to identify an unaddressed pain point in the beauty market. This episode is a must-listen for managers targeting a crowded market.

GUEST BIO:

Aisha Dozie is a global citizen who has worked/lived in New York, London, South Africa, Nigeria, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America. While Aisha holds an MBA from HBS and is an experienced global finance and capital markets executive who has worked on over $130B in deals and led multi-jurisdictional businesses within large international corporations, her current entrepreneurial pursuit is Bossy Cosmetics. Bossy is a digitally-native beauty brand that designs exclusively for ambitious women. In the 3 years since its founding, Bossy Cosmetics has redefined the way beauty companies delight and inspire professional women. When Oprah Winfrey discovered this new brand, guess who was featured on her Favorite Things list!