71 Getting Weirder with Emily Sugihara, CEO and founder of Baggu

03/06/19 • 49 min

Things are getting weird at Baggu, and that’s a great thing. The Standard Baggu has been around for 12 years, but the company is still finding ways to grow and experiment. By trusting their experiences, founder Emily Sugihara and her team are finding confidence and empowerment in their brand voice and values.

Baggu doubled their team size in a span of a year. On the show, hear their approach to hiring and training and implementing processes while preserving the heart of the brand with an influx of new hires (11:24). More than a decade in business, Emily illuminates how they recently delineated their company and product values (13:02). She shares how establishing those values boosted performance management and empowered more decision making among employees (19:26). Emily talks about finding freedom in their product designs through experimentation and worrying less about expectation (24:37). Baggu is taking incremental steps towards sustainability. Hear their efforts in sourcing ripstop nylon made of 40% recycled materials (34:50). Finally, Emily talks about embracing long-term thinking, growing the equity of the brand (45:59).

Follow Baggu on Instagram.

Also mentioned on the show:

Links and images can be found on the Lumi blog.

Follow Baggu on Instagram.

Also mentioned on the show:

Links and images can be found on the Lumi blog.

Previous Episode

70 Building on Greenfields with Paul Munford, Editor-in-Chief of LeanLuxe

If you're of the modern luxury business set, chances are you're reading LeanLuxe. Launched in July 2016, LeanLuxe is an online newsletter of noteworthy developments and big picture happenings in retail.

On this episode, Editor-in-Chief, Paul Munford and Stephan Ango roundup the latest news and trends driving modern commerce. VCs poured a record $138 billion into U.S. startups last year, but were unicorn valuations and expectations realistic to begin with? Now that the dust has settled, Paul discusses the adjustments VCs are making (3:20). Stephan and Paul question if it’s getting harder to become a global brand despite greenfield opportunities in consumer products (9:07). They chew on the consumer-centric shift in commerce, arguing a more fragmented marketplace will emerge (24:14). He talks about the new problem with shopping (27:40) and the return of physical retail (37:55). They discuss brands’ challenges of creating a physical gathering place (39:01) and community-building as a distribution tool. Finally, Paul talks about the future of connecting online (45:52) and the big opportunity around niche platforms (51:44).

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Also mentioned on the show:

Links and images can be found on the Lumi blog.

Next Episode

72 Connecting with Color with Natalie and Caleb Ebel, co-founders of Backdrop

After careers in marketing and finance and starting their own family, wife and husband co-founders, Natalie and Caleb Ebel took on their next project — making over the paint market. By painting a jargon-free consumer experience, newly launched startup, Backdrop is moving the hardware store paint chip model forward.

On this episode, Natalie and Caleb talk about their personal and working partnership (3:26). Most people can’t tell you the color or brand of the paint on their walls; Natalie and Caleb illuminate how they are creating brand affinity in the paint industry (13:17). Natalie explains how investing in their web experience and photography led to brand trust and sales (17:36). Caleb shares the design story behind the clean, gender-neutral line (31:00). Natalie reveals how they crowdsourced feedback pre-launch through a private Instagram and focus groups (34:16). Finally, they share how they use music, travel, and family to inspire their palette of paint colors. (38:35)

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