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Ralph de Lisle

Founder & Entrepreneur

Ralph de Lisle is the Head of Business Development at Rainbows & Unicorns, a position he holds while also serving as the Chief Operating Officer at another company called slø, which focuses on sustainable fashion. He has a background in entrepreneurship and brand management, having founded IKO drinks and worked in various roles that emphasize retail and e-commerce strategies.134

Based in London, Ralph de Lisle is recognized for his commitment to promoting artisanal brands and enhancing customer experiences through innovative business practices.23 His professional journey reflects a strong focus on sustainability and entrepreneurship in the retail sector.

Highlights

Aug 6 · linkedin

Just LOOK at this... 👀 I went from being flown to Vegas for a job interview to showering with a hose in Istanbul. Here's how it came to this...

The start-up life. 🚀

6 months ago I joined slø - not fast fashion, the made-to-order denim brand. Kristian Hansen flew me out to Vegas where he was speaking at CES conference. 1 week later I was sold!

  • $1,100,000 in revenue generated in 12 days of sales
  • $0 ad spend
  • 1,000,000 followers on social media
  • 120,000 customer waitlist
  • a fully owned and operated factory
  • a laundry list of exciting challenges!

6 months later and I'm leading Slø's operations in a transformational period. We're getting ready for our biggest-ever launch in October, with updated production, tech, website, product, and branding. And what's the most effective way to execute an all-encompassing ops project...?

KRISTIAN - "Let's just go to the factory in Istanbul. Get s*** done. Fast." ME - "Sleeves up. Let's do it." KRISTIAN - "Awesome. It'll be fun!" ME - "Yeah man! So where are we staying?" KRISTIAN - stays silent

Yup.

We're living in the factory. Gotta watch the cash flow, and what better way to get under the hood of what the team does here than be here... LITERALLY night and day? 🛌🏭

Every day starts being woken up by a minaret and a cold "shower" on the roof.

I've never worked harder. And I've never had more fun!

The whole experience, being here with the production team every day, has been a privilege. These are some of the best sample tailors in the world - denim ninjas. And Istanbul is the world's most competitive market for denim. 👖

And whilst 'head office' can innovate by developing new sizing tech and a revolutionary OMS, none of that matters if we don't fully come to know what slø's tailors do here on the ground every time we accept an order.

The whole experience has been incredible for us. So enlightening that we've decided any new management hires will come to Istanbul and have this experience.

They'll make their own pair of jeans (as I have this week). They'll know exactly how we make what we sell.

If you're thinking about applying for a job with Slø, don't worry...

We'll be installing a real shower 😉

If you run any business, but especially one involving manufacturing, here's what I've learned under the hose....

🚿 Get your sleeves rolled up and get stuck in - you can't lead a business without understanding what the team you're leading does day-to-day.

🚿 Be present in person - some may consider it old-fashioned these days, but you just can't replace the value of face-to-face with your team.

🚿 Learn to respect the skills of the people who produce for you - preferably firsthand! You don't need to be an expert. But it's the best way fully to appreciate what they do.

So what about you?

What's the craziest adventure you ever had starting a business? What's the craziest one you've ever had, period?

Let me know in your comments👇

#startuplife #entrepreneaur #leadership

Jul 2 · linkedin

6 months ago, I was put on a plane to Las Vegas to meet the Founder of a fashion brand. What happened next changed everything... 🤯

At the end of 2023, I posted here about failing to achieve what I'd set out to with my business. It was a tough time with some brutal lessons.

The response I got to that post was extraordinary! I met with a wide range of business owners keen to hear my experience and ask for my help. Apparently what I'd earned had more value than I expected!

And after a 30-minute video call with one founder, I found myself on a plane to CES conference in Las Vegas to meet him. 🛫

Kristian Hansen is the founder of slø - not fast fashion, the made-to-order denim brand. Within our 30-minute call, I heard his story:

  • a viral TikTok video
  • a bold idea
  • a mission to change the fashion industry, for good.

He and his team sold $350,000 of jeans on their website in 72 hours. In fact, they had to turn down nearly $2,000,000 of sales because they exceeded capacity.

😱

A guy like that asks you to get on a plane, you get on the plane!!!

Over the next week we spoke about Slø...

  • How he was consistently growing a TikTok following of 1m+
  • How they had an email list of 120,000 customers accessible any time
  • How they'd built their own tech and one-of-a-kind denim factory
  • How they're able to deliver perfectly sized, custom jeans in 30 days
  • How they can do all that for $99 a pair

I was blown away.

And then he asked me to join.

So here I am, 6 months after wondering what was going to come next, building the future of fashion with one of the most inspired and inspiring founders and teams I've ever encountered. 💪

So what's happening now?

  1. We're working on a deal with one of the world's largest e-commerce fashion retailers that will put us firmly on the map. 🤝

  2. slø - not fast fashion is crowdfunding - what better way to raise when you've got a million followers and a ride-or-die level of loyalty from your customer base? ✊

  3. We're ramping up manufacturing so we can service the 30,000 customers hitting checkout each time we launch a product. 🛠️

I'm not big on TikTok myself - I'm currently learning from the best! But I'd be amiss if I didn't offer you folks on LinkedIn the chance to get in on this...

You can check out Kristian Hansen's story yourself here by copying this URL into your browser:

👉 https://wefunder.com/slo 👈

It's rare to meet someone truly inspiring. Someone who's building something great, and a business and a team that is shortly to change the face of an entire industry...

I'm 5 years into my own journey as an entrepreneur now. And nearly 15 years into my career as a whole.

...and I say - that's Slø. 📈🚀

#startupjourney #perseverence #crowdfunding

Related Questions

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Ralph de Lisle
Ralph de Lisle, photo 1
Ralph de Lisle, photo 2
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Experience

Founder at IKÓ Drinks
Commercial Consultant at HC Consulting (October 2021 - Present), Business Development Manager at VIPR Ltd (October 2019 - July 2020 · 10 months), AVP - Delegated Authority at Beach & Associates (March at DUAL International Limited (August 2013 - March 2018 · 4 years 8 months)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Classics, University of Cambridge (2009 - 2012)

Location

London, England, United Kingdom