WRITTEN BY: KATE MACCABE
This month, Flywheel Strategy is thrilled to highlight Venus Austin, founder of BLANKWardrobe, a participant in Yotpo’s Xcelerator 2023 – 2024 program. BLANKWardrobe is a lifestyle brand that specializes in women’s apparel, focusing on making fashion both effortless and functional. The brand is dedicated to helping women build a foundational wardrobe with edgy, basic pieces. BLANKWardrobe emphasizes the importance of versatility in clothing, offering items that can be mixed and matched to create a variety of looks that truly reflect the wearer’s personal style.
Get to know Venus and how setting a north star is key to the success of BLANKWardrobe with the rapid fire Q&A with Venus.
RAPID FIRE Q&A WITH VENUS AUSTIN: BLANKWARDROBE FOUNDER SERIES
Q: Can you share a little bit about your background?
A: I’m a Detroit native currently living in Atlanta. I have a background in marketing and a love for fashion and entrepreneurship. I started BLANKWardrobe 6 years ago because I wanted to start a fashion brand that could empower women to be themselves, unapologetically. It has been an incredible journey of learning about business, fashion, and myself.
Q: What inspired you to launch BLANKWardrobe?
A: I’ve always had an interest in fashion – not only the art of it, but also the business side of it. I started off in the blogging world and found myself wanting to explore more of what it would be like to start my own brand. I felt like I could make more of an impact through creating a brand than being a blogger at the time. I truly believe that while fashion/style can be seen as superficial, we all have to get dressed, so we might as well leverage doing something that we have to do anyway. Getting dressed can be a powerful step in your confidence journey, self expression, and selfcare.
Q: What makes BLANKWardrobe unique?
A: What makes BLANKWardrobe unique is that we truly believe that style should be effortless, versatile, and functional. You should always be able to go to your closet and have something to wear without having to always shop for certain occasions. The items that we offer can be styled in multiple ways for multiple occasions and you’re able to add your personality to it to make the look you create uniquely you. We also believe that you can feel empowered and more confident by leveraging your style. We infuse that not only in the clothing and accessories that we offer, but in the content that we produce on our socials and website.
Q: What has been the most challenging part of bringing BLANKWardrobe to life so far?
A: The most challenging part of bringing BLANKWardrobe to life has been keeping up with the constant change in the market. That’s when it comes to customer behaviors, the economy, marketing, and funding.
Q: What is the most fulfilling part of bringing BLANKWardrobe to life?
A: The most fulfilling part of bringing BLANKWardrobe to life has been seeing our community interact with the brand. When they talk about it, you can feel their excitement and see that whatever piece that they chose really makes them feel good. That is what it’s all about.
Q: Best advice you’ve ever received or advice you would like to share with aspiring founders and entrepreneurs?
A: Best advice that I would share with aspiring founders and entrepreneurs would be to keep going. Pivot when necessary, but please don’t quit. You never know who is inspired by you bringing your idea to life.
Q: Can you share a little about any exciting launches coming up for BLANKWardrobe?
A: Be on the lookout for more additions to The Spring/Summer Shop! Also, we are considering adding another product to our roundup that will help women in their selfcare journeys and in becoming the women that they were meant to be.
Q: What trends are on your radar in the ecommerce space, to help drive BLANKWardrobe’s growth?
A: I think the trends in the ecommerce space that can help drive our growth would be looking into how to incorporate AI to increase personalization in how our community experiences the brand.
Q: Where can consumers learn more about you and BLANKWardrobe?
A: They can head to www.blankwardrobe.com for more information and to shop. Of course, follow us on Instagram and TikTok at @theblankwardrobe. And for more information about me, they can follow me on Instagram at @iamvmil, TikTok at iamvenusd and YouTube at iamvenus.
Interested in supporting founders as they bring their vision to life? Contact Flywheel Strategy to start the conversation.
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