Recently we spoke with Charles Dilasser, the co-founder and CEO of Teezily. The Paris-based startup, which was on our list of 5 French startups to watch in 2015, offers an easy way to design and sell custom apparel online.
The growing e-commerce platform allows anyone to create and sell custom shirts of their own, and design and finance the production of the shirts through a crowdfunding campaign. Charles told us about the aspirations, business, plans and goals of the startup.
What are you excited about lately in your startup?
I’m excited about the new Teezily features that we are going to launch, and to see if our campaigners will be even more successful as a result. At the moment, I’m also very focused on the growth and development of the business.
Where did the idea of Teezily come from? At what point did you know it’s the right one?
The idea for Teezily came from the realisation that there wasn’t a marketplace for t-shirts that showcase both the work of t-shirt creators, and the causes of many associations, despite the fact that there was already a large number of key players in this particular market. I believed that having sales managers operating in each country was the best way to convince new associations to get on board with the Teezily project.
What makes Teezily so unique and what’s the main goal you’re working on?
Teezily is a unique platform because it offers charities and associations an easy way to raise funds without the need for any contracts or up front costs.
Our fundamental objective is to make sure our clients receive their high quality products as promptly and efficiently as possible!
What’s the current state of the Teezily team and how do you support your company culture?
We are lucky enough to have a very international and dynamic team in Paris and across Europe. Some team members are responsible for printing, others for customer support and we have several commercial teams in country helping us to find new associations to launch campaigns. The team meets once a month to share ideas across teams and among colleagues, in order to develop our business together, on both current and prospective projects, in a collaborative way.
Teezily is now available in 7 languages – how long did it take to ‘go international’ and approach new markets?
We quickly understood that our venture had to reach across Europe, and that simply existing in France would not be enough and wouldn’t match the aspirations we had with Teezily. Therefore we began launching English and German versions of the Teezily platform. Then Spanish and Italian, and after that, we developed the site to encompass a Dutch and Portuguese version too.
What marketing strategy do you think helped your business the most?
The quality of our platform is paramount, and this serves as our leading vehicle of communication. The fact that the platform is easy to use really helps us to communicate with clients and campaigners regarding our activities. Additionally, our in-country sales teams are equally a vital link within our marketing strategy.
Can you tell us about the most successful campaign provided by Teezily until now?
Our most successful campaign was started by the administrator of a Facebook page for dog and cat lovers. The campaign lasted twenty days and over 250 customers purchased a product from it.
Single customers or organisations: what is your biggest group of customers?
Our clients are large associations wishing to raise funds because they no longer have access to grants or loans. They wish to explore varied sources of income and that’s where we come in.
Are there any tips you would like to spread to those, who are just starting their business? What’s the lesson you learned?
Over 70% of people have considered starting their own business one day, so you’re probably doing it right now! My word of advice would be not to miss your chance – this your time to make it happen. It’s also important to know that the beginning of any business venture will require an enormous amount of work and preserved effort.
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