We caught up with the brilliant and insightful GUSTAVO DESEDA a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, GUSTAVO thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
Mission
Since 2016 our mission is to be part of your journey in finding freedom. See, for us luxury is freedom and we understand it has a different meaning for everybody. From fleeing a country’s political oppression to freeing your mind from mental health issues.
At DSPLACE we believe life is all about the chase, that hunt for freedom that only a few get to taste. It’s the process of understanding who you are and having the vision to displace (take over) everything to get there. In one way or another we are all chasing freedom, so we should stick together in the process.
The goal is simple: to refine the essential wardrobe, making life easy for people on-the-go.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
We became aware of our pursuit of freedom about 10 years ago. Our first and most important battle was fleeing oppression in Venezuela, one of the most beautiful countries in the world. When I talk about we, I mean the whole DSPLACE team before the brand even existed.
Having to leave your whole life behind to chase a new one in a completely different part of the world was what ignited the spark that eventually became DSPLACE. After graduating from University with a major of International Business, we decided to go all-in into this new venture.
At DSPLACE we strive to raise the bar in the ready-to-wear industry by dedicating time into every detail with a clear mission of bridging the gap between standard garments and high-end essentials.
The goal is simple: to refine the essential wardrobe, making life easy for people on-the-go.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Back in 2021, the team and I went to a tradeshow and invested all the money we had left. To put it into context, the company was going through one of its most difficult times during the 2020 pandemic after endless meetings with the idea of terminating the brand.
Our approach was to go big or go home and we knew we had to do something different to get the best outcome. However, we recognized that if this failed, the company didn’t have the funds to pay rent its following month. This was by far one of the toughest decisions to make but sometimes trusting your instincts can be powerful. The outcome was excellent, the buyer’s feedback was on point and we were able to open several new selling points across America.
This taught me a good lesson of success and failure being so close to each other.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
After a year of plotting and brainstorming the idea of making a clothing brand, we decided it was time to move forward and prove the concept to the world. I remember we started doing our first t-shirts & hats back in 2016 with a loan we got from our parents . It was around $10,000 usd. After a couple of months our sales with friends and family grew and we ended up getting approved for a credit card that eventually propelled the opening of our first store 2 years after the brand’s inception in 2018. This marked one our most important milestones and the first of many stores opening in the next couple of years.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dsplace.co
- Instagram: dsplace
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dsplacecollection/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dsplace-clothing/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2kD4Pm4oCXjVY8QiFcMSWQ
Image Credits
JULIO FERICELLI CO-FOUNDER / CREATIVE DIRECTOR DSPLACE