We recently connected with Ani Ponce de Leon and have shared our conversation below.
Ani, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
It is pretty difficult to pinpoint one, as the failure or success of something is never down to only one factor.
“Don’t ask a juggler which ball is the highest priority. Success is to do it all.”
Any company’s healthy growth involves great dynamism and therefore flexibility, so the focus for each stage varies accordingly.
Many different factors were key in our growth, and which was most important depended on the moment. However, I can mention 5 main aspects:
1. Having a great quality product is fundamental to a sustainable business, and I’m super proud and confident that we truly offer elevated clothing.
2. Funding and cash flow, in order to keep production and sales going.
3. Powerful marketing.
4. Good management and soft skills are essential, both in the early stages when you are on your own, as well as later on, when your team grows.
5. This takes me to the most important one, if I’m forced to choose one: PEOPLE.
I’m a people person. I love the sale, the face to face encounters and interactions. I love events, it’s all so full of life. And this also includes our team members and key partners. Different people from different backgrounds and nationalities. It’s amazing to see us grow, and need a bigger office.
Building a winning team means getting people to work well together.
The right people doing the right things, at the right time, in the right way, for the right reasons. It’s about relationships, trust, attitude, contribution, accountability and execution. It all might sound very simple, but in the daily business operations, where we are running different lines of business, communicating with factories, suppliers, people working in different time frames (collections ahead, sales now) and time zones, it is imperative to keep a healthy working atmosphere were we enjoy ourselves while aiming at the same target.
Even online sales are about the people! We try to be as close as possible to our online customers, and word of mouth is key for us also. Our biggest ambassadors are women who buy and love our pieces on a daily basis.
So yes, PEOPLE is the most important factor for success.
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
Ani Ponce de León is the founder and CEO of Lanhtropy, her passion for fashion and for creating garments that were truly an investment in people’s lives, in addition to caring for the environment, made her found this fashion brand based on Miami.
Ani Ponce de León had always had a concern for developing timeless garments that could be worn in any context. Her interest in creating sustainable fashion with a chic character prompted her to create a brand that is characterized by creating completely linen garments that are ideal to wear to the beach.
This is how the story of Lanhtropy begins, a Florida-based brand that was born in 2016 as a local Miami firm.
Inspired by the sun, the sea and the sand, Lanhtropy was born as a brand that created unique pieces with 100% linen fibers.
It also takes references from simple lines, timeless designs, and neutral colors that can be used anywhere and at any time, of course the beach will always be the ideal destination in which Lanhtropy pieces will shine due to the proximity they have with the textures of the sea and the coasts.
Linen is the primary material of this brand founded in Miami, this is due to the freshness that this material maintains as it allows air to enter the body naturally.
The woman who wears Lanhtropy pieces is feminine, sophisticated and self-confident. These garments are ideal for maintaining a free and very active lifestyle.
Minimalist, simple and very stylish, the woman who wears Lanhtropy dresses and pieces is characterized by having a free, relaxed, contemporary and very elegant personality.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
As a branding decision and in order to support our partners, our strategy right now is to stay away from popular purely digital marketplaces. We like to keep control of our exposure and how our brand is positioned and treated. So far, we cannot find this on the named platforms.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Initial funding was savings, friends and family and maxing out credit cards. As we kept growing we graduated into more formal forms of funding. But we family, friends and Amex are a big reason on how we got the ball rolling.
Contact Info:
- Website: lanhtropy.com
- Instagram: lanhtropy
- Facebook: lanhtropy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lanhtropy