Founder Spotlight: Melina Bucher (Melina Bucher)
Meet Melina Bucher
Company:
Melina Bucher
Melina Bucher creates handbags that set a statement - highest quality products, made fully vegan and sustainable. Exquisite design and 100% vegan materials are combined into a balanced whole. Each bag of the exclusive collection is carefully designed in Germany and handcrafted in selected European manufactories.
Startup Stage:
Bootstrapped
Location:
Mannheim, Germany
When did you launch the business?
2019
What led you to where you are today?
I did my Master's degree in management and started doing my Ph.D. in accounting and I enjoyed research but one thing was always missing: purpose. Deep in my heart, I knew I wanted to help animals and as I was a high-end fashion lover my whole life, I started developing a line of handbags I wish I would have found on the market myself - highest quality, craftsmanship, and design combined with ethics and sustainability. And so my brand Melina Bucher was born.
What do you wish you knew before embarking on your entrepreneurial journey?
The fashion and especially high-end fashion industry are hard! With my educational background, I was pretty secure with all the number crunching and stuff but I had no network to any PR, magazines, or suppliers. I knew that it seemed crazy to launch a designer bag brand competing with all the heritage luxury brands and their budgets (and it still is), but I thought with a truly authentic and sustainable product I will be able to speak for myself. Little did I know how hard it is actually to get outreach without big money. But patience is key and I learned that it maybe will take a while, but changes are coming!
What is the most difficult decision you've had to make regarding your business so far?
Funding is still something I am pretty unsure about. In the beginning, I decided to start fully bootstrapped as I wanted to explore all kinds of sustainable and innovative materials and give consumers the highest quality product without any (!) animal-derived materials. Only a few companies really look at being fully vegan, we not only have certified vegan products but also vegan marketing materials and vegan office paper. I do not want to make any money by harming animals so this approach is very important to me, but I am afraid that investors do not really get that. But now that I know the suppliers and market better, I am confident to search for an investor who really gets how we approach our business.
What can you help the VEGPRENEUR community with?
I am teaching fashion management and accounting at different universities, so I can help with the business side of startups pretty well. I am also nowadays pretty well connected with the vegan fashion material innovators, vegan suppliers, and how to set up a sustainable fashion manufacturing process.
How can the VEGPRENEUR community help you?
Any advice on how to find the perfect match investor (money and person wise) would be highly appreciated! Also any contacts to press and advice with marketing in the fashion industry.
Fun fact about you:
I can pretty much cite the whole Star Wars episode 1 and 2 and even though I love fashion and beauty, I am a nerd inside.
Anything else you would like to share?
I am always happy to chat with like-minded entrepreneurs. Especially when you have a down moment on this roller coaster, it is really helpful to have a positive community around you. And I am happy to help anyone who has questions regarding starting a fashion (or any other) vegan business :)
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