Surely the gold standard of a marketing career is to guide a brand to a successful IPO, something Laura Dowling – CMO of Digital Brands Group – experienced just recently. We interviewed Laura to learn about the IPO process and insights on her role in helping the company go public. Read on for a glimpse at the work it takes to prepare for IPO, plus her key takeaways from the exciting experience. 

Laura, how does it feel now to IPO with Digital Brands Group? What are the next steps here?

It feels great to IPO on the Nasdaq last week! Exhausting, but great! It was an amazing feat for the business as it provided an enormous opportunity of increased visibility and, even more importantly, the capital that we needed to put our vision of a modern fashion holding company to life.

The next steps for me right now are to finally put the key team members in place, because it really is all about the people you surround yourself with... you can’t achieve anything without the right players on your side. Then, it is all about applying that strategic lens on what we are looking to achieve in the retail market; truly take over and own that white space of offering personalized fashion content.

Exciting! You mentioned a couple of things here that I would like to learn more about: a modern holding company and personalized fashion content – can you explain those in more detail?

Yes, of course! Digital Brands Group is revolutionizing the holding company model that luxury fashion houses have had for years, i.e. LVMH Corp, Kering Group, Tapestry, etc. DBG is a holding company like those just mentioned in that we have a portfolio of brands that share back office services while still communicating to the customer as an individual brand in their own branded voice.

However, unlike a traditional model, we also combine the brands together to create editorial-driven content that is personalized to the end consumer. It is similar to a department store’s approach of combining multiple brands from various categories to create looks; however, what we are offering is much more targeted to each individual consumer versus pushing content driven by the department store’s POV.

It really is a breakthrough business model and the main reason why I joined the group.

Interesting, so tell us a little bit more about why you joined the group.

I joined Digital Brands Group about two and a half years ago. I moved across the country for this role, from New York to Los Angeles. Before I even landed on the West Coast I spent a good six months after I left my role at COACH really soul-searching on my next move. It was extremely important to me not to just take another job similar to what I had before (and even for many years prior to that).

I spent many a Friday night walking home in Chelsea past bars brimming with people with my earbuds firmly in place reciting my goals and agenda for the following day. It was an intense and demanding job that definitely had it’s stellar moments, but had run its course. I didn’t mind the intensity of it because I am a passionate person, especially about fashion and marketing.

I craved a seat with more decision making power, so I listed out the pros and cons, then JUMPED! I knew I had to take the risk and enter start-up land to get what I wanted, so as I pushed my feet off the ground to get that air I reminded myself, if not now, when?

Very Nike-like…love it! So for others within our network, what advice would you give them about joining a start-up with an opportunity to IPO?

I would say for sure to calculate the risk and the reward. The risk at a start-up is great and there is no doubt about that. There are no guarantees like there are at many corporate jobs in terms of consistency, salary and insurance (which are all major things, of course!).

Start-ups don’t breed a great deal of consistency, but that is also part of the allure – you don’t feel like another employee on the assembly line, rather you get a chance to break out and really make that change. That being said, you have to be ready to get your hands dirty, mentally prepare yourself for former colleagues to no longer call you back since you don’t work on the aspirational/sexy brand and stay primed to pivot your strategies on a dime. Start-ups really make you dig deep and test yourself, which is something that I love to do. I know for sure especially now that I am happiest when I am learning, and and I can definitely attest that in this role I am ALWAYS learning.

Laura's three key takeaways from this most recent IPO process: 

1. Never underestimate the knowledge you bring to the finance table. The investment teams are looking for your expertise and will challenge you on it, but they don’t really live our day-to-day lives, so don’t let that non-fashion environment intimidate you.
2. Leverage the larger brands you have worked for. I spent 20 years in NYC and went to college there, so working at a large albeit well-known company was just “another day in the life.” However, the clout that those big companies bring to the table in start-up land is undeniable.
3. Be and always stay open-minded. Coming from a corporate background, I always believed there were specific processes that should be followed to get things done – and there are some, of course – but there are also many other ways of thinking that can be infused into your organization. Don’t be afraid of the newness, rather embrace the opportunity to learn.