Oh Brother, Where Art Thou Cute Clothes?

In May of 2005 I was a 30-year-old mom with a one-year-old son who had spent the last six years teaching third grade science. My closest connection to the fashion industry was a deep and committed love of shopping.

Speaking of shopping, when it came time for Michael's first birthday party, I set out to find him something special to wear. I'm from Louisiana, where kids are dressed—I mean, really dressed. Smocked clothes, john-johns, attention to detail. What I found in stores felt generic and uninspired. I finally settled on a plain gingham outfit with his name embroidered on it.

For $72.

I said to myself, I can come up with something better than just a name on gingham.

So I did what any completely unqualified person with an unreasonable amount of self-belief would do: I decided to make it myself.

Two months later I was standing in front of sales reps in Dallas and Atlanta with nothing but cork boards, fabric swatches, my own drawings, and the passion that came through the door with me as I walked in. No finished product. No track record. Just a vision and the nerve to pitch it like it was already real.

By August petit frère (which means little brother in French) was open for our first sales.

My first collection was one style, a john-john, offered in thirteen ways. Thirteen hangers.

Within the first year petit frère was carried in 75 stores across the United States.

Then, in March of 2007, my daughter Molly was born. Coincidentally or not, around that time I was designing my next season and getting questions from customers about a girls line. I resisted. petit frère was built for boys and I didn't want to dilute it. But when your market tells you what it needs, you listen.

petite sœur (little sister) launched in fall 2009 and outsold the boys line for the remaining life of the business. Both lines kept growing. Starting with only sewn goods, they grew to include knits, t-shirts, rompers, pajamas, and beyond. My final sample line topped 500 pieces.

Here's what I've carried from that experience into every role since:

I knew nothing about clothing when I started petit frère. I knew nothing about art when I later launched an art agency. I knew nothing about lighting when I joined a luxury lighting firm and eventually became its COO.

But I knew everything about myself. My instincts. My work ethic. My ability to figure it out.

Domain knowledge can be learned. Self-knowledge is the actual differentiator.

As a COO, I work alongside founders like myself. The best ones aren't always the most technically skilled. Yet, they're almost always the ones who know exactly who they are and bet on it anyway.

That's the energy that builds something from nothing.

What did you build before you knew how to build it?