Léo et Violette is a young leather goods brand that makes bags for everyday use: where functionality and aesthetics must meet. It's quite rare to find an elegant bag in which you can carry your computer every day without leaving an arm behind it!
Léo and Violette, a young couple, saw the birth of their eponymous brand thanks to crowdfunding: the €48,000 raised on KickStarter allowed them to launch their first production.
The two protagonists.
In this interview with Léo, we will see how crowdfunding works , and what are his tips for successful crowdfunding ?
What is crowdfunding?
It is a new method of crowdfunding which proves to be a very interesting alternative for young brands (and entrepreneurs).
The principle is simple: the brand submits a project on a dedicated platform (like KickStarter , or Kiss Kiss Bank Bank in France), and contributors (like you and me), can support it thanks to the different forms of rewards offered by the brand (generally products at preferential prices, or gifts).
We had already talked about it with the discovery of Gustin 's economic model.
Interview with Léo: how to succeed in your KickStarter campaign?
Why did you choose crowdfunding for Léo & Violette?
We didn't have much confidence in the success of the brand and our concept. The best solution to test this concept was to submit it to the community.
We obviously think our idea is good, but what do others think? So we said to ourselves that we were going to put this on Kick Starter so that we could survey the market over a short period of time.
Léo and Violette’s KickStarter video.
Why did you use Kick Starter USA rather than, for example, Kiss Kiss Bank Bank in France?
Kick Starter is reserved for the English, Americans and the Netherlands. We were lucky enough to do it on Kick Starter because we have family in the United States who were able to do it for us.
We really wanted to do it with Kick Starter because it's the No. 1 crowdfunding platform in the world: they reached 1 billion donations. It reaches a huge audience, and for us it was that or nothing in our state of mind.
In your opinion, what are the best practices for a successful crowdfunding campaign?
There is no single model to get there. I have seen hundreds of projects achieve this, by very different means from each other. Afterwards there are a few key concepts to respect:
- Live a KickStarter experience before proposing a project yourself, watch hundreds of projects, and participate in reference projects on KickStarter to understand the basic mechanisms: payment, newsletter, relationship between the project leader and the participants.
- Do a pre-launch to bring people together before the start because it's this start that is the most important: it has to go off strong.
- Be very dynamic in communication (contact as many blogs, sites, magazines, etc. as possible) and be clear about the project: put photos, visuals, descriptions that will really reassure the person who is going to buy the product.
- Don't get lost in the trade-offs: get to the point.
Can you tell me more about the pre-launch?
What we did and which worked well is called the pre-launch.
You have to start talking about it, three or four weeks before the start of the campaign: on Facebook, to your friends, to your loved ones. We must take advantage of the virality of the networks so that the day the project is launched, there are immediately people who come and participate because afterwards it is a snowball effect: the more people there are who participate at the beginning, the more likely it is that the project will appear among successful projects.
How did you manage to create this community, to bring together people other than those close to you around the project?
This is where Kick Starter is amazing, and this is the big difference from other platforms.
There are millions of users and therefore there are many people discovering the project directly through Kick Starter.
These are efforts that we don't have to make. We expose ourselves to a community that is interested and active. Afterwards we did all this communication work which brought us the rest of the world.
In crowdfunding there are significant “counterparts” offered to “backers” who support the project. Which ones have you put in place?
We were focused on the product, we wanted to have a minimum of compensation so that people didn't get lost and could get to the point. We wanted people to pre-order the product (the small satchel ) so we offered 5 or 6 rewards.
They were just variations of satchels for the first 30 at reduced prices, for the first 100 it was the reduced price or free delivery, and for the rest it was the small satchel at cost price.
If someone wanted to take 2 small satchels, it was also a reduced price. Finally, there were rewards with amounts ranging between $1 and $20 in exchange for goodies.
Do you think this is enough for the success of the project?
No ! I think a pretty important piece of advice to give is that you shouldn't get too lost in the trade-offs. We were single-product so it was quite simple. But these rewards of $1 or $20 represent 2% of the $58,000 we raised, it's nothing at all. There are so many rewards that at some point you don't even know what you're buying.
We, the person who came, saw clearly what we were offering, and its price. She said to herself, “I want the schoolbag, it’s such a price, it’s here to buy it, and I’m buying it. Simple. ".
Conversely, what are the mistakes to avoid?
Simply do the opposite of these 3 steps. Launching a product on a campaign and saying to yourself “I’m going to launch without really knowing how it works” is not possible.
Beyond the mistakes to avoid, there are projects that seemed impossible, unprofessional to me, and ended up succeeding. On the contrary, there are some that I find great but which fail. It's difficult to say "you shouldn't do that", but you always have to put yourself in the contributor's place.
How do you explain that 53% of projects proposed on Kick Starter fail?
I think you have to have a goal that is achievable, that is consistent with the price of the product. We asked for $38,000, but that corresponded to 100 orders. 100 orders is not an insurmountable goal (it is consistent and achievable).
If a person asks for €5,000 but that corresponds to 1,000 orders, that's going to be complicated, because you have to reach 1,000 people. And reaching 1000 people is not the same. In the end, we didn't explode in terms of people, we sold the product to 150-155 people, but that blew us away from our goal. We exceeded it by $20,000.
From 20% you have half of the project which is won. Is it really verifiable?
When you look at a lot of projects, those that start very strong inevitably achieve their objectives. It’s this early emulation that will attract people later. The idea is to involve your family and those around you at the beginning, right away (you are not charged, you have until the end of the project to cancel your order). This type of operation causes the figure to rise very quickly and people say to themselves "If it rose so quickly in 24 hours, it means it was a success" so people are reassured by the success (especially in the context of an expensive product).
For you, is crowdfunding a fashionable method, or will it really take over from traditional financing?
I think that it can take market share from traditional financing, but that it will not replace it. Standard financing allows you to have a little time, to manufacture, to hire people.
Crowdfunding remains an incredible solution, especially to make yourself known, to exist, to get people talking. And behind it, it was easy to leave because we had already had contact with certain sites, we already had a customer base who had spread great word of mouth, so we immediately got orders.
What can we wish Léo & Violette?
That people continue to be satisfied with the products. So far, we haven't had any negative feedback on the product, and that, for us, is the best thing: word of mouth is super positive.
Léo and Violette test of the New Satchel
I chose to test Le Nouveau Cartable which is a briefcase, or a bag for computer (or documents) in French.
It is a deliberately refined briefcase, which gives it unfailing elegance. It also comes in black, but I found brown more interesting because the brown vegetable leather will patina and give it an additional character over time.
By vegetable leather, I mean that the tanning is vegetable (=obtained naturally, without chrome). If you want to know more, Romain talked about it during his test on the Bleu de Chauffe bag.
Three key words: practical, elegant and versatile
I have been using this bag daily for almost 2 months, and I must say that it is aging very well. I purposely wore it every day to see how it would perform (and also because I became a little addicted to it), and I'm not disappointed!
The leather is patinating nicely, and it is starting to work a little, which gives it a nice character. Let it be said, if you buy a leather bag, it is so that it “lives” over time: which brings authenticity to the piece. This is not to keep it like new with a smooth appearance but on the contrary to discreetly contrast with the initial style (here of the briefcase).
The leather develops a patina and ages well. If the leather on your bag has no creases, ask yourself questions.
Why is it practical in everyday life?
It is divided into 2 compartments:
- Main compartment : to safely store your computer (13"). There is even a pocket specially created to store your 13" Macbook Air. It is designed in such a way that the gusset on the side can expand if you have bulky things to put in such as a charger, a bottle of water, a wallet, or even clothing (scarf, fine knit cardigan, etc.). ).
- Secondary compartment : specially designed for travel with compartments to slip in your passport, transport ticket, and store everything that clutters you up on a daily basis (keys, glasses case, business cards... or others: I don't want it know :)).
The highlight of the show is a compartment specially dedicated to your Ipad. No risk of scratches, everything is fully lined in suede (a very finely split suede leather).
This also applies to the entire binder.
Your computer will be comfortably installed ;).
Video proof (they are all well done by the way):
For my part, I always walk around with a bottle of pastis 😉
It's a joke of course, Geoffrey and Benoît haven't made me an alcoholic yet.
I did the test, everything fits in the bag. A beautiful bag, music with the mac, mini pétanque balls and Henri Bardouin: we’re at the top 🙂
Stylish and versatile? Yes, I assure you!
We often make the confusion, elegant bag = dressy or even formal outfit (suit). Yes, it's taking as little risk as possible, but it is entirely possible to wear the briefcase with a casual look.
This is precisely the point: creating contrasts in styles. You see, it goes like a letter in the mail. Well, for glasses, you really don't have to.
BG shirt, Gant Rugger pants and sneakers.
You can also wear it crossbody. If you don't like it, it can be removed very easily. Ps. My hairdresser is in prison but he’s coming out soon :)
And of course it goes easily with a more formal outfit.
Gant Rugger blazer, Dnm Pieces jeans, Commune de Paris shirt and Menlook Label derby, Asos camo tie (and Pochette Square clutch).
Is the quality/price ratio good?
On the product side, it's 100% made in Italy : the leather comes from an Italian tannery, and it's a workshop near Naples (working for Chloé, Givenchy, John Galliano, etc.) which produces all Léo bags and Violet.
It's really clean, the seams are regular and the assembly of the different pieces of leather is mastered. Note that the snap button comes off to enlarge the width of the bag: it's very practical.
Making leather goods is a real skill. Good workshops often work for luxury houses and for young quality brands.
Once the tanning of the leather is complete, it's time to cut the skins with the cookie cutters. We cut all the parts of the briefcase with one and the same skin so that the whole is homogeneous.
All the parts are assembled with special machines (and a needle) for leather: more powerful than those for clothing so that the needle pierces the leather and makes beautiful stitches. Having tried it in the past, it's really harder than making a garment.
For 330 euros, for this quality (leather + manufacturing), it's an almost unbeatable price. Look at the infographic below and you'll see why. We are on a pure players economic model with a minimum of intermediaries similar to Maison Standards (or our BonneGueule line).
No distributors, no physical stores and a direct connection with the factory. This set allows you to control costs as much as possible. A bag like this would easily cost 100 to 200 euros more in a premium brand store (and let's not talk about luxury).
In short, we play the transparency card at Léo et Violette, and I am delighted with this initiative (which is starting to resonate in other sectors such as eyewear with Jimmy Fairly or decoration with Made.com ).
Note: if you are interested in understanding how the fashion market works, do not hesitate to take a look at the 2 articles we wrote on how the ready-to-wear circuit works ( continued here ).
Final verdict?
As I told you, I am completely satisfied with the behavior of the New binder : it improves over time. It remains to be seen how the zippers will age (especially in the rounded areas), even if I have nothing to report for the moment.
The only negative point in my opinion is the width of the strap which is difficult to use if you have your computer inside the bag (even if I think it is a creative bias of Léo and Violet).
In summary, this briefcase is elegant and versatile with excellent value for money .
I forgot, they just released 2 new bags (they can still be used):
The 48 hours (or weekender) to go on a weekend.
The double clutch in a more retro and classic style
(coveted by Thomas, our accountant).
