She Bootstrapped Her First Bag at a Dry Cleaner Before Getting Press
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She Bootstrapped Her First Bag at a Dry Cleaner Before Getting Press
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Getting press rarely starts with a pitch. For Irene Chen, co-founder of Parker Thatch, it started years earlier with relationships she built long before she had a bag to sell.
On this episode of Dear FoundHer, host Lindsay Pinchuk talks with Irene Chen about turning a stationery line called Iomoi into Parker Thatch, a founder story rooted in scrappy beginnings. Irene shares how she cut her first pattern with the woman who hemmed her pants and bought canvas at Joann's with a 50% off coupon.
Bootstrapping forced Irene and her husband to figure out bag production from the ground up, despite Irene’s background in fashion and finance. She also explains how her friendship with Kate and Andy Spade helped shape two major turning points for the company, with Kate encouraging the move into leather and Kate and Andy pushing them to rethink the Iomoi name.
Getting press came easier once those relationships were already in place. Earned media and word of mouth remain one of her biggest drivers of growth today, proof that building relationships in business and networking for women pay off years later. Publicity followed the story, not the other way around. Listen to hear how one friendship changed the direction of an entire company.
Episode Breakdown:
00:00 Meet Irene Chen, Co-Founder of Parker Thatch
02:30 The Original Idea: E-Stationery Before the Web
05:15 From Paper Goods to Home Products
07:00 Cutting the First Bag Pattern at a Dry Cleaner
09:30 Sourcing Fabric and Leather on a Shoestring Budget
11:00 Getting Press Through Editor Relationships, Not Pitches
12:26 How Kate Spade Sparked the Leather Pivot
13:03 Renaming the Brand From Iomoi to Parker Thatch
17:00 Keeping Customization Alive at Scale
26:19 The Friendship With Kate Spade Beyond Business
39:50 Three Pieces of Advice for New Founders
Connect with Irene Chen:
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