LEBLUM, SARAH CORRIGAN: The Fresh Floristas

When was the last time you bought flowers directly from the grower? No, we are not talking about grandma's backyard. There are a number of florists out in the market today, but the essence of buying fresh stems has been lost. Mainly, because customers have lowered their standards and companies have raised their prices. Worry not, we have a solution!

As big time lovers of fresh flowers and all-things-floral, we were excited to have been introduced to leblum, the go-to floral guru in town. Or in business terms, an innovative e-commerce platform that is revolutionizing the industry one stem at a time.

Founders, Gayatri on left, Sarah on right

Sarah Corrigan and Gayatri Patel Bahl, the talented duo behind the brand may descent from different backgrounds but their passion for transforming an ordinary experience into an extra special one is what plants them together (pun intended). Gayatri, a graduate in Economics and Theatre from Emory University is a self-taught coder and an expert at building websites. On the flip side, Sarah studied architecture at Lehigh University, landed in a flower shop after quitting the corporate world and eventually, started her own garden design firm. But it doesn’t stop there! Shortly after, Sarah bought into a Tribeca based flower shop at the brink of bankruptcy and began turning it around. This is also when Gayatri met Sarah and assisted in refreshing the shop's website. Sales at the shop went on to nearly quadruple, which marked the beginning of their friendship. Eventually, this turned into a business partnership, when Sarah asked Gayatri to help build leblum in October of 2015. 

Simple is Beautiful

Leblum was born to fill a market gap that exists between consumer options: cheap bodega finds to high end boutique shops. The founders very quickly realized that New York was a unique market in which consumers genuinely appreciated high quality flowers but not everyone could afford $200 arrangements. (Tip: on average, leblum flowers can last up to a week longer than the ones customers usually buy from stores). To fulfill this gap, leblum has curated various options including a LIVE market that opens for a few hours daily and lets you order fresh flowers along with a subscription model, blumBUNDLE, that schedules flower deliveries once every two weeks. Leblum is literally automating the way consumers shop. Soon, they will be launching a build-a-bear like inspired business model for event planners and DIYers that will enable them to curate and create arrangements per their taste.

When it comes to packaging, it doesn’t get any simpler than this: no packaging, no vases, no unnecessary garbage. Understanding that each farmer is different from the grower, leblum delivers flowers the way vendors receive them. Each arrangement is wrapped in a brown paper wrap with the leblum sticker on it. “There are many startups focusing on the flower business today but they are mostly digitizing 1800-Flowers. A lot of them have high overhead expenses that unfortunately bullies vendors in marking down their prices. We didn’t want to be a product that bullied people to make margins for our investors; we want to take the industry and make it uber-efficient. At the same time, we’re trying to raise people’s expectations of what they’re getting and educating them.”

Flower Power

So what makes leblum different from other ecommerce sites in the floral industry? “We use my expertise of who the best growers are, take their flowers and remove all the layers between the grower and the buyer. For example, with the blumBUNDLE, buyers get to experience flowers that they normally wouldn’t see at a bodega or Whole Foods.” No wonder leblum has several repeat buyers. Gayatri proudly reminisces, “just recently, one of our customers ordered peonies at the last second in our LIVE market and we were out of peonies. Sarah picked up anemones instead and emailed the customer saying he would be receiving different flowers (he wasn’t too excited about it) but within a few hours, he signed up for the blumBUNDLE. It was amazing to witness because he would have never have picked that flower, yet he loved it. As a flower buyer, we normally get attached to the flowers we love and tend not to take risks.”

The Name Game

“Knowing flower names simply doesn't matter; the important part is experiencing a perfectly grown, high quality bloom. When I worked at the shop, I literally made flower names up as I went: Hemoglobin, Chlorophyll, etc. If you say it with conviction, people actually start to believe you. But, this doesn't work with leblum because vendors will most likely cut our terms and now, I actually know all the flower names out there!” On an extra creative note, Sarah tells us how “coming up with a company name was a few weeks of making noises. I loved the sounds of “le” “bl” and “um” and eventually, when you’re taking three syllables and repeating them for weeks, you come up with “leblum.” (Woah!) It sounded like a blossom and premium pretty. It was cool to take a name that meant nothing and create a brand out of it.”

“We are trying to craft a personal experience of a small town flower shop digitally.”

“When we launched, we wrote handwritten letters to 500 people who we thought would enjoy the product. We value handwritten notes but it’s not sustainable with a two-person team.” Sarah’s original concept was to build a mobile business that didn’t require any overhead and was user friendly for vendors. Gayatri agreed to the fact that many companies today are growing very quickly and can’t sustain massive staff influx. To avoid that mistake, leblum is creating efficient systems and using technology to their advantage, with each future employee added for the value they bring to the company. This includes Wellington, leblum’s very own Butler who manages customer relationships.  

The Partnership

Similar to many startups, having two founders was crucial to not only building leblum but also convincing investors and tech accelerators that there was structure to the company. Gayatri, who is a part time actress and dancer (she spent seven years in India to make a Bollywood debut), is in charge of coding, tech development, marketing and outreach. Meanwhile, Sarah focuses on brand, product, consumer, and design. Their advice to aspiring co-founders? Yoga and meditate every damn day! But on a serious note, it’s about never wanting to compromise the original vision of your company.

Quick Tips:

• Do as much in house as you possibly can

• Whenever you hear yourself say or think you can't do something, say “heck, yeah I can" and drink beetroot juice (known to increase your serotonin levels and make you feel happy)

• Have the discipline to confront the brutal facts of your current reality (crappy margins, wonky user experience, no investors)

• Never accept the word “can't” or “no” unless it's from your mother

• Most importantly, have faith, nothing comes easily

Currently, leblum delivers in New York and is set to launch in the tristate area in the coming weeks. (Woohoo!) By mid-summer, they will be looking into their second urban market but this time, you get to pick where! Vote for your city here. With a 150% growth month over month since its launch in November of 2015, leblum has officially been invited to join one of the top tech accelerators in the world with an acceptance rate of 0.8% which is less than Harvard, Stanford and Yale combined! Basically, watch this space.

As a little push to experience the beautiful collections at leblum, here is a promo code: Radiche for 20% discount at checkout. If you are looking to get in touch with Sarah or Gayatri, email us at founders@radiche.com.

Photo courtesy of leblum.

T BRAND STUDIO, RACHEL GOGEL: #WhatWouldRachelDo

In an age of instant photo filters and multiple personal blogs, creativity isn’t hard to find. But to meet someone who oozes creativity, integrity and ambition with every piece of work they produce? That’s rare and rightfully defines our next ArtMaker.

Creative Director of The New York Times' T Brand Studio, instructor at the School of Visual Arts, founder of the Creative Jobs List and part-time globetrotter, Rachel Gogel is an atypical Parisian living the dream in the Big Apple. Known for establishing and optimizing efficient teams, producing phenomenal creative work and building a kickass personal brand, Rachel is a go-getter with a #lifeistooshort attitude.

But she didn’t get it from her mama (or her papa) working in creative realms. Her exposure to art and design—besides living in Paris, the most cultural city on the planet—came from taking tons of design and art courses during high school and while attending the University of Pennsylvania. Senior year of high school, being on the yearbook committee inspired her to pursue a career in media and publishing, but hard work and non-stop innovation is what has earned her accolades from the 2015 Forbes 30 Under 30 for Media to the 2016 Inc. 30 Under 30: Movers and Shakers in the Content Industry.

“All my side projects have helped me in my day job, expanded my mind and built my brand.”

Rachel worked as a freelancer after graduating with a degree in communication design. Her gigs included working with Diane Von Furstenberg, USA Network, Travel + Leisure and many others. With a portfolio that ranges from book covers and flash banners to documentary film posters, Rachel is the embodiment of a content creator and innovator. Peek at her website if you want a nudge toward taking up a design course.

But she remembers well the times where she felt lost and had no control. “I took up communication design because I wanted to be entrepreneurial about the work that I would end up doing. When I graduated in 2009, the job market wasn’t great and I was stressed because I didn’t have a job. I knew I wanted to move to New York and that I would figure it all out once I got there.”

Carve Your Own Path + Carpe That Diem

A few weeks prior to college graduation, Rachel came across a two-week masters program in typography in Italy led by Steven Heller, a well-known design critic and historian, and Lita Talarico. She applied hoping that she would get immersed in the art community and get inspired. She got in. “There was a moment at a book shop when I was looking at magazines, writing down on a piece of paper the names of all the art directors and designers at magazines where I saw myself working. I still have that paper hidden somewhere in my apartment.”

Once in Italy for the program, Rachel researched and sent out approximately 70 emails to art directors and designers whose contact she found. Only a handful responded. But she was determined to make it in the creative space. In 2009, she moved to New York without a job in hand. It was a time of hustling hard, crashing on her sister’s couch and fielding a couple of job offers that all fell through. She finally earned an internship with DVF and accepted after some hesitation—after all, she had always wanted to work at a magazine instead. “The best thing I did was to be open-minded and take a chance to see where it would take me.” Four months into her internship, opportunity knocked in the form of a design director from GQ, who finally responded to Rachel’s contact attempts. To work at GQ had been Rachel’s dream from the beginning! But, with no GQ opportunities available, she was connected to someone at Travel + Leisure. In 2010, Rachel started as junior designer at Travel + Leisure along with many freelance gigs. “My roommate would make fun of me because I stayed up working on the couch till 3 AM every night. I had a weird energy level. I was very determined to get my name out there and it was genuinely fun.” Shortly after, she was given the chance to work as an Associate Art Director at GQ at the age of 22. Point being: build it (your portfolio) and they (dream jobs) will come.

One of her strengths is knowing the value she can add to any company. At GQ, managing older and more experienced employees was a challenge, but Rachel credits the culture at GQ for how well her peers respected her. Within a few weeks of starting, her boss quit. Rachel instantly was in charge of rebuilding the team, learning how to manage people, and ultimately, understanding the do’s and don’ts of starting something from scratch. Over three years at GQ, she managed the art department, launched new initiatives for the company, including a mobile app powered by Augmented Reality, and got involved in public speaking engagements. Hence why Rachel was offered a position as a Creative Director within the ad sales unit at The New York Times.

When she resigned, her GQ publisher told her, “Rachel, all the things you sound like you want to be doing, I don’t think it’s possible. It will be very hard for you to find a place where you can do that.” Fast forward to eight months after she took the position at The New York Times, he said, “I’ve been watching you and everything you have been doing. I was wrong.” Well, he’s right about being wrong! What started as a 4-5 people studio has now grown into the 80s. Last year T Brand Studio made close to $35 million in revenue, making it the fastest growing team at The Times.

“Being on-camera was a life moment—hair, makeup, a 28-page script, and the whole crew. I enjoyed every bit of it.”

A rock star networker, Rachel has always had a knack for leveraging connections to her and other’s advantage. She’s spoken at multiple conferences. Teaches a course at the School of Visual Arts. Strutted the runway for Carrie Hammer’s #RoleModelsNotRunwayModels show during New York Fashion Week. Not to mention she’s been reviewing final edits of her upcoming online course, “Designer’s Guide to Building a Brand Story” for The New York Times' new education initiative. Now we call that an all-rounder!  

“I like paying it forward, it gives me a sense of purpose.”

Plenty of women can relate to Rachel’s story: “My manager at Travel + Leisure was a mentor. She taught me a lot of what helped me get to where I am today. But at some point, I wanted more.” Since then, witnessing a lack of women in the creative space and the gender disparity in pay, it has become her personal mission to help women succeed and find their strength in this cutthroat industry. “Because I am still young and can identify with this generation of people, I want to be able to share my experience and expertise. They are constantly seeking inspiration from entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs.”

Her personal project, Creative Jobs List, a subscription based newsletter with 2,400 active subscribers, does exactly this by referring young and passionate creatives to vacant positions in the industry. “I don’t care to be known as the most talented designer. I would rather have my name associated with mentorship and helping aspiring designers, especially for women in this business. There is a lot of work to do because even if there are many women designers, they are not getting paid well enough. I have always pushed my rate higher than the previous job—not in the context of being a woman, but in knowing my personal worth.”

If you would like to grab coffee or collaborate with Rachel on her next creative project, email us at founders@radiche.com and we’ll put you in touch!

PRANKDIAL, FAHIM SALEH: The Man Before His Time

Why you messin’ with my girlfriend? Your car has been hit! Your order of 20 pizzas is here! We’ve all heard some variation of these pranks in our lifetime and have unwittingly been duped into our most gullible selves.

Yup, we can blame our guy, Fahim Saleh, Founder of PrankDial and its parent company, KickBack Apps (formerly known as TapFury) and Founding Partner at HackHouse Dhaka, who never grew out of his childhood tendencies to pull others’ leg and successfully created the original Internet prank dial website.

Born in Saudi Arabia, Fahim moved quite a bit before settling in Rochester, New York. From a middle-class Bengali family with two sisters, he was extremely determined and was constantly seeking novel ways to earn money. While attending eighth grade in Poughkeepsie, NY, his interest in computers developed from researching websites and reading about the Google founders and other players in the relatively new tech industry. Did he inherit this computer interest from his father, a computer scientist? Nah, Fahim instead credits his knack for technology to the hours he spent playing video games.

Baby Steps

Fahim’s first website was Salehfamily.com, hosted on AOL Hometown. When his parents threw family parties, his father would ask relatives to visit the website, bringing the total monthly visits to approximately five people! Not BuzzFeed numbers, but for someone who was trying the ropes, it was exciting and encouraging.

At the age of 15, Fahim began experimenting with programming and built teen-hangout.com, a too-early-for-its-time social network. After he asked all his friends to publish articles, it became a community-oriented blogging forum. Through a lot of site trial and error, he started making $2-$3 a month. “I just sat at my house in my pajamas, created something, placed some ads and generated revenue. That showed promise that it could actually be successful and I could make money off this.”

“Although I was an early adopter of the app industry, I missed out on a bunch of gold mines like the Facebook app market.”

By high school, Fahim was generating $100k-$150k in profit from websites that catered to a young demographic, such as AIMdude.com, iconfun.com, msndollz.com, icondude.com, and more. He recalls, “I would stay up super late, work on it and would be worried my Dad would catch me. He thought it would hinder my schoolwork, which it didn’t. Then, I got my first paycheck from Google for $500 as a teenager and showed it to my Dad. He was like, ‘Okay, let’s open an account.’ The same website was sold on eBay for $2,000.” During this time, Fahim serendipitously met Ohio native, Kyle Kapper, a young man as tech savvy and ambitious as Fahim, also building his own websites and selling them. Although very different culturally, they found a common ground in their passion for creating websites and decided to work together, remotely.

Fahim with the HackHouse Dhaka team in Bangladesh

Who Says You Need To Be Social To Get Social?

“I was a very naughty kid and would go out with friends, even get rocks and scratch cars when I was young. The wake up call was when I got caught by the car owner and had to plea with my parents to help me. They ended up paying $500 for the damages, leaving only $1,000 in their savings account. I remember that night vividly; my Mom was crying because our only option would be to move back to Bangladesh. Luckily, the next day my Dad got an offer from a university to teach computer science. But, we could easily have been back in Bangladesh and it has been a slow progress ever since.”

This may be the reason for Fahim’s strong work ethic and humility, but his pursuit for success began at Bentley University, where he was studying computer information systems. “I was a loner in college, very shy, so I had a lot of time to work on side businesses and dig deep on how to make cool things that other people would enjoy.” His college gigs (while most of us were partying it up in Boston) included starting a customized t-shirt company (think Ed Hardy!) with his roommate and initiating menuvo, a Facebook application that students could use for food delivery. He remembers literally going to every restaurant in every nook and cranny of Boston to pick up their menu, then uploading them all to a server. To his dismay, the server crashed one day and rather than manually update it all over again, Fahim moved on.

“I am very lucky to get in before the app market was saturated…it would be much harder to get the word out for PrankDial now”

April Fool’s Day may only be once a year, but Fahim’s love for pulling pranks lives year round. Graduated in 2009, not able to land a job he cared for, Fahim was motivated to create something of his own. What better way to mesh his mischievous nature with his tech knowledge, than by automating the prank calling service?

PrankDial was the result of Fahim’s innate ability to manipulate in-person social experiences into fun and interactive activities online. Working with a contractor, he taught himself the nitty-gritty of the app business, including recording his own voice for some of the pranks (his most famous ones are still on the app, by the way). A mode to send personalized pranks to your friends, PrankDial has grown enormously and now reaches half a million active users on a monthly basis.

“When you’re doing really well and become very successful, the most valuable thing in your life becomes time”

With company headquarters in Chelsea, a beautiful apartment and constant travel plans, Fahim may seem like he is living the dream life. But the journey wasn’t easy. Along the way, he learned a thing or two about building app companies. He even admits, “I’m not a great leader. I am not the guy who walks into the room and motivates my employees to kick ass. As a CEO, the best thing to do is to have thinkers on the team, not employees, but partners who are co-sharing your vision and success.”

For those starting off in this space, he advises, “two things: (1) invent something really ingenious; don’t just improve an existing product, and (2) your user base depends on your focus. For example, PrankDial has no audience constraints. But for a social app like Tinder, you can’t expect to launch everywhere. Test the service in specific markets first. Understand how to get your customers to become evangelists for your product, all the way from customer support to quick turnover on bug fixes in real time.” His most expensive lesson? “It is very important to hire people that will take the time to concentrate on one product and treat it as their baby, 24/7. When I tried to do too many things at once is when I failed the most. Hire people if you want to grow!”

“I would like to create something that adds legitimate value to humanity”

Besides changing the way the world interacts via app design, Fahim is looking toward the next thing: “PrankDial is great because it makes people smile, but it still doesn’t have a huge impact. The real question is, how can I use my abilities to make humanity better than what it was before I created this product/service?” 

Looking for a mentor, advisor or simply a friend to plan your next prank with? Fahim is your man and we promise he won’t disappoint. Email founders@radiche.com to get connected.

Photo courtesy of Fahim Saleh.

Written by Radhika Mehta.