Jen Menchaca : Co-Founder & CEO of PerfectWhiteTee

Kara Goldin 0:00
I am unwilling to give up that I will start over from scratch as many times as it takes to get where I want to be I want to be, you just want to make sure you will get knocked down. But just make sure you don’t get knocked down knocked out. So your only choice should be go focus on what you can control control control. Hi, everyone and welcome to the Kara Goldin show. Join me each week for inspiring conversations with some of the world’s greatest leaders. We’ll talk with founders, entrepreneurs, CEOs, and really some of the most interesting people of our time. Can’t wait to get started. Let’s go. Let’s go. Hi, everyone, it’s Kara Goldin from the Kara Goldin show. And I am so excited to have my next guest. Here we have Jen Manchaca, who is the co founder and CEO of perfectwhitetee. And if you have not tried perfect white tea, yet, you absolutely must. They are so comfortable, so stylish, and the T shirts, of course, are always at the top of my list of must haves, but on top of everybody’s must have list. She is here with us today to share more about her journey in creating the brand that she and her co founder Lisa Hickey have created and I love these T shirts as I in case you can’t tell and how they feel and fit plus how they’re all made and sourced here in the US. I can’t wait to hear more about that. And also learn about how they’ve stayed true to their mission while staying true to the brand’s unique and refreshing approach to design. And I’m really interested to understand what prompted her to go and start this incredible brand. Anyway, I will be quiet now. So without further ado, welcome, Jan.

Jen Manchaca 1:53
Thank you. Oh my gosh, that’s very sweet. Thank you so much for having me today. I really appreciate it. And thank you on behalf of my co founder partner, Lisa as well. We’re super honored to be part of this to be part of this process. Thank you.

Kara Goldin 2:06
So fun. So before we get into hearing about perfect white tea, I would love to hear Did you always think you were going to be an entrepreneur? I mean, was this kind of in your blood from day one?

Jen Manchaca 2:19
I mean, um, I? Yes, yes. And no. I mean, it’s funny, as my parents, my dad worked at NASA, he had a government job. And it was pretty much a nine to five. So he was very by the book, my dad was super corporate, if you can, you know, for lack of a better term. But then my mother Though my mother was an entrepreneur, she took care of children at our house. So she was a a daycare, give her a babysitter for all the kids in the neighborhood. And so that’s how we she put all four of us through college, you know, was was with her it was with her money with her salary. So she always reinvented herself. She was always you know, she was the mom in the neighborhood. She would bring kids in, she would raise them, she would you know, she would consult with the parents she was such, she just was a her own go getter. And she didn’t she didn’t have a college degree. She just decided to do this on her own. She kept her books. She didn’t do any marketing. But that’s, that’s, I think where I got it was the entrepreneurship from my mom.

Kara Goldin 3:16
Yeah. Oh, you know, it’s so interesting. Like, I think you and I are, are, we were chatting a little bit about this before that. You kind of don’t appreciate your parents, I guess like and what you don’t think you do, but you pick up on so much. My, my son who’s 21 is actually starting a beverage company. He’s still in college. He’s like starting a company. And and I think, you know, he picked he was making sure that labels were phased the right way on the shelf at every single target for his whole life. Right. So I mean, of course, he’s, you know, he thinks anyone could go and start a beverage company. And you know, like, awesome, like, we’ll see what happens. I mean, he’s learned a ton about it. And every once in a while he’ll, he’ll ask us questions like along the way. But I think having the courage when you see somebody close to you, that is making it happen, and demystifying a little bit. I think it’s helpful to be able to just go and do something.

Jen Manchaca 4:21
I agree. I agree. And it was thing I was thinking about this earlier, because there’s a lot of it goes it kind of goes also into like women’s empowerment a little bit too. So so I’m not teaching me about women’s empowerment, I’m being that person. You know, there’s a difference. She watches me. So it’s like she’s learning by watching just like your kids. Do. They listen. I mean, granted, a lot of it is like at arm’s length like, oh my god, Mom, you’re so annoying, but she’s still learning by osmosis. And you don’t have to, like, you know, talk to them every day about it. They’re like she hears me on the phone. She makes fun of how I talked on the phone because she’s like, and you know, and the t shirt didn’t come in right and it’s too long and she makes fun of But yeah, you’re right there is, you know, eventually there it’s going to, it’s just going to seep into their psyche. And that’s it’s going to be part of who they are. And, you know, I’m fortunate that I get to do this. And I’m fortunate that my daughter is watching me and I, I don’t know, she may, she may totally hate what I do and do something totally different and become like a yodel or something professionally, because she’s so tired of hearing me talk on the phone, but I’ll take my chances. Yeah,

Kara Goldin 5:25
no, definitely. So I told a friend that I was interviewing the founder of perfect white tea and and even though your company is not very old, she was very, she was like, Oh, my God, I love love their stuff. So how have you generated so much awareness for the brand? That like what what’s been the key thing? Okay,

Jen Manchaca 5:45
so that I love telling the story. So so we actually came up with the concept came appointment, I guess it was like five years ago is like a perfect way to it comes, it’s really based on the feeling you get when you are your perfect white t shirt. I secure that Instagram like years ago, because I knew that that is who I am. It’s all about the basics. And it’s all about not reinventing the wheel. I’m just perfecting something that I love already. So So Lisa, and I keep saying we I’m so sorry. It’s like she’s in my pocket. I love it. Because we’re so close. So we got got together in 2019 had came up with the idea. Literally by 2020. We were ready to launch that we actually had a little bit of an easier time doing it simply because she and I’ve worked together she was she had done sales for my previous previous brand for about seven years. So we we became very close friends, very close colleagues, she actually owns a multi line showroom in New York City. So we work together selling my previous brand to hundreds of retailers across the country already. And I was one of those brand owners and designers that went to every single trade show and literally spoke to every single buyer because that’s what I do. I love to talk it was like Lisa would and her team would sell and Jen would talk and that was basically our relationship. So when we decided to launch at the tour at one of the major trade shows in New York City under a different name everybody all our buyer friends were there like oh my god, what are you guys up to? So mind you, this trade show was in March of 2020. Okay, so we all have war stories from March of 2020. Ours was we decided to start a new company with like, no joke a few days before the world shut down. So we’re at, we’re at this major show, which is called coterie in New York and we got a lot of attention. And we actually got orders and we’re like, okay, let’s do this. We’re ready to go. Ready to Ship we started shipping and the next day the world shuts down. So we thought, okay, what to do next. Right. This is I’m sure you’ve heard more stories from everyone. So we shifted very quickly because we had partnered with a fabric of fabric mill Harold here in Los Angeles, we started making masks. So we started making masks very quickly. So we just pivoted, and that’s one of the things with a small business, you got to pivot. And we’re nimble, everything is done here. So I just walked to the factory, we started making patterns for masks, all different kinds of masks, did that for a few months. And then the magic started happening. Because we had already received so many orders from our current and our previous buyers that knew us as people and not just as a brand. They were like, Oh, no. And May, April, May June, we started seeing people who were calling us saying, Hey, I have no product in my stores. So they were like because people were everything to shut down the world. Like literally blinds went down. But because we manufactured here in Los Angeles, or logistics or in Los Angeles, we were sitting on the goods, we’re like, okay, let’s do it. So we started shipping, then what happens is and we saw this interesting shift in apparel, it with retailers, they really started using their social media to get the word out. And so it almost forced that we all know social media changed so much during the pandemic, that the the buyers and the in the store owners started selling on Instagram and really became as entrepreneurs do, they day they also pivoted and they’re like, You know what I gotta sell however I can sell. So because people weren’t coming into stores, they were selling on their Instagram. So what was happening is our product started hitting the floors, they started talking about it. And on top of it, we were the comfortable T shirts, sweat pants, sweatshirt brand that everybody was in at the time. So it it literally it just exponentially started growing. And that’s because our buyers and our district and our distributors and the people that we know and love in the retailer’s the small business owners, they were they they became nimble and they adapted to the new marketplace. So we and we were like okay, let’s do this. And so you know, things were a little slow with payment and us getting it out the door because we had to shut down every once in a while because somebody caught COVID. But we just basically navigated that very those very difficult months. And we partnered with our retailers. And so they loved us. We love them, they started talking about us. So I we really have to tribute it to our, to our friends and our retailers all around the country that helped us grow, to be honest with you. That’s kind of how that’s how it went. So we’re very lucky.

Kara Goldin 10:29
I love that story. So just a backup. So how would you describe perfect white tea to anyone who has not had an opportunity to wear the product?

Jen Manchaca 10:41
Yeah, so So Lisa, and I might my partner, she, we love T shirts, so just starts there, we just love T shirts. And for me personally, because I have such fond memories of my father running around the house and you know, jumping on the roof and getting under the cars and you always wear the damn white V neck t shirt, this horrific ly dirty, White hanes t shirt that was stained from years of, you know, his manual labor. But I loved there’s something very I don’t know, it was like visceral for me the idea of this perfect white t shirt, it was a basic, and probably even Hanes t shirt. So that there was something about that product in my mind that I’ve always loved. So Lisa and I thought you know what we are, we are, a lot of times t shirts are an afterthought for some designers, and some brands wear their denim brand. And then they’ll do t shirts or their dress red and then they’ll add in T shirts. But for us, we wanted to lead with T shirts and leave what you know. And it’s based on that feeling when you have your perfect white t shirt, you will not let anybody borrow it and you will bleach the damn thing 40 times to because you’re like this has got to work, the stain has got to come out because this is my only t shirt. So we started with that. Keep it simple, stupid. I know that that is super cliche. But for us that really is what we start what we lead with is keep it simple. So we want to make the perfect V neck, the perfect crewneck, the perfect tanktop, the perfect sweatshirt, the perfect jogger. And so we want to own that word perfect, just be the best in stay in your lane. So for us every every style that we, you know, come up with and want to put in the line, we want to make sure it’s the best in that category and not get crazy. Like, like I said earlier, we’re not reinventing the wheel, we’re just perfecting this product. And because it’s made in Los Angeles, it’s easy to pivot, like I said, to react and to respond to the marketplace. So we listen to our customers, we listen to our buyers, again, back from the beginning, it’s based on those relationships we have with our retailers what’s working, what’s not, let’s look at the numbers. We’re able to pivot, we’re able to add new colors, we’re able to pull back on things that don’t work, add in things that are in consumers and our buyers are looking for. So I kind of feel like for lack of a better term, I kind of feel like it’s a crowdsourcing effort. You know, I don’t I’m not the smartest person in the room. Lisa is not the smartest person in the room. But our team members are smart, our buyers are smart, and our consumers are smart. And we listen. So I feel like that, you know that based on the fact that we also have partnered with our, with our fabric mill. And it’s a family owned fabric mill. And he’s been doing fabric for 30 years. And he he knows he knows his products. So we get first off the line. He’s like a mad scientist, we get new fabrics, sometimes randomly, we get great pricing, because he’s creating the product for us. And it’s I don’t know, I think I feel like I’m a little long winded here. But no, I love to talk about this. And I it’s great to lose my mind a little bit.

Kara Goldin 14:01
So your your made an entirely sourced in the US. How did you decide that that was like a critical component for your product? Because I feel like as I was reading up on the the early days, you know, you knew that that’s what you were going to do, obviously with COVID as well it probably was really helpful to have everything here in the US as well because we’ve heard horror stories where you know, the world was operating in a different timing around the world. So people couldn’t have shipments if they were relying on Italy to have fabrics and then they couldn’t get the fabric because those the virus was it was operating on its own schedule and closing down factories around the world. But I’m so curious, like, how did you decide because that seems like even before any of this craziness was going on that you had made that decision

Jen Manchaca 15:00
That’s a really good question. We’re really proud of that. And it’s not easy, because you know, it’s, it’s a little more expensive to produce here, but I’ll tell you this, and this is the truth, nobody makes better T shirts than then our factories in California, nobody. I mean, from the, I don’t know, if it’s because of the faculty of the fabric, the way the fabric is, is knitted. It’s just, this is the mecca for that. And the between the knitting and the finishing and the dye process. There’s just something very special about T shirts made here, particularly in California. And so we really want to stay true to that, like I said, it can be a little difficult, you know, with, with pricing and stuff, but we’re really committed to keeping our product here. That doesn’t mean to say that there aren’t property factories around around the world that are, that are good at what they do. And I don’t want to take away from any sort of international brands, brands that you know, that work internationally. But for us, that’s what works for us, the aesthetic is created the best in our opinion here, right here, right in our backyard. So you know, and also, like I said, it allows us to it, it allows us to react to the marketplace very quickly, you know, and we we stock our fabric, we stock our PFD goods, which is our prepared for dying goods, basically blanks, and then we stock our finished goods as well. And it’s hard to do that if you do that overseas. That’s a whole other podcast, I think when it comes to logistics, but that’s that’s the you know, the quick and dirty did that.

Kara Goldin 16:35
I love it. Knowing what you know today about launching a company. Do you think you can spot an entrepreneur? Or somebody that has it? I feel like there’s an energy about it. Like he’s super curious. And somebody who is just gets back up again. And they don’t always have to be the the always optimist, I guess, you know, there’s definitely different personalities, I guess, and different entrepreneurs, but you can just see it, what do you think is the key driver to somebody who is going to go launch their own company? I mean, do you? Do you feel like there’s there’s a lot you also have the co founder too? That’s that’s another question that I get a lot like, do you need to have a co founder? And you know, why is that important? But I’m so curious what you think about, you know, this the DNA of an entrepreneur?

Jen Manchaca 17:28
So it’s a really good question. I’m really glad you asked that. It’s funny, because I do think that there is an energy, that’s a great way to put it by the way, there’s definitely an energy but what I see what I see is what I see is like curiosity, in entrepreneurs. And, and I’ll go and I’ll start talking about having a co founder right now. But because I it’s easy for me to describe Lisa, she’s always very curious. So she had never done production before. She’d only done sales. Right. So now she’s, she’s the co founder of a brand. So now she has to know about things that she didn’t want to know about before, which is production and logistics and all the BS that goes on behind the scenes with, with getting getting a product from start to finish, right? The questions that she’s asking all the time is like, you know, how do you do this? How do you do that? Like, she doesn’t need to understand the mechanics of knitting fabric, or what does it actually mean to dye a garment, but it’s the curiosity, she’s always asking whether or not that’s her job, because we’re pretty, she knows what she’s best at, I know what I’m best at. And we try not to cross over because then we just, you know, we don’t have the bandwidth for that. But it really is. And you can see the people, when you meet someone and they ask you the questions like the questions that you get asked you kind of like okay, I feel that energy people want to understand something they don’t know. And as an entrepreneur, you walk into something you don’t know every single damn day. And and so if you’re afraid of that, you’re not going to make like you can’t, you have to know you have to walk into the room in this is the other thing I tell I’m sorry. I keep like no, I love it. But But like, check your ego at the door. Like you said, there are a lot of different personalities, right. And as entrepreneurs, I think the ones that are successful do check their ego at the door. I do not want to be the smartest person in the room. I don’t. So if you can actually and I learned that from my father, by the way at NASA because when even when he would hire when he would hire team members to help him launch, you know, a man to the moon he was like you know what, I I don’t want to be the smartest person in the room. I want to hire people that build me up and teach me things because I don’t have an ego. So that’s what that was one of the most beautiful things about my relationship with with Lisa is that we have no ego it is checked, you know because lord knows and you know, this too is like you cannot have you cannot you cannot be a particular type of micromanager and you don’t have to be Are you the one person that comes up with the answers? I don’t want to come up with all the answers. You know how it feels at the end of the day, when you’re coming up with all the answers? You’re tired? So I don’t think it’s a combination of a lot of those things. But it’s the curiosity. I think that really starts it all for me.

Kara Goldin 20:16
I totally agree. So you just launched your first store? Correct? Yes. And Soho, which is very, very exciting. So. So and you started out as a direct to consumer company, initially, initially, but was the plan really to sell to? Smaller store? But I mean, you had a fairly, you have a fairly big business online as well.

Jen Manchaca 20:44
Yes. So people sometimes think that we’re just online, because we do have a really big business there. But we did start with the smaller stores, we started with the smaller, high end boutiques around the country. Were also by the way, in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and we just picked up a distributor in Israel as well. So we’re, you know, trying to go internationally, but you got to walk before you can run. So. But yes, we started, we started just servicing our, our smaller boutiques and our online business, but the store idea was is so important. And it’s interesting, because again, especially given like, you know, with the pandemic, and the shift in business, and small business and service, you know, good consumer goods, the economy, people are like, don’t open a store. I think that’s bunk, to be perfectly honest with you. It retail, in my opinion, is strong, and it is what it is because people are now really wanting that. And to talk to that in consumer, they’re wanting that experience. And for us, because of inherently who we are as a brand, and how we listen to our customers. And we listen to our buyers, having a store was extremely important. We knew we couldn’t do it. On our own. We’ve partnered with leap to help us manage the store and run the store and all the logistics behind it. But to have to have a place where our consumers can walk in and actually feel the ethos of the brand. Lisa and I designed the store. It is totally us in so many ways. It’s super simple. It’s not complicated. It is not brain surgery. It’s a very easy assortment to go through. So I that was important to us. We just wanted to talk to our end consumers. And sometimes I’ll go in there and talk to people and they walk in and I’m like, Hey, what’s going on? And they’re like, who’s the weirdo in the corner yelling at me? I’m like, Hey, I am the co founder. You know, they are like, Oh, wow, hey, nice to meet you. And the excitement I get from meeting those people is like, I can’t I mean, I can’t explain it. It’s, it’s really cool to hear what people have to say, in real time in front of my face. They can’t lie to me, I’m standing in front of them.

Kara Goldin 22:58
Yeah. So it’s, it’s just as important for the consumer as it is for you. Because you probably also get ideas, right? Being able to be around your consumer and hearing people talk about what works, what doesn’t work. And we’ve heard that consistently throughout, throughout many of our interviews with different different industries to not just not just with fashion. So when you close your eyes and think about the brand that you’ve built, what are you most proud of?

Jen Manchaca 23:33
That’s a very good question. While you’re good at this, you know, what I’m most proud of, I’m actually proud of staying true to who we are. And that I think, is like, I think and I think if I had to do it again, from my other brand or other experiences, like you got to you got to say no to people, and you got to you got to say no to people. And that was the hardest lesson I learned. Stay true to yourself. Stay true to your brand. And what that means for us is we’re not you know, I’m not I’m not a fashion designer. I don’t take myself that seriously. I really don’t. And I hope and Lisa is like super grounded super easy, super authentic. And, you know, in fact, it’s interesting one of your other guests Eliza lift I think she said she said that. I loved it. She said that consumer consumers buy from people not brands. And I when I heard that I was like, Damn, that’s good. That’s exactly right. Yeah. So at least we are staying true to who we are as people through the designs in our in our styles, which is simple, authentic, you know, easy to wear, anybody can wear it. And I that’s really been the key driver, like you’re not going to see us with like a printed, you know, taffeta dress coming out. I don’t even know like, I can’t do that. And God bless them when they do the designers that do Do that, and come out with prints and denim and all kinds of I’m like, great, you guys do that. That’s great. I can do it in a good t shirt. I know, sleeves, I know collars, you know, and I know fabric I know jerseys. That’s it stay in our lane. Be true to yourselves. And that’s really what I’m most proud of, to be honest with you. And, you know, it also rubs off I think to in our team, like our girls are, you know, and guys actually are very authentic. We’re very respectful with each other. I love, love, love working with my team. I love it. I love it. And honestly, this is the first time in my life that I’m actually then I’m I feel like this like it’s, it’s emotional for me.

Kara Goldin 25:40
That’s awesome. Well, I think having that experience and and I’m actually I have people who used to work with me. And, you know, they’re trying to they come to Me for guidance on as they’re starting to look for their next career. And and I’m really proud of that as well, because I think that the things that they’ve learned and the things that they’re looking for, in an experience stemmed from things that I always wanted my team to take away, you know, a passion for a product or the service that you get it you use it, you live it, right. Those kinds of things. And and I think it’s like you said, you’re wearing T shirts all the time you believe in it, you’re, you know, you you wanted it. And I think like that is it shows in the design that you can’t have somebody who is founding or running a company that just doesn’t really understand the product doesn’t have an interest in going into your store and Soho to see, you know what consumers are saying about it. I think all of those components are really, really critical for sure. So, funding a company is always really tough, especially tough for women, also diverse founders as well. Can you share any advice along the way, whether for this company or other companies? Have you raised any money?

Jen Manchaca 27:08
I have raised I raised money in the past, I haven’t yet for this new one. But I have raised money in the past. I think if I could give any advice there, I have been down that road some that’s worked and some that have not. I think you need to really know who you’re getting in bed with. You got to really you got to you got to have your you really have to do your research on the people that approach you and the people you’re having conversations with. And I you know have had to present my my brand. You know, make sure your numbers are spot on. Make sure you know what those what that means. I watched shark tank by the way, I don’t know about you. But sometimes I like to torture myself and sit in front of a shark tank episode and literally sit there with like upper lip sweat, because I want to make sure that I’m always on my game. Right. So I’m watching like a sporting event to me. Yeah. I know that feeling so well. But but you got to know your sharks, who’s on the other side, right, who’s on the other side of the table? Know your animal? And that to me has been that has helped me because in a couple of cases that I didn’t do my research. It has bitten me in the rear end. Yeah, to be honest with you. So

Kara Goldin 28:24
no, definitely. I think it’s it’s such a key. It’s such a key piece. We’ve actually had people on who have been on Shark Tank, multiple people have done really well. And some, some didn’t. And actually, we just had, who was the from dude wipes on? And he was talking? Oh, yeah, it was really interesting. He was talking and he actually had actually, we’ve had so many people, they’ve mixed up sort of the advice that they gave, but I think really understanding your numbers is key and really having a business that kind of, you know, you can understand as well, that is not that hard, because people are not going to invest in something that they don’t understand. Right. And they won’t tell you that they don’t understand it. For sure. But it but it’s so key. So you almost have to make it you know that any dummy can understand it. I think that that’s that that’s really super, super key. So

Jen Manchaca 29:26
exactly. It’s like the three minute elevator pitch. What is it to explain your brand and three minutes really simple, you know, and if you can’t get that message across, go back to the drawing board and figure it out before you started approaching anybody because otherwise you’re going to you’re going to hear yourself sounding really really dumb very quickly.

Kara Goldin 29:42
Yeah, absolutely. So last question. What’s the best advice that you’ve ever received that you would pass on to other people?

Jen Manchaca 29:51
I’m afraid I already already. I mentioned our in just now which was from my father, which was check your ego at the door. Yeah. I know I said that earlier, I really like I say that to people. And it means so much to me. Because as you know, I’m sure you’ve experienced in, in, in your, you know, in your tenure with working for people and on your own. It’s like those people that do that it’s a real different feeling, you know, to be empowered by your boss to be empowered by people in on your team makes you a better team member. And for me, like, you know, I’ve always I’ve been the boss for a long time. I mean, obviously, when I worked for David Kelly, I wasn’t the boss, but I love that idea. When my dad told me that I was like, Hey, what are you talking about? I’m, are you kidding? I’m the smartest person out there. And then I was like, Oh, I get it. Because I’m I become a better person. I become smarter when I surround myself with people that do things better than I do. So that has that has been my number one key advice to anyone

Kara Goldin 30:59
I love. Super great. So Jen, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and everyone needs to get a perfect white tea. They also come in other colors beyond white but all the info in the show notes to and if you’re in Soho, check out her store her new store, too. So but thank you so much, Jen and everybody have a great rest of the week.

Jen Manchaca 31:24
Thank you. Thank you so much. This was awesome.

Kara Goldin 31:28
Thanks again for listening to the Kara Goldin show. If you would, please give us a review. And feel free to share this podcast with others who would benefit and of course, feel free to subscribe so you don’t miss a single episode of our podcast. Just a reminder that I can be found on all platforms at Kara Goldin. And if you want to hear more about my journey, I hope you will have a listen. Or pick up a copy of my book on daunted which I share my journey, including founding and building hint. We are here every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And thanks everyone for listening. Have a great rest of the week, and 2023 and good bye for now. Before we sign off, I want to talk to you about fear. People like to talk about fearless leaders. But achieving big goals isn’t about fearlessness. Successful leaders recognize their fears and decide to deal with them head on in order to move forward. This is where my new book undaunted comes in. This book is designed for anyone who wants to succeed in the face of fear, overcome doubts and live a little undaunted. Order your copy today at undaunted, the book.com and learn how to look your doubts and doubters in the eye and achieve your dreams. For a limited time. You’ll also receive a free case of hint water. Do you have a question for me or want to nominate an innovator to spotlight send me a tweet at Kara Goldin and let me know. And if you liked what you heard, please leave me a review on Apple podcasts. You can also follow along with me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn at Kara Goldin. Thanks for listening