I am Flora, co-founder of SupplyCompass, a product development and production management platform for fashion brands and manufacturers. I started my career working for an innovation and strategy agency working with the likes of Adidas and L’Oréal. I then spent two formative years living in Mumbai at the start of SupplyCompass, visiting hundreds of factories and suppliers across the country. I am passionate about harnessing the power of technology to encourage better collaboration, drive efficiency and make sustainable production accessible to fashion brands and supply chains across the globe.

What inspired you to launch your business and what is the end goal?

Together with my co-founder Gus Bartholomew, I moved from London to Mumbai in India during the early days of SupplyCompass. I spent the majority of my two years there inside factories all over the country. Our aim was clear – ask questions, listen, learn and build long-term relationships in person. I wanted to get to the bottom of why things were done the way they were and understand how to digitalise production and supply chains in a way that worked for manufacturers, as much as for brands.

I often found that whenever I’d question why something was done in a certain way, the response would be: "…because this is how it has always been done". It was clear that processes and habits had been entrenched over decades, and few had paused to question why.

I noticed that although brands and factories were quick to talk through the challenges that existed within fashion production and supply chains, technology was rarely seen as a viable solution to their problems. It didn’t make sense to me that the retail and consumer-facing side of fashion was exploring all kinds of exciting technologies, but that behind the scenes – product development, production, and supply chain management was essentially being done via email, Excel and WhatsApp. Whilst all great tools, none had been designed for the unique complexity of fashion supply chains. What’s more, with sustainability rising up the agenda of every brand, I couldn’t see how these ambitious sustainability goals would be achievable without technology at the core. 

So we created SupplyCompass – a product development and production management platform that enables fashion brands and manufacturers to produce better, together. Our end goal is to transform the fashion industry through our cloud-based software; digitalising global supply chains and making sustainable sourcing easy and cost effective for brands and every player in the supply chain. We want to be the single source of truth for brands to manage the entire product development, sourcing and production process from design right through to delivery, all in one place.

How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in your industry?

No one else has created a platform that works equally for manufacturers as well as brands. We have worked collaboratively with both our brand and factory partners to build our platform and drive the much-needed change in the supply chain. Unlike other sourcing platforms, SupplyCompass is equally engineered to provide an efficient, sustainable solution for factory partners and brands alike. We have handpicked the best manufacturers and suppliers around the world to be part of our network of over 200 carefully selected partners (see​ manufacturer map​). The majority of our network is in India, with some strategically placed partners in Portugal, Nepal, China and Spain. Our team personally visits, vets and monitors every single one to ensure they align with SupplyCompass’s values and meet environmental and social guidelines.

If you could be in a room with 4 entrepreneurs, who would they be and why?

• Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of Last Minute: She’s seen it all and is championing responsible tech. 

• Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia: He’s still pushing Patagonia to be an innovator in corporate responsibility and environmental sustainability, nearly 50 years on. I’d love to learn from him how he grew a company to that size without compromising what he believes in whilst also living his best life outside of work.

• Bill [and Melinda] Gates: Even just five minutes with them both to glean some pearls of incredible wisdom.

• Rihanna: She’s just cool and has successfully got her fingers in so many pies.

What are your top tips for entrepreneurs wanting to get their business out there?

• Spend time validating a real need for your idea. Get out there, speak to and meet as many people as possible. We spoke to hundreds of fashion brands and visited and spoke to 300 + factories and suppliers before we knew how large the opportunity was. Everyone started to talk about the same problems.

• Get comfortable with risk and failure. This is something I've had to learn over the past four years. If feels uncomfortable at first; now I even go as far to say as I thrive off it.

• If you really believe you’ve got a good idea  - ignore all the naysayers. 

• Just get on and DO IT! Stop telling your friends you have an idea...but that you’re waiting for the right moment to do it. 

What plans do you have for Supply Compass over the next two years?

Furthering our digitalising of the fashion supply chain so we can provide measurable and meaningful data on the social and environmental impact of a supply chain. Much of our focus will be on developing our product and launching more features for our network of manufacturers and suppliers. We are focused on introducing our technology to factories and suppliers right back to the start of the value chain.

Any new product launches we should know about?

We’ve launched a moodboard tool for collating and sharing collection inspiration that’s a first-of-its-kind and free to use during COVID-19, in the bid to help fashion brands collaborate around the globe. The SupplyCompass Moodboard Tool is unique for two key reasons: firstly, it solves the issue of disjointed teams and clunky existing design processes, by creating a centralised place for design teams to build new collections. Secondly, the moodboard tool allows brands to share ideas with their factory partners as well as their team, thus bringing the supply chain into the ideation phase. Both of these aspects will help to drive efficiencies in the fashion supply chain and help all parties design better, together. All fashion brands need to do is sign up to supplycompass.com, create moodboards and upload images, share with their team, annotate and comment, and then share and collaborate with their factories. 

We’ve also recently hosted a webinar on navigating uncertainty in the fashion industry as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic, in partnership with Common Objective and Techstyler. This conversation delved into the changing business landscapes that COVID-19 has become responsible for and shone a light on shared visions for a more adaptable, responsible fashion industry. For example, the far-reaching impacts on supply chains, the importance of resilience and relationship building, transitions to digitalisation and a focus on sustainability.

What’s the single most important decision that you made, that contributed to your business?

Not compromising on great design, branding and UX-UI from the start. We hired great marketing, design and UX/UI people to join our team early doors - an important decision for us given we’re a tech solution in a creative industry. There are so many platforms out there that have amazing functionality but aren't enjoyable to use. We have worked hard to make sure our product was delivering what it needs to - every step of the way - whilst also providing a great user experience.

How did you fund the launch of your business and what creative strategies did you use to execute a minimal cash flow?

Both Gus and I lived in India for the first two years. Half of that time we were pre-investment and weren’t able to pay ourselves anything. This forced us to start generating revenue from the start, before our MVP and investment. Even once we raised our pre-seed round it was still tight, but we were used to doing everything on a budget. We bought a good camera and did all the film and photography ourselves, we travelled around India by bus and train because flights were too expensive, and our co-working space (which was in the top floor of a nightclub) was free. We still have that innate spirit of keeping things as lean as possible, without cutting corners.

How did you conquer those moments of doubt that so often affect entrepreneurs or stop many with great ideas – what pushes you through?

I think if I didn't love what I was doing, then those early setbacks - rejections from venture capitalists, struggles to win our first clients, frequent periods of anxiety - would have been harder to bounce back from. I believe so deeply in what we are doing, I know the fashion industry has to change, I think this powers me through any periods of self doubt. I often think, if we don’t do this - who will?

How do you believe the evolution of tech will affect your industry over the next 10 years?

Over the past month, the famously fast-moving fashion industry has been forced to slow down, or in some cases, come to a screeching halt. But while ‘normal’ ways of working have been turned on their head, there is a short window of opportunity for experimentation and change. I am hopeful that this crisis will be a catalyst for change, and that the next few months will usher in a new, better era for the fashion industry over the next decade — a transformation which places sustainability and technology at its heart.

With factories on lockdown, the industry has shifted its focus towards technology. Working from home has highlighted the inefficiencies in manual, old-school processes and widespread furloughs have encouraged depleted teams to be more resourceful and efficient. With time to explore new solutions, we’ve noticed a change in attitudes — notably an openness and appetite for change. Our new business enquiries have shot up by 300%.

The impact of Covid-19 highlights, with renewed importance, the need for digitalisation within the fashion industry. Brands will have to cut costs; they can’t push down unit prices of products any further. That means they’ll have to source smarter and find efficiencies across the value chain and produce lifecycle. Many businesses may not be able to scale up their teams to pre-Covid-19 size, so will need to upskill staff and use technology to drive efficiency and enable them to make more informed choices.  

They will also need to gather more supply chain data, to better anticipate, manage and mitigate risk should a situation like this pandemic happen again. The only way to successfully achieve this is to digitise often informal supply networks, ensuring data is gathered beyond tier 1 factories. 

Brands which rely too heavily on certain regions or factories will need to diversify their supply chain, or look for new supply chains to launch new product lines. Traditionally this process of finding new partners is quite an informal process, either through recommendations or requiring teams to go to trade shows or travel to visit factories. As global travel is restricted, brands will need to look to access vetted digital supply networks. 

Rather than reverting to how things have always been done, there is a huge opportunity here for brands to reinvent, adapt and experiment with new technologies and methods of working. This ranges from the radical — such as buying virtual clothing from companies like The Fabricant — to the practical, such as using virtual sampling software like Clo3D whilst closed factories are unable to produce physical samples. I’ve seen brands react fast to lockdown and experiment with digital fashion shows, virtual catwalks and virtual showrooms.  

The reinvention won't just be limited to retail; we think this will transform parts of the supply chain too. We’re exploring virtual showrooms for factories so they can better showcase their capabilities whilst brands aren't able to visit — and we wonder whether tools like this could last beyond the crisis.