10 years ago, when she could no longer stand the idea of wearing underwear that damaged her skin, Ileana Tapia decided it was time to seek comfort for herself and others. women.
His philosophy of life was never to make more money, but to provide security. Today her business, which already has eight stores and is about to open two more before the end of the year, has also entered the male audience and aims to continue growing hand in hand with the entrepreneur who managed to turn S/1,200 into a great seamless brand.
How does a 22-year-old girl venture into a business?
It all starts with the discomfort I felt with the traditional underwear brands that existed at that time. 10 years ago we were all used to wires, elastics, seams, and I questioned why something that I used every day of my life had to make me uncomfortable or hurt. Sometimes I preferred not to wear a bra rather than wear something that hurt me. So, as if playing, I imported 70 bras, which I thought were the best, they were sold in a week, and that’s when I realized that there is a market of women who want to be more comfortable.
How do you convert S/1,200 into eight stores?
I started with S/1,200, which was my internship salary at that time. I had a businesswoman’s mentality, that all the profits generated by the sales of that first investment had to go to the business. Imagine, I invested S/1,200 and sold S/3,000, so what I earned I reinvested in the next 100 bras, and so on. For more or less a year, all my earnings went towards that, I didn’t receive a single penny. Having that mentality helped me get to where we are today. To date we have not received a single penny as investors, everything has been bank loans, but with that peace of mind that we are doing things well. When I see the income and profits, I don’t spend it on clothes or things, it’s for the business.
When you were studying Administration, did you think that one day you would be an entrepreneur of this type of clothing?
I was an administrator from the Universidad del Pacífico and I had been educated to be an employee of a company, work in that business, grow there and become general manager; but they never developed the entrepreneurial mentality in me or the ability to be my own boss. I didn’t believe I was capable of doing it. When I bought my first 70 bras and they sold out in about a week, I said to myself, “Go for it.” I was one of the few in my generation who took the risk of having their own business. Doing well with that first batch of bras allowed me to break that seam, that paradigm, and start something I never had in mind.
I imagine that it is also breaking a paradigm of those who think about why they sell bras.
For me, if my university taught me anything, it is to differentiate yourself. If I was going to sell bras, they couldn’t be the same ones that my competition sells, I had to market better ones or ones that solve other types of problems, and Sicurezza’s are seamless and wire-free, something that cannot be made here in Peru due to technology. We were bringing a value proposition that reached a market niche that was not being satisfied at that time. I was going to be her first client because the brand was born because of me, because there was no other that satisfied Ileana’s needs, and now we are more than 200,000 women who live seamlessly.
I understand that the idea is for women to feel safe. Did you not feel that way at some point before the mark?
In fact Sicurezza means confidence in Italian and from day one I created the brand I had found that most women, if not all, felt insecure in their own skin. Different types of insecurities, such as physical, emotional, mental. But when a woman feels comfortable, both inside and out, the chances of feeling confident are greater.
Is there an Ileana before and after the brand?
Yes. Ileana before Sicurezza was very insecure, she had many fears, she didn’t believe in herself, she didn’t see anything possible. I had a very limiting mindset and beliefs. I believe that entrepreneurship helps you discover who you are, to truly know yourself, to see your shadows, your weaknesses; and you have no choice but to work on it because, if you don’t work on it, it is impossible for it to transcend. Today’s Ileana has definitely evolved a lot.
They work a lot with motivational phrases. Is it related to your life?
Yes, the brand is quite aligned with my life. The more I grow, I evolve, I discover myself, I take it to Sicurezza. I’m still lucky to have a marketing team. We also listen to the clients, we have girls of 12 and 13 years old who are developing with seamless trainers, but also ladies of 80 or 90 years old who want to feel comfortable in their wheelchair.
Is empowering women more important than making money?
From day one I told myself that I was not doing this to make money, but because I wanted to see more women feel comfortable in their own skin.
How do you see yourself five years from now?
I see myself creating a group of brands that are transcending and impacting lives. I wouldn’t do anything that doesn’t connect with me. What I make is what I would consume.
Self-sign:
-“I am Ileana Tapia Hildebrandt, Peruvian entrepreneur, brand strategist and speaker. I was born on October 10 and over time I understood that my life has always been guided by a purpose. Since I was young I felt the need to create something that would transform lives.”
-“I have created Visionarias, a community that encourages entrepreneurial women to build businesses and achieve financial freedom through comprehensive well-being. I am co-founder of Plantive, a conscious eating brand that promotes balance and nutrition.”
-“I deeply believe that the body, mind and spirit are connected, and that each project that is born from purpose has the power to transform. Therefore, my mission today is clear: to help more women undertake, lead and live from their authenticity, without fear and without seams.”
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