Talentedly

Talentedly: Elle & Cee has been a long time in the making. What originally inspired the idea? What tipped the scale to put it in motion? Laken King: The tipping point came in high school-almost a decade ago. We were in the school library with our best friend looking through fashion magazines, and we all had this moment like, "do you see what I see, or don't see? Having such a dynamic background - from Brooklyn, identical twins, black girls playing competitive tennis, super tall, having friends from all walks of life - we were so disappointed by the lack of representation of all kinds. We understood the magazines were a microcosm of a much larger problem. For as many people as there were in the world, only a select few controlled the narratives. A few weeks later, Carlissa was walking through the school hallway and it popped into her head, "dolls. Our dolls would come from different countries and backgrounds to help girls connect the global dots at an earlier age. We envisioned a global home where they could communicate with one another, share their stories, and explore their passions and interests. Our aim became to help mold the women of tomorrow by informing the girls of today, so that when they became women, or girls, of influence, they would change our future pictures and world for the better-together. TLY: What has been the biggest surprise so far in building your own business? Carlissa King: The biggest surprise(s) so far in building Elle & Cee World Girls has been communication and trying to get our vision across as clearly as possible to a designer: whether it's your web or graphic designers, illustrator, videographer, photographer, doll designer, you can never be too clear, even when you think you are being super clear. Design is essential to ECWG. While we have the creative vision, executing that vision can be tough, especially when we are not versed in design-specific language. We've experienced the hard way that miscommunication can lead to costly mistakes, and we are learning how to prevent these mistakes from happening. TLY: You recently changed your fundraising strategy. Can you walk us through your thought process? CK: We recently launched a Kickstarter campaign and after 9 days, decided to cancel it. It was clear we needed to revamp our entire approach if we were going to reach our lofty goal. It had nothing to do with our project and product, but everything to do with our strategy. We believed it was best to pull the plug sooner, rather than later and re-focus our energy. As we prepare for a re-launch, we will establish stronger 1:1 connections with our customer base and with movers and shakers in business who will champion our mission. We will also strengthen our branding through social media. For us, this was not a failure, but a learning experience. We gained valuable perspective that we know will lead us to success.