Exploring Life & Business with Natalie Le of Tangerine Rêve

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Le.

Hi Natalie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am the founder of Tangerine Rêve, an eco-friendly, eczema-friendly kid’s pajamas company made mainly of the sustainable fabric TENCEL Lyocell. We just launched in December 2022 so are brand new!

I am actually a former international tax attorney. After college, I had been faced with a fork in the road to either choose Plan A (a risky creative career) or Plan B (a stable corporate one). At the time, fears of being a “starving artist” in a creative industry was a real thing. So I defaulted to Plan B, went to law school and blindly followed the path up the corporate ladder that society paved for me.

Early on in my corporate career, something just didn’t sit well with me – I wasn’t happy and I couldn’t put my finger on what was causing me all this angst. I lost my dad the year before I turned 30, and it was during that time I made the big decision to quit and went all in with Plan A. Life is too short.

To keep the lights on, I continued to do legal consulting as it gave me more flexibility to experiment on some creative side hustles.

First Fail: I first started a small e-commerce retail business for women’s workwear for the young professional. I bootstrapped and figured out everything with 0 industry knowledge or experience. That failed after a year because I didn’t understand digital marketing at the time and couldn’t move inventory as fast as the seasons came and went. Fashion moves fast!

Second Fail: Next, I transitioned the e-commerce site to a podcast, where I interviewed women who went from corporate employees to creative entrepreneurs. Podcasts weren’t really mainstream at the time – but I managed to squeeze out 33 episodes, with 13,000+ downloads in 7 months. Then I had to press pause on everything when I was dealt a tough card: infertility. I fought hard and lost that battle with a hysterectomy at 32 years old. We immediately started gestational surrogacy abroad and that chapter of my story ended with my miracle baby Lennon Rêve in 2020. Then the pandemic hit and we got stuck abroad – but that’s another story.

Third Time’s a Charm: Lennon is the inspiration for my current brand Tangerine Rêve. He suffers from eczema and I was looking for more organic and naturally cooling pajamas since his flare-ups get worse at night. I stumbled across the fabric TENCEL Lyocell and couldn’t find any children’s two-piece pajamas made mainly of it. So with no experience here either, I was determined to manufacture my own!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I had a very little experience from beginning to end and had to figure everything out – how to design & manufacture children’s clothing, navigate the regulations that came specifically with children’s sleepwear, how to launch a product, market it, etc. There were a few roadblocks along the way that caused a lot of sleepless nights. I was putting one foot in front of the other and when an issue arose – it was one of those things where you just have to forgive yourself for not knowing what you don’t know, solve it and move on.

I believe in just putting yourself out there, even when you’re not ready. We tend to wait and sit on the sidelines longer when we wait for “perfect.” Just do it and pivot along the way.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Tangerine Rêve?
We are one of the few (if not only!) children’s pajamas currently on the market made mainly of TENCEL Lyocell. Bamboo Viscose is currently a popular option for most parents but I believe as more parents learn about TENCEL Lyocell and experience its amazing properties (more eco-friendly, silky soft, breathable, hypoallergenic, moisture-wicking, cooling, anti-bacterial, and durable) they will love it more!

TENCEL Lyocell is made from wood pulp sourced from sustainably managed trees. It uses a closed-loop system in its production, recycling the solvents used, and has a low environmental impact. You’ll begin to notice that as some big brands become more eco-conscious they are starting to incorporate TENCEL into their product lines – it will be the fabric of the future!

Our motto is “for the big planet, for the little people, for the eco-conscious parent, for the orphans in Vietnam.” Our pajamas are ethically manufactured and everything down to our hangtags and polymailers are either recyclable or biodegradable. A portion of the proceeds go to a cause near and dear to my heart – orphanages in central, rural Vietnam.

We are still in our infancy stage (four months now!) and have big dreams to grow! This recent month of March, we experienced a surge in sales, and was our best month yet!

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I have been documenting my journey and “building in public” from the very beginning. I try to take a more authentic and relatable approach to social media and show more behind-the-scenes of the making of the brand and growing a business. A lot of people share their success stories when they hit the big milestones, which is really inspiring, but I think it’s just as important to share the small wins and the highs and lows of the journey there.

If I could go back and give my 20-something years old self advice, it would be to go all in with your Plan A. Do not resort to Plan B. Burn the ships and don’t turn back. Steven Pressfield said, “Most of us have two lives: the life we live, and the unlived life within us.” The biggest regret you will have is having never pursued that unlived life. I had to take a few detours to realize this. Even in your 30s onward, don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself – it’s never too late to be who you might have been.

Contact Info:

• Website: tangerinereve.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tangerine.reve/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Tangerine-R%C3%AAve/100088296924500/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@natandlennon/