Today we’d like to introduce you to Vera Moore and Nate Johnson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Vera and Nate. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Love, Vera launched in November of 2018. We began working on the brand during the summer of 2018 and were able to launch pretty swiftly following the inception of the idea of a lingerie brand. Nate was on a sourcing trip overseas and I told him to be on the lookout for products that we might be interested in selling together. We toyed with a number of different business ideas and ultimately decided to create a lingerie brand as we felt that there was a great deal of opportunity in that particular space.
I think we’ve all heard the generalization that it is not the greatest idea to start a business with a significant other. For us, it works. Working on and growing Love, Vera together as a couple, has been a great experience. We’ve had great success in combining our different strengths and expertise.
We are building a brand but also building a community as well. From day one, we’ve been extremely open to all feedback from our customers. Being a newer company, all of this information and feedback is valued and needed in order for us to continue to grow. Connecting with our customers on a deeper level has gotten us to where we are today.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Most entrepreneurial journeys are full of ups and downs, and ours has been no different. We have faced discrimination at different points in that lingerie brands at trade shows would not sell to us, among other things. We also have had to hire a PR firm to escalate race-based biases that impact the ability to use the Facebook and Instagram platforms. No great feat is accomplished without being challenged, and this instance will be no different. It has strengthened us in many respects because we’ve had to be more resourceful and creative, thinking outside the box.
Love, Vera – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Love, Vera is a lingerie brand offering both stylish lingerie and everyday basics. Our business expertise is trendy lingerie. We’ve adapted to serve the generation that values quality products, variety of looks, and attainable prices.
Love, Vera as a whole is a celebration of black women, black entrepreneurship, and black cultural influence. We use black models for all of our shoots to champion diversity and inclusion. When customers – Lovers as we call them – visit the site or view any of our campaigns, they feel seen and heard. This was not the experience for a lot of our customers before being introduced to Love, Vera. When most women see our models and campaigns, they can actually see themselves. We are very deliberate with our representation and this is very much appreciated.
As a company, we are most proud of how great we make women feel about themselves.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of our career/business has been taking that first trip to Los Angeles from Washington, DC to produce our inaugural Love, Vera campaign. It was symbolic of a lot of things: the fervor with which we would approach our business, betting on ourselves as entrepreneurs, and our vision for a global lifestyle brand that was based in Los Angeles. That ambition has carried us and we now proudly live and work in Los Angeles.
Being featured on Beyonce.com was in contention. We called our families and celebrated a symbolic victory in that a global generational talent recognized our work when we had fought and been overlooked by so many to get to this point.
Contact Info:
- Website: lovevera.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shoplovevera/
- Facebook: facebook.com/shoploveveraonline
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/shoplovevera
Image Credit:
Demetrius Ward & Xavier Albert
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