The Ember Company

Summary

The Ember Company (previously known as TrendSeeder) is a platform Avani Patel founded in 2012 to pair fashion expertise with business acumen. The program provides startup business with the educational, advisory and networking opportunities they need in order to create sustainable brands.

Organization

The company is divided into 3 groups: The Ember Lab (Providing access to expertise and opportunities through long-term partnership in exchange for equity), The Ember Fund (Sparking growth through inventory funding and access to The Ember Lab), and The Bonfire Group (Advisory services to deliver innovation, growth and transformation).

The Ember Lab

The Ember Lab receives an equity stake from participating companies based on the stage of the company. Ember companies receive access to:

Up to 250 Industry Mentors, Ongoing Classes, Office Hours, Strategic and Financial Investors, Actionable Business Development Opportunities, Industry Technology and Service Providers, Exclusive Ember Events, Industry Events, et cetera.

The Ember Fund

Debt financing starting at $250,000, Fixed fees starting at ~7.5%, Up to a 2-year commitment, 1% to 4% equity stakes in exchange for a partnership with The Ember Lab.

The Bonfire Group

A series of focused sessions that culminate in a customized strategy to achieve the agreed-upon objectives culminating in creating an actionable, Fast Strategy Document and Execution Flow.

Business idea

The founder said, speaking to Forbes: “My experiences were so different than the people who were just starting companies. I thought ‘why not start a company that helps these emerging designers who were facing the same challenges I had faced?’”.

Patel’s strategy for pivoting includes:

1. Giving the idea a real chance. Everyone likes to think success is going to happen now. Remember, some ideas can take 10-years to become an overnight success.

2. Determining why the idea isn’t working and what has to be done to correct the problem.

3. Taking action. As she was developing the idea she was also testing it. This allowed her to listen to the market in order to have a direction for the business.

References

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylrobinson/2018/05/30/how-this-founder-is-changing-the-landscape-of-investing-in-the-consumer-industry/#360269d755c6
• https://www.embercompany.co/about-the-bonfire-group
• https://sourcingjournal.simplecast.fm/f41198d8