Best friends Christina and Natalie, building a business that matters!
Love Jacaranda isn’t just a passion project for business partners and best friends, Christina and Natalie – it’s a solution to SA’s textile industry.
Love Jacaranda isn’t just a passion project for business partners and best friends, Christina and Natalie – it’s a solution to SA’s textile industry.
Investors often speak of two things when they evaluate businesses: the horse and the jockey. The jockey is the business’s leadership team. The horse is its product or solution. Most investors will tell you the same thing – they will choose the jockey over the horse. Even the world’s best product will go nowhere without a strong leadership team at the helm of the business.
In Love Jacaranda’s case, both horse and jockey are prominent. What we love about Christina and Natalie’s story is how these two best friends have built a business based on their strengths. This is what an entrepreneurial partnership should be.
Christina had the vision of what Love Jacaranda could be. She walked around Natalie’s textile factory and understood the business they could create. But visionaries aren’t always great operational managers. As Christina says, Natalie is the anchor and rudder to her sails – and together, they gave each other the courage to take a leap forward.
Today, Love Jacaranda sells beautiful blankets and throws that are 100% locally made. It’s a gap that Christina spotted, and the business has managed to break into, largely because it’s currently serviced by imports and South Africans want to shop local. Shopping local supports South Africa’s economy, ensures employment and gives local businesses much-needed clientele.
It’s a lesson all retail brands should consider: Local buyers want to support local. All they need is an option that is best-of-breed, delivers on their needs and is sold at a competitive price point. Love Jacaranda is ticking all the boxes.
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