Ahead of Retail Week Buzz, chief executive officer of SilkFred Emma Watkinson talks about setting up on her own and making business choices.

29-year-old CEO and co-founder of SilkFred Emma Watkinson

In the run up to the upcoming Retail Week Buzz event, we held a Twitter Q&A with industry expert Emma Watkinson.

She’s the 29-year-old chief executive officer and co-founder of SilkFred, the London based digital fashion marketplace.

Setting up on your own

Watkinson was just 24 when she decided to leave her job at a luxury online boutique.

It was a bold move, especially given her young age and the fact that she was in her dream job at that point in time, but she noticed that smaller independent brands had no clear route to market, and decided to try and fix this herself.

“I was 24 when I set up SilkFred and I made sure I surrounded myself with people smarter than me. I also think it’s important to go work for other people, learn what you like and what you would do differently.”

Engaging with technology

Digital is at the heart of everything that SilkFred does and so technology plays an integral role in the growth of the company. But which technology has made the biggest difference? Watkinson said it was: “Social media advertising tools, Slack [team communications] and the tech we built in house to manage our data effectively.”

A good Facebook strategy for budding entrepreneurs is to “focus on why you’re different. Leverage your network first and test with paid advertisements.”

There are always going to be challenges when it comes to technology, but the biggest ones Watkinson said are “deciding whether to do agency versus in-house and getting the funding to do that.

“Tech is getting a lot more accessible though with less coding needed, especially for ecommerce.”

Attracting customers 

Once you have set up your platform and begun your social media campaigns, the next step is to attract those vital customers. How to ensure your customers discover you? “Coercion!” said Watkinson.

“Seriously there’s no magic bullet but it’s having the right thing at the right time and the right channel.”

Deciding on points of sale

In-store, on laptops, on phones, on tablets – retail is now available all around us. We asked Watkinson how important the mobile channel is for SilkFred: “Over 50% of our sales are from mobile so very very important”. She added, “Our strategy is always mobile first. Mobile advertisements will be more intuitive and seamless as well as slicker onsite UX. Mobile is not going anywhere.”

Learning from established retailers, and vice versa

While not immediate competitors, small start-ups can learn a lot from established and in-store retailers. Watkinson explained that the most valuable lessons SilkFred has learnt are that: “Process is important. Forward thinking strategy rather than ‘what we do right now.’”

The big retailers can also learn from SilkFred, though. What the company has done very well is engage with customers. “You learn a lot from your first customers so talk to them more,” she added.

“Being more reactive” is an important takeaway for the big names, “that’s harder at scale though.”

Picking your employees

Carefully picking those you surround yourself with ensuring they will be good brand ambassadors is crucial to the success of a company.

Each has its own requirements when looking for employees. SilkFred looks for people who are “proactive – people who have ideas, get shit done and are dependable”.

Personal bites and advice

Everyone that has set up a business in any field has heeded advice from role models or friends, and Watkinson is no exception.

The best piece of advice she has had? “Stay alive,” said Watkinson, “it’s 70% of the battle.”

Every budding entrepreneur also has to overcome hurdles, and Watkinson said she could “write a book about these”.

The biggest hurdles she said are ”the ones you put there yourself. For me, it’s been when I’ve been scared to do something, cared about what people thought and being afraid to fail.”

In the style of Desert Island Discs, we asked Watkinson if she were to die and come back as a person or object, what would it be? “Myself but on a beach with good WiFi!”