Shane Vitaly Foran shares his background growing up in Canada, getting into the punk rock scene, and pushing boundaries in fashion and style early on with his piercings, tattoos, hairstyle, and clothing choices. Shane tells the story of how he parlayed his rebellious, anti-establishment style into two fashion brands that currently produce over 8-figures in annual revenue. As the founder, CEO and lead designer of Vitaly Design and Clocks and Colours, Shane takes us on his entrepreneurial journey, his numerous setbacks along the way, and how he persevered and learned lessons from each business challenge. He explains how he now collaborates with the world’s top DJs, including a recent product line he produced for Zedd. He tells the story of how he appeared on Dragon’s Den (the Canadian version of Shark Tank) and delivered the most successful pitch in Dragon’s Den history, receiving investment offers from every single dragon. He also shares how he was approached by Axe to do a 60 second commercial and by MTV to do a spot on his team. Shane then talks about his leadership style, what it took to identify high quality manufacturers, how he manages his distributed team remotely while traveling the world, how he hires the right people, and how he deploys and optimizes a $5 million+ annual marketing budget. Shane also discusses his morning routines, productivity habits, the importance of prioritizing mental health and why he believes everyone should go to therapy. He explains how he differentiates his personal brand from his company brands, and why that is important. He also talks about what he loves about travel, the business benefits of traveling the world, his favorite destinations, his top bucket list destinations. Full Show Notes at www.TheMaverickShow.com
Episode #40: Building 8-Figure Fashion Brands, Collaborating with Top DJs, and Prioritizing Your Mental Health with Shane Vitaly Foran
Episode Summary
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About the Guest
Shane Vitaly Foran
Shane Vitaly Foran is the Founder, CEO and Lead Designer for two fashion brands, Vitaly Design and Clocks and Colours. Shane’s brands produce a combined 8-figures in annual sales, and have a total social media reach of over 1 million followers. He employs a team of 35 people in Canada, 5 in Portugal and several hundred throughout Asia. Originally from Canada, Shane has been a judge on the Fashion-Designer Competition show Stitched, and he also appeared on the TV show Dragon’s Den (the Canadian version of Shark Tank) where he pitched and received investment offers from every single Dragon, making him one of the most successful pitches and businesses in Dragon’s Den history. In 2017, at age 29, Shane was named The Canadian Notable Entrepreneur of the Year. Shane also runs his companies fully remotely while traveling the world and has lived in 15 countries in just the last year alone. Shane, Welcome to the Show!
What You'll Learn
- How to build 8-figure fashion brands and optimize a $5 million ad budget
- How to differentiate your personal brand from your company brands
- How and why to prioritize your mental health as an entrepreneur
Links From the Episode
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WORK-TRAVEL PROGRAM THAT MATT AND SHANE DID
- Remote Year (Get a $100 Discount off Remote Year By Using This Link)
SHANE’S BOOK RECOMMENDATION
PEOPLE WITH WHOM SHANE WOULD MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER
GAME MENTIONED
PERSON MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
SHANE’S 60 SECOND AXE COMMERCIALS
SHANE’S PITCH ON DRAGON’S DEN
PODCAST SHANE RECOMMENDS
INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE:
PLACES MENTIONED:
TOP 4 TRAVEL DESTINATIONS
TOP 3 BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS
CHECK FLIGHTS TO ANY OF THESE DESTINATIONS
CONNECT WITH SHANE
Time Stamped Show Notes
[2:56] Matt and Shane Talk About The SXSW Conference in Austin
- What Shane liked about Austin and the SXSW Conference
- Matt and Shane’s “Remote Entrepreneurship” Panel at SXSW
- How Matt and Shane Beat the game of Jenga
[6:27] Shane’s Background and Cultural Identity
- Growing up in Canada
- Getting into the Punk Rock Scene
- Pushing Boundaries with His Fashion and Appearance
- Shane’s Style Today and How He Remains True to His Identity
[9:05] Shane’s Entrepreneurial Journey
- How Shane gravitated forwards fashion
- Getting his first custom ring manufactured in Bali
- Selling his first batch of Rings on Queen Street in Toronto
- Spending his last $3,000 on a shipment of rings
- Finding his first shipment of inventory was completely broken
- Searching for manufacturers in China on a shoestring budget
- Vetting hundreds of factories to find reliable suppliers
[21:11] The Development of Shane’s Product Lines and Brand Identities
- How Shane developed his first product line
- Product offerings from Vitaly Design vs. Clocks and Colours
- Differentiating Two Brand Identities
- Getting into Clothing and then Getting out of it and focusing on Jewelry
- Shane’s new upcoming women’s jewelry brands
[26:15] Collaborating with Zedd and other Top DJs
- Working with A-List EDM DJs
- Creating a full collection of jewelry and clothing for Zedd
- How Vitaly Design became an established brand among top EDM DJs
[27:28] Being a Judge on the Fashion Designer Competition Show “Stitched”
[29:09] Shane’s Experience Delivering the Most Successful Pitch in Dragon’s Den History
[31:18] Shane’s Insights on Choosing to Bootstrap vs. Raise Investment Capital
[35:17] Tips on Cash-Flow Management and Resource Allocation When Scaling
- The importance of ‘focus’
- The key to maintaining proper margins
[37:53] Optimizing a $5 Million Annual Ad Budget
- Spending $10,000 – $15,000 per day on ads
- The keys to Shane’s marketing strategy
- Testing 50 to 100 iterations per ad campaign
- What it really takes to run a successful ad campaign on Facebook
[42:19] Shane’s Strategy for Hiring Great Staff
- Prioritizing candidates who are passionate about your product and brand
- The importance of promoting from within
[44:44] Shane’s Leadership Style as a CEO
- How Shane get the best performance out of his staff
- Understanding what really motivates his team
- Empowering his staff
[46:42] Running an 8 Figure Business Remotely and Managing a Distributed Team
- Building company culture with a distributed team
- Increasing productivity and improving leadership style by traveling the world
[49:36] Shane’s Experiences Traveling the World
- Getting design inspiration while traveling
- Working ‘on’ the business instead of ‘in’ the business
- Working smarter instead of harder
[52:31] Shane’s Day Structure and Productivity Habits
- Taking the morning off
- Meditating and exercising daily
- Being hyper-productive during work hours
- Scheduling all his time weeks in advance
[54:35] Managing Stress, Prioritizing Mental Health and Overcoming Business Setbacks
- Overcoming anxiety and crippling stress
- Prioritizing meditation and exercise
- Examples of business setbacks
- Assuming he was bankrupt and the business was over multiple times
- Adversity does not make you stronger unless you take steps to deal with it
- Prioritizing mental health and working with a therapist
- Understanding the connection between mental health and physical health
[1:00:17] Landing an Axe Commercial and an MTV Spot
- Staying true to your authentic self
- Being proud of your unique type of intelligence
- Why Axe and MTV were interested in Shane, his team and his lifestyle
[1:02:50] Differentiating Between His Personal Brand and his Company Brands
[1:05:21] Shane’s Major Business Pivots Getting Out of Wholesale and Clothing
[1:09:43] THE LIGHTNING ROUND
- The Top 3 books Shane recommends
- The #1 gadget Shane travels with and recommends
- The #1 podcast Shane recommends
- The Top 2 people with whom Shane would most like to have dinner
- Shane’s Top 4 Travel Destinations in the World
- Shane’s Top 3 Bucket List Destinations
[1:14:44] CONTACT AND FOLLOW SHANE
- Follow Shane personally on Instagram
- Follow Shane’s brands on Instagram
