Building Frenchie Bulldog: A Multi-Million Dollar Pet Brand with Founder Bridget Levine

On this episode of Girl Gang the Podcast, we're interviewing Bridget Levine - Founder and President at Frenchie Bulldog.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Girl Gang the Podcast. I'm your host, Amy Will, and the founder of Girl Gang. This podcast is brought to you by Girl Gangthelabel.com. Read our online magazine, The Edit, for interviews with female creatives, plus tips, tools, and rituals to level up your own career. Shop our line of merchandise, including our signature support your local Girl Gang collection. For every item sold, we team up with a charity to support women's education, health, and empowerment. Shop today and use code Girl Gang to receive 20% off at GirlGangthelabel.com. Show us your listening by tagging us on Instagram at Girl Gang The Label. Thank you so much for tuning in.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

Hi, I'm Bridget Levine, founder of Frenchybulldog.com.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Thank you so much. Thank you for coming today and bringing Leo. So excited to meet the Frenchie Bulldog behind the whole empire as well. So exciting.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Yeah, definitely. Um, and yeah, so if you can tell us um kind of what led up to the um the idea of launching this company, you started with just harnesses, is that correct? Right. And then launched into now it's like a full accessories line, um, have scaled the business uh so much throughout the the time since you started. Um so yeah, if you can kind of take us from what sparked the idea and then that first leg of the idea to execution to start off.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

So I first I met my first, the first ever French bulldog um years ago was my sisters. She's still around, her name's Mika. And at the time I was finishing my degree in Montana, it was biology and chemistry, has literally nothing to do with this. But um, I was just finishing my degree looking for something I could pour my heart into, something that I was passionate about. And I've always loved fashion, just been obsessed with it. Um, and then when I met my sister's Frenchie, I was like, oh my god, I'm obsessed with this dog, like the cutest breed ever. I knew that I had to do something with this breed and fashion, but I didn't know what that was yet. So I started doing a lot of research, and my sister was like, There's literally no harnesses that fit this breed. So I did more research, and there, like, I bought a bunch of harnesses, none of them fit. Um, and there was literally no options. You either got a black harness or you got a pink polka dot one. So I was like, okay, there's something here. Um, so that's when I decided to make a harness that fit the breed perfectly and that was also reversible. So I invented um the first ever reversible. So you get two prints in one. Um, and not only do they fit French bulldogs like a glove, but they fit all small to medium-sized dogs great. So yeah, that was basically how I came up with the idea.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Um, how was the research side going in really like, and I feel like a lot of listeners too, they probably have an idea and going from idea to really bringing something to life in the invention, what was that research like? Were you on Google? Did you consult a lawyer? Like for any advice for someone that uh wants to bring their idea to life, what were those first moments like for you?

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Yeah, so I I think the first thing would be probably Google, because that's easy, you can do that from anywhere. Um, and then um as far as like what I was looking for, like I would go to pet stores, you know. So if you were thinking about starting a like a swimwear brand, which is also something that like I was working on at the same time until I decided to go full Frenchie, um, was um just like constantly going out into the market and like real life, like also Instagram, so I would say Instagram, Google, and then like real life, just um researching that way.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

And then what was that first prototype that you had put together? Was it like, did you go to the fashion district get out materials? Were you like cutting apart harnesses that you had? What did that first prototype look like?

SPEAKER_00 3:51

Yeah, I definitely cut apart a lot of harnesses just to see how they worked and how, and that's how I was able to figure out okay, I can make this reversible. Um and the first prototype was like almost, I wouldn't say embarrassing, but like it was not nothing like they are now, like our harnesses are now. Um we've definitely the quality's gone up like insane, like from the first one. Um also we've made adjustments to the fit so it fits even better. Um and the material, the first material that we used was kind of like a thin, it was a thin material that we overlaid over a mesh backing. And now we use, we're also the first company to use um neoprene on harnesses.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

How did you go about getting your first orders um and like really starting the company? Um, before we get into where you're at now, which is, I mean, you have turned this into such a successful brand, and I'm so excited to talk about that. I definitely want to get transparent for our listeners and like what were those first few months like and capturing your first order, and you've really kind of built this like French bulldog community out of your brand. And a lot of people listening too, I know are interested in building digital community off of a brand. So I'd love to hear um those first few months and first order if you could share that.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

Yeah, so um the first, I mean, I actually I started the Instagram account before I had um any product, which I think is a really good idea for anyone wanting to start a business um to get an audience before you have product because it makes it easier to sell the product. Um so I started the Instagram account probably I want to say seven months before I had product. Um and while I was building it, I was doing like these like like goofy like giveaways. I would do like contests online, and then I would the winner would get like a sticker that I made or like a pin that I made. But people were into it. This was a long time ago though, so I think people I mean who knows, you might be able to still do a giveaway with stickers, but we'll see. Um so really being involved in the community from day one. So I was constantly that was like my full-time job. I was on Instagram, direct messaging people, commenting, liking on every Frenchie hashtag like there was, and I would just hit refresh, and then I would go down the list and comment and like on hashtag Frenchie hash hashtag French Bulldog. Um, and following dogs like French Bulldogs or like other dogs. Um, and then I went through and found kind of a team of um like the most followed French Bulldogs at the time. And then I built up that team and I was like, hey, I'm like building this product, I would love for you to be a part of it and like be an influencer. This is before there was even influencers. I didn't know, I was just like, I wanted like a team, you know? So I built this really amazing team, and a lot of the dogs that um started like wearing it from the beginning still work with it, just which is so cool. And they've it's more than just like a business relationship. Like I consider these people like really good friends, like I tell them like things that are going on in my life, I listen to them, and I think that's important too for when you're starting like a business, starting an Instagram account is not to just be like pushing out like your own stuff, but like listening and being involved in like other people's lives, you know? Um, especially now because I feel like people need that extra. It's so easy to just like you know, just like a photo or not like a photo, just like skim past it and someone's going through something you might not know. It's like nice to reach out to them. So that's kind of how I built our community.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

You really co-created it with people inside of it, which I think this is a lesson that still holds true today. You can't really like fast forward to getting that engagement and cult-like following. You really have to put in the time instead of making people feel like they're a part of your brand, just make them a part of your brand. Simple as that. Whatever, whatever fit that is. What was that like in the beginning phases, like reaching out to different people you just wanted to send product to? Because I think it still works today. It's just gonna take more work, maybe, or done a little bit differently. Um, but what was that process like in finding accounts, sending product, and like building up that influencer side of your business?

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Yeah, so we um like while I was direct messaging people and like liking their page and like commenting, um, I would look for dog accounts that had like great photography, because if you can get your product photographer like photographed in a beautiful way, and then you know, that's shared on Instagram, that's great. So looking for those accounts um was probably number one at first, and then now um engagement is like huge too. So even if someone doesn't have the best photos, but they have like tons of engagement, like they're a great candidate also. Um, and people that love the brand. We get a lot of people that want to be part of the influencer team. We call them Frenchies, by the way. Um, but they want to be part of our Frenchie team, but they've never like used our product before, or they like like you don't see any photos of them in like harnesses or hoodies or anything. So it's just like finding someone that either already wears your brand or similar, um, but is a big fan of your brand, the community like active on your page as well, that's also an amazing candidate. Because we want our team to be like, like love our brand and supporting it and promoting it.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

So amazing. And then what has the process changed? Have have you made any really um tweaks to it for that marketing side from when you started and then where you're at, um, where you're at today?

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Um yes, actually. So before it was more just like I said, you know, find finding like, you know, beautiful photography accounts or um with good engagement, and now it's um we have like such uh we have a big list of influencers. Um so now it's about reaching different areas. Um so that's changed because we never really cared about reaching like people in Australia or people in the UK, but now that we want that, like we want to own that territory, like we're actively doing that.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

So and then what has speaking of that, what has the scaling strategy been then from like where you started and where you're at now? Are you um just direct to consumer or do you sell in stores as well? Just online, just online, okay, amazing. I love, I mean, D2C companies are honestly my favorite, and like building those is just so exciting, I think, and being in full control of your brand voice. Um, so yeah, what is that like then? Like scaling into new territories and other scaling strategies that you're really utilizing um over this last year.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Um, this last year, um, one thing that we do that's unique to us is we do um meetups like all around the world. So um I'll host, I'll go to like a new city and I'll, you know, post about it on our Instagram, send out an email, we're gonna be at this dog park, um, you know, come hang with us. And it's more like also about bringing the community together, but it's also great brand awareness because most people going to the meetup will wear our products. Um I always give people a like a free gift at the meetup, and it's just cool to like meet them in person, but that's huge, I feel like, for expanding, and it's like a unique way of doing it.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

I want to know the full story then for acquiring the website. I just feel like getting getting those like sought-after domains. It's just the most epic feeling. We've only paid for one premium domain ever, and it was, I mean, just so exciting to capture it. So yeah, what was that? What was that process like getting Frenchie.com? You had mentioned it wasn't available at first when you or was it was very expensive when you had first looked at it.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

It was super expensive when I first looked at it. So I was like, okay, that's like definitely out of the question. And then I think it's weird because um, so it was like a broker had like kept be emailing me throughout the years, like, do you want Frenchie.com? It's like X amount, and it was so expensive. I was like, like I didn't even respond to this broker because I was like, obviously I can't afford that. I was like, I'll pay you like a couple thousand dollars for it. And they were like, no, like this, no, we're not doing that. So he kept emailing me, and then eventually I was talking to my husband about it. I was like, I really want Frenchie.com. He's like, why don't you just like make him on an offer and see, you know, if it's more than a thousand or two thousand dollars and see what they say, and so I did, and they came pretty close to it. So I was like, I'm buying it, like it's so worth it.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Yeah, it's one of the best investments I think you can make, and I think it's it's a great lesson, too, that you don't necessarily have to dive in right away. Also, there's like payment plans available with some doing that, but I just think um, yeah, getting that premium domain is one of the best investments you can make for your brand. So yeah, it's so true. Now let's talk about the fun stuff where you're at today. So you've scaled this business. I did you ever imagine it would be where it's at right now?

SPEAKER_00 13:35

No, like definitely not. I don't even think I would be in the the dog industry. Like, I I mean, I think I think I thought I would have like maybe a boring job my whole life. Um, I I'm I love my job. I love like dogs, I love creating, and I love our community. So yeah, I never thought, I never thought I would be here. So I was visualizing, I was like, I'm gonna get this email from Forbes 30 under 30, blah, blah, blah. And I was visualizing the email like every day, and then it like came and I was like, oh my god. Um, this visualization totally works, by the way. Um, but that was one really cool moment. And then um another one would be um, oh, we uh saw a photo on Instagram of Lady Gaga, Lady Gaga's dog wearing the harness. I think it was Asia for dog Asia. Um that was like, I would, I mean, I just wanted to post that everywhere. We didn't because we like I want to be respectful too and not just like blast that kind of stuff, but that was really cool.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Well, also I have to share, it's a very meta visualization story um that has to do with Tony Robbins. Saw his Netflix documentary, obsessed with it, always wanted to go. And then um, Corey was down in San Diego and had um uh one of his friends was director of marketing, um, and she had asked if we wanted to go and just like gave us tickets and said they were VIP. And so we like flew to Miami. And so we show up, they literally like bring us onto the floor to the like front seats, like sitting right there. He came up and was like right in front of us, like giving us advice. It was crazy. And I was like the the meta level of manifestation to manifest to go to a place to learn about how to manifest your own life, and just like I mean, it was amazing. Yeah, he literally he was like this close to us, like telling us to like get our shit together. And I was like, whoa, this is wild. And I went back to like sitting on the couch watching it, always wanting to go and just like kind of wrote it off. And then Corey had told me that, and I was like, no way. And then we got this email like Tony and Sage would like to invite you to unleash the par with it. And I was like, this is wild. So believe wholeheartedly in the visualizations and just actionable manifestations, like write it out, do what you can to put it out there. Don't sit and wait for the universe to come to you. But every once in a while it just like knocks on your door and it's like, what up? Here are you.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Didn't call this is off well, the same topic. But did you guys sit together?

SPEAKER_01 16:03

We did, okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Oh, we oh my gosh, yeah, because a lot of people say you're not supposed to, but like yeah, and I did.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Um the so did you do the unleash the power within? Yeah, I've done that. I've done that one too. Yeah, did you do the date with destiny then as well?

unknown 16:15

Whoa.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

Okay, so did you do them all with your husband? And do you guys always sit next to each other at them? Or did you just for that first one? All of them.

SPEAKER_00 16:23

All of them, okay, yeah. Yeah, and the first one actually, we had just started dating maybe like three months into or two months into dating, maybe. And we go to um Unleash the Power of Thin, where you're like doing all these weird, do you remember like you have to like put your fingers in your nose and like you're like getting rid of your limiting beliefs? But like do all these weird things. And like I just like start dating this guy, like wanna like look cute and like you know, play it cool, but here you just like have to be like your fullest realist self. But anyways, I feel like that, like, and then after the event, he ended up telling me he loved me. I was like, oh so I I like forever will love Tony Robbins, like for so many reasons, but oh my gosh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:07

We did um we went one of the days together, and then I did the um the day with the Dickens method by myself, and that was like super, I think it was good though to do it um on my own, but yeah, it was great. I mean, it may I and I like too. I just think that the self-help space on Instagram is kind of like wild nowadays. And so I think it's I respect people like him that have like he was born to do this, like literally being called from his teacher to do speeches at a young age and um the everything he's been through. So it's nice to see someone that's like telling you things that work, but then he's walking the walk and worth like half a billion dollars. And like yeah, there was literally it's yeah, the stuff that's out there right now, it's just hard to understand. Like, why am I taking advice from you? Like, where have you really cubed? And him, he just has this like power in person. I was like, whoa, okay, yeah, I will, I believe. I believe same, same.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

That's so cool. Oh my god, I like love you guys even more now.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Where you're at today, what advice would you give someone that has a product idea? Um, specifically to I'd love if you could give advice for D2C, uh, people interested in direct to consumer as well. Um, what advice would you give them in what you're seeing in today's climate to just start now?

SPEAKER_00 18:25

I would say just start, like stop like making excuses or stop like overthinking things. Um if you have like a gut feeling, like a strong intuition, like you have to do this, like that's what I had and it worked. If you have that, like you should do it. Um another thing about like Instagram being saturated with like all these other brands. Um think about a way that you can make yours unique, um, whether that's like branding, marketing, the people that like you work with, um just kind of finding like a unique angle. And then also like Instagram, it doesn't really matter how many followers you have. I feel like people kind of get stuck there, like okay, I only have 2,000 followers or like 500. Like, how am I gonna I went through that and it was like really hard because you want everything like immediately, especially if you're doing all the work. But just like realizing that Instagram, your Instagram followers, that doesn't mean you're getting X amount of sales. Like your goal should always be sales, not followers. Um so I think still like reaching out to people doing Facebook advertising, doing your own Instagram advertising, um, you know, real life events, like that kind of thing, instead of like focusing just on the followers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:48

I think that's super helpful and something that they really look at now, um, the whole algorithm isn't public, but something that um uh they've talked about that they look at is really the engagement. And so someone that has um 10,000 followers and super low engagement, they might actually be getting their content pushed to less people than you do if you have 3,000 followers and really high engagement. And so I think getting our getting the idea out of our heads that that's like immediately represents success. That's my number one tool that we've used in our growth strategy is just engagement, always engagement and let's get it to the most people that we can. Getting more followers doesn't mean more people are gonna see it nowadays. And so I think that should be encouraging though for people just starting, like from the get-go, your first 10 followers, like give a call to action, tell them to tag friends, like post things that they would want to see and just like look at the stats. And um, I just think it's a really exciting time to get in this space. So I love for people to not be discouraged and all the tools out there. When you started, there weren't those tools, and so you just had to figure it out, you know, and like going on the hashtags and liking photos, like I just think there were a lot of barriers in the beginning that people might not necessarily understand. So they just assume, oh, you started it this long ago. So that's why it's that. If I started today, it can't be that. No, it can. You just have to, there's there's more that you can go through. So exactly. Um, yeah. And then um, what would what is a day in the life like now for work for you? Is each day the same? Do you have like certain rituals to keep you on track, or is it just like kind of chaos on a daily basis?

SPEAKER_00 21:27

So I'm I'm past like the point of chaos, which is amazing because the first like probably three and a half years, like I wasn't even like sleeping. I was just like going, going, going. And now we have like a pretty like we I think we have five employees. So it's like a pretty I mean it's a perfect size team for us, and um I love everyone on our team, they're amazing. And um so my daily life now is more um kind of focused. On being more creative because that's there's so many other brands that have totally like even knocked up our designs, like our like our harness, like our reversibleness, like all of that. So I want to keep being the first to like new and cool prints. So that I can't be creative if I'm like stressed. And um, so for me, I like I work out every day, I meditate every day or do like a priming every day. Um I try to eat healthy, I usually cook from home every day. Um, take walks with Leo, like play with Leo, like seeing Leo happy makes me happy, and like there's the creative juices, you know? So it's just finding like things that can can bring you like back to like happiness and like you know, you feel more free, flowing instead of like structured and like closed off. Um, so yeah, for me, doing all of those things every day really helps me find creative um angles and creative ideas for prints or new products or designs, all of that.

SPEAKER_01 23:10

And I love you talking about as well how there are people copying you, but you're just focused on what's next. Yeah. Did you have that outlook kind of like the first time it happened, or was it something earned? Because I feel like it's I mean, it's something that can really knock people down. So if you can share a little more detailed advice on how to kind of put those blinders on and stay focused on your own product development, I think that would be super helpful for listeners.

SPEAKER_00 23:34

Um, this is probably way easier said than done, but I believe that everything that you go through, everything that comes into your life, um, is like for a reason. So like every time there's a challenge, like it's a it's an opportunity to grow. And if you don't grow, like Tony Robbins says, you're not growing, you're dying. But you really are because like the whole point in um like a challenge or something that you have to learn from and grow from is to become a better person so that you can the next time something happens, you're prepared for it. You know, okay, I need to do X, Y, and Z. And this is how I'm gonna um make, you know, better decisions for my business. This is how I'm gonna make our products better, our prints better, and using it as more motivation than like, oh, like they took it. I mean, it hurts. It's like literally the worst feeling in the world. Like the I remember the first time it happened. Um, but growing from that, like I would not take that back. Like, I would never go back in time and like not let this person like copy me, like do it. I would say, copy me again so I can like grow from this. And yeah, I'm like, I'm thankful for it now, which is crazy saying that now because at the time it definitely wasn't.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

And that you've been able to continue to succeed, you know, there's room for everyone. And so I think although it does hurt, and just like you said, it is easier, so much easier said than done. Um, but I think if you just focus on your own product development and where you're going, you're gonna line yourself up more with success rather than focusing. We might not be sitting here today talking about your brand if all you did was pour all your energy into like taking competition down. Yes, you know, so exactly.

SPEAKER_00 25:25

There's a good, like, I don't know if it's a quote, but it's like, okay, so someone like steals five dollars from you. Are you gonna give them your entire bank account? Or are you just gonna like here, just take the five dollars and leave, like kind of like with your energy, like in bad energy people? Um, or like um, winners focus on winning, losers focus on winners. So, like, just focus on winning.

SPEAKER_01 25:51

Oh, I love that so much. Well, thank you so much for sitting down and talking with us today. Um, I know our listeners are gonna love this episode. If you can let them know where to um find you, follow you and Leo and the brand and shop all your products.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

Of course. So it's Frenchybulldog.com or Frenchie.com. And then um our business is Frenchie underscore bulldog. That's Instagram. And then my personal one is Bridget and Leo, and then Leo has his very own, and it's at Frenchie Leo.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Thank you so much for tuning in. If you liked this episode, please take a moment to leave us a review. It helps us out so much. Remember to head to Girlgangthelabel.com to redeem your 20% off discount with code Girl Gang. Take a moment to remind the females in your life that they inspire you and support your local Girl Gang.