SOLBARI is a new and innovative Australian sun protection brand who specialise in high quality UPF50+ sun protective clothing, sun hats, accessories and skin care.
Tell us about SOLBARI.
SOLBARI is an award-winning sun protection brand that empowers communities to live a sun-smart lifestyle around the globe.
All of our fabrics have been independently tested and rated by the Australian Government as UPF50+, which is the highest sun protective rating in the world. We started with a sun protective apparel range and have since developed other sun-protective products like sun hats, sun umbrellas, gloves, arm sleeve accessories and SPF50+ sunscreens.
Most recently we partnered with SkinVision, a skin cancer technology company based in the Netherlands to offer an early detection skin cancer app. So, as well as prevention, we are now providing early detection.
It’s exciting to see more people are starting to realise you can go to the beach, be sun safe and look great at the same time, and that’s why we have focused on developing a range of sun protective products which help people do that.
What inspired you to start SOLBARI?
Having moved to Australia in 2011 I was shocked to find out the rates of skin cancer and melanoma. Through family members’ experiences and voluntary work with the Cancer Council in Melbourne, I have seen the effects of these illnesses.
These experiences allowed me to learn some truths behind skin cancer such as that, not all clothing protects from harmful UV radiation the same and even more importantly skin cancer is one of the most preventable forms of cancer with about 90 percent of skin cancer cases linked to ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure from the sun.
It was at that point, I decided to create SOLBARI to allow people to enjoy the outdoors whilst being sun safe, stylish and comfortable.
Tell us about your career and background.
Before starting SOLBARI, I worked in financial services with Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Edmond de Rothschild in London, Geneva, Lausanne and Melbourne.
Has COVID-19 affected your business? How are you navigating that?
We have learnt a lot in the past year for sure. Due to the growth of the brand, we have hired over 10 people since COVID-19 started, hiring team members over Zoom has been an interesting and rewarding experience.
As a large number people have turned to a variety of outdoor activities after being in lockdown for such a long time, we can see a large cultural shift, seemingly making people care about looking after their skin again! It’s quite a nice feeling to know that when people start looking for sun protective clothing that SOLBARI will have them covered.
We have been very fortunate as we are an Ecommerce only brand, so we have been able to continue to operate during this time. With challenges in the global postal systems, we switched our entire international logistics to DHL Express to make sure our customers do not experience any delays. This has been a huge investment for us as a brand, but 100 percent worth it due to the premium customer experience. Similarly, in Australia, we now only send customers their orders via Australia Post Express, again a faster premium service compared to the regular post. We have received very positive feedback about our customer service throughout 2020.
Describe a typical work day for you (if there is such a thing).
The biggest challenge of being the CEO (I laugh about calling myself the Chief Everything Officer) is that you wear so many hats. I’m very lucky to have a great team who share Solbari’s vision.
I arrive in the office around 7:30am. This is my quiet time when I can reply to emails and go through my to do list.
At 9am, I have a meeting with our marketing team where we go through our marketing calendar and anything that needs to be discussed. Yesterday, we had our offsite strategy day, which enabled us to work on our strategy for 2021. We spent the day in beautiful Country Victoria. It was a fantastic day, we all felt very energised at the end of it and achieved a lot.
At 10am, I usually sit with the merchandising, production and design team. We are in the process of finalising our summer collections for next year. We will be bringing several new styles and new colours, which we are really excited to launch.
The rest of the morning is spent having meetings with my team about anything they need my help with or opinion on.
The afternoon is spent working on bigger projects, having meetings and phone calls.
Being flexible and able to pivot quickly is key in the fast-moving eCommerce world. No two days are the same.
What advice do you have for those wanting to start a business?
Pick something that you believe in and something that you enjoy doing. Do your research before you start and it’s ok to start small because you have to start somewhere.
I remember reading an article where Elon Musk said that “starting a business is like eating broken glass”. Well… I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s tough. New challenges are thrown at you every day and you’ll have to be resilient. Build a great team around you who will be there to support you along the way and share your vision.
Speak to your customers, reply to their queries, be as involved as you can right from the start. I remember jumping up and down in excitement getting those first few orders and a few days later receiving 5-star reviews, emails and phone calls from happy customers. I felt like my hard work was finally paying off.
I think that half the secret to success is perseverance. You have to keep turning up. You’ll surprise yourself as to how much you are capable of.
What’s next for you, and SOLBARI?
SOLBARI is doing very well and one of my biggest priorities is to keep adding amazing people to our fantastic team. We have an incredible strategy and amazing new products launching in 2021 which we believe will get our community excited. We are staying true to our mission to help people get to know their skin and protect it effectively. Every person that we can help is a win for us!
