00:00

I’ve read countless psychology books, which I actually think helped massively with marketing and understanding. It doesn’t have to be a marketing book per se. If you can understand what makes people tick and how to relate to people and communicate with people and negotiate with people, I think you can understand marketing and branding for that matter.

00:18

Hey, it’s Nate Disarro, and welcome to titans of industry, the podcast where I talk to industry leaders and innovators who are at the top of their game and leading the pack in their fields uncovering some of the best stories in today’s business landscape. In today’s episode, I sit down with Monica Millington, founder and creative director of traffic a menswear brand that is disrupting the game with wardrobe staples built for life in the tropics. She’s been featured in Esquire, variety and Singapore brides and was a top four competitor on the apprentice. Monica tells us how a girl from Texas ended up starting a business in Singapore. How participating in an incubator program and utilizing mentors were crucial to the success of her apparel brand, and why she believes that sustainable fashion should be more than a trend. We also talk about the importance of a strong brand and how psychology and storytelling go hand in hand.

01:10

Now let’s get to the episode. But before we do, our team at content Titan wants you to know that we understand the challenges business leaders and marketers are facing right now, with moving to a more virtual world. We are experts in taking human connections and turning them digital. From virtual Events and Video presentations to promotional content and advertising. We’re here to help guide you through the process of staying in front of your audience and making your life a little bit easier. People tell us all the time that they are lost and don’t know what to say or do and we exist to help your business continue to move forward, virtually. So if you’re ready to take your business and content strategy, virtual, we’re ready to help. Let’s get your business back to business.

01:57

Now, here’s my conversation with Monica Millington.

02:02

Monica, it’s such a pleasure to have this opportunity to talk to you all the way in Singapore. So I’m interested to dive into the story here. But first and foremost, just give me a kind of rough intro. Tell me who you are and what you do for a living and how we got here. Absolutely, you will thank you so much for having me, Nate. I’m thrilled to be on the podcast. And my name is Monica Millington. I’m 30 years old from Dallas, Texas born and raised. And I you know grew up there a huge texting family went to Baylor University. And by the turn of fate starcrossed, lovers, whatever you want to call it, I ended up falling in love and moving to Singapore, kind of on a whim, which I’m happy to get into a little bit later because I think it’s kind of a big part of my story. And I moved out to Singapore in 2017. And, you know, I feel like I’ve always been a bit of an entrepreneur at heart raised by a very entrepreneurial family. I ended up deciding to start up my own business about two years ago, just pre pandemic era. And I have since launched my business tropic which is a performance menswear line built for the tropical climate of Southeast Asia. And so I’ve been doing that since and basically it quit my day job. And I’ve been doing it full time and hustling and grinding, and getting to know Southeast Asia for the past four years. That’s so cool. I’ve had some connections with people in Singapore and heard nothing but amazing things about it. One of these days, I’ll have to come check it out, maybe come out for a visit and see what you guys are doing out there. But

03:43

so four years ago, you on a whim move out to Singapore. And you mentioned you’ll kind of give us a little backstory on that. So I’m curious how did this all happen?

03:53

Alright, it’s a bit of a crazy story. Bring it on here. A little bit nuts. But I do have to rewind till probably University era when I was at Baylor. And you know, I don’t know if you know much about you know, the South the Bible Belt, but again, raised by a really traditional huge Texan family. And I you know, everyone kind of was doing the same thing, right? It was University job, husband, babies house, that kind of thing. And, you know, I always thought that that’s what my future was gonna look like and I wanted to just do tick all the boxes and do everything that I was supposed to do. And so I was in a long term relationship in college and we do the the ring by spring kind of thing and end up getting married right out of university. And, and, you know, that was one of those really great lessons that I’ll always take with me but, um, long story short, you know, I think getting married very young. You are not really who you want to be yet you don’t know what you’re going to be when you grow up and you haven’t really had time to

05:00

Figure out that that life path and who you are, I didn’t know who Monica was at that point. And, and so sadly, that marriage failed. You know, it was amicable, but sad at the end of the day. And I’m kind of having this whole, like, rethink about my life, like, what am I doing? Like, I’m in, you know, I’m 25 years old, I don’t have a career path that I’m really passionate about. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m not financially stable. And now I’m alone and single,

05:30

completely all by myself, like, how do I kind of take life back into my own hands, and start doing all the things that I want to do? You know, and I always had a very ambitious mindset, but I feel like I kind of got lost in like, a fuzzy space where I didn’t really know who I was or what I was doing. And so out of a lot of, you know, prayer and introspection and reading and kind of sitting and thinking about what I was going to do, um, I kind of decided to just follow my heart and I plan a backpacking trip to kind of tick off all of my bucket list items. I’m not to be cliche, but I had just read, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and was super inspired by it, you know, she was an entrepreneurial writer, she got divorced and took her life into her own hands and had this amazing adventure that ended up giving her this incredible life that she had always wanted. Um, and as a fun twist of fate, while I’m on this trip, and you know, exploring everything and figuring out who I am and what I want. And my childhood sweetheart reaches out to me, it slides into the Facebook DNS. And you know, I actually had met this guy, when I was 14 years old on a family holiday. And I mean, our families were there, it was like, it was super innocent. It was just a little like week long holiday romance, but we really, we never lost touch. And we were really never able to shake each other off. And we’ve always kept up over the years and done these big catch ups about you know, deep life chats, what do you want out of life? What are you doing? And he miraculously was living and working in Singapore. So he was like, Hey, what are you doing? Like, what’s up. And so we ended up facetiming. And that spurs on this, you know, crazy romance that ends up just kind of exploding into firecrackers. And he convinces me to actually move to Singapore. So from there, I make the leap. And I moved to Singapore, kind of not really knowing what’s going to happen. And you know, I think, as you make mistakes in life, and you go through trials and errors, you learn so much more about yourself every time. So I think 26 year old Monica making these decisions, versus 22 year old Monica making these decisions were two very different people, and had a very different idea of what they wanted out of life. And so after that, you know, I think just having a life partner who lifts you up and allows you to blossom and be who you want to be. That’s actually what gave me the confidence to start my own business, which had always been a long term dream of mine, since I was a little girl since I knew what the word entrepreneur meant. And I think Finally, having that confidence in someone who was empowering you and lifting you up, gave me the confidence and the power to be who I wanted to be and do what I knew I was capable of doing. So once in Singapore, I worked a corporate job for a bit. I didn’t understand the culture, it was the complete opposite side of the world from where I’d been born and raised and brought up I mean, I, you know, I didn’t understand anything about the culture. I don’t think I could have even picked out Singapore on a map before I moved out here.

08:37

Don’t tell you most, probably that way. It’s it’s a very small country. Yes, yeah. So I learned that it’s its own tiny little island in the middle of Southeast Asia. And I worked corporate for a year to get you know, the lay of the land and to really understand what I was working with. And on my year anniversary at work, I put in my notice, and I left to start up my own company, which at the end of the day, ended up being tropic and I’ve been doing development for the brand and going live with the brand for the past two years. That’s awesome. So much to unpack there. I’m sorry. I know I like to warn people before I tell the story, because it’s a lot in a short amount of time, but I love it. I mean, that’s that’s who you are. And that’s what’s brought you to where you are today. And I think there’s there’s a lot of lessons to be learned there. One of those being you, you mentioned you, you’d kind of always want to start your own business you didn’t feel empowered to do so you didn’t know that that was something you actually could do. So I’m kind of curious, I want to jump into this idea of launching a business.

09:39

First of all, where did the idea for tropic come from? And then second, how did you decide? I’m just gonna do this, I’m going to start this I’m going to make it happen. And we’re going to get this thing out into the world. Well, first off when I was starting a business, you know, I knew I always wanted to do something, but I really wanted it to succeed. I didn’t want it to just be a passion project. I needed it to be you know, financially viable.

10:00

And so I was always, I didn’t want to rush the process. So I was always looking out for gaps in the market and interesting things that could potentially be innovated upon. And so it was just a normal commute. I mean, I don’t know if you know anything about the climate in Singapore, but it is hot. It is, you know, about 100 degrees or so every single day with 90% humidity.

10:24

Right on the equator, right? Yes, like right on the equator. So it’s about as hot and humid as you can get. And with that, it’s a super, super corporate cities, state, city, slash country, whatever you want to call it, it’s both. And so you’re wearing these stuffy jackets and dresses and you know, carrying these huge heavy work bags every single day. And by the you know, you spend all this time getting ready. And by the time you show up to the office, you are a melting puddle, and you have to go and fix yourself back up again, spray little deodorant back on. And but I kept saying like, Oh, my gosh, I wish I was wearing Lululemon right now. And my husband, who’s, you know, he was wearing basically a suit every day. And he in Asia, we have a lot of custom tailors that do a lot of custom work here. And we were joking, you know, what if the tailor made your stuff out of nike dri fit material? And so we talked to the tailor, like, Can you do that? And he was like, No,

11:27

the fabric doesn’t work the same way it would be a disaster. Absolutely not. And I was just like, I’m sure it’s possible. So I started doing my research. And I saw that there’s a few brands in the states that are doing similar type of things like performance dress shirts, and and so I was like, it’s already working, why is nobody doing it out here, this is the hottest place in the world. And I started talking to people and got my idea verified and backed by a lot of people. And I decided to go into product development to see if it was actually you know, possible for me to do it. So that’s really how tropics bond. And, and getting started is another story right mentally, personally. And I think, you know, I was raised by parents with a very open mindset when it came to this. I’m very fortunate and that I was never told what to do, what university to go to, or even if I had to what job to get, you know what career path to take, or this is how you make money. I was always asked, What are you interested in? What do you like doing? What do you want to do? And whenever I had that conversation with my parents, you know, they would enable me to do any of those things. If I liked painting one summer, they put me in a painting class. If I wanted to open a I remember one summer I made skincare scrubs out of like salt and oil and stuff. And they took me to the shop to go buy all this stuff so I could sell them to my friends and neighbors. I wanted to learn how to sew. So I learned how to make clothes and shirts and handbags that would sell them to my schoolmates. And so I was always really lifted up in that area. No, I think becoming an adult, and maybe not being in the happiest relationship, I didn’t personally have a lot of confidence. I mean, growing up, I never felt like the cool kid. I never felt like the most fashionable or confident or pretty or anything like that. So it’s not like I was just the super confident I can do whatever I want kind of thing. And I really didn’t have that. And so I kind of just thought, Oh, you know, that’s not for me, you know, my little business ventures and freelancing adventures, never really panned out too much. So I kind of just thought I’m not good enough. I’m not smart enough. Um, and you know, I think, you know, being divorced, young, that was actually the big thing that really spurred me on and made me question all of those preconceived notions about myself, when I got out of that and started realizing, I am smart, I can do this, I don’t need to else to tell me if I’m capable of doing something or not. Or if I’m qualified to do something or not. I started looking into all the people that inspired me that were doing incredible things. And I looked at their path. And you know, they started from nothing as well, like they didn’t they weren’t born with this business or with this idea, or this know how they had to learn it and figure it out. And as I started looking around and having tons of friends in these corporate jobs that they hated and jobs that they were miserable in, it really hit me that the reason not everyone’s doing it is because people don’t want to do it. They don’t have enough drive or energy to keep on going and figure it out for themselves. And I thought I if I’m not the smartest person in the room, I’m I can be the most driven person in the room. And I can sure as hell like keep moving through the crap and the stuff weighing you down and the difficult times. So I knew that about myself from that. So you know, my mantra in life is why not me? Why couldn’t it be me? Why can’t I be the person doing that? Why can’t I start up this business? Why can’t I find investors? Why can’t I make the best shirt in the world and I’ve done

15:00

really driven all of my decisions going forward, even when it gets hard and I face you know, rejections and I face roadblocks. I just think that other successful people have gone through this and worse, so I can absolutely do it. I love it. You probably can’t see through the camera, but you gave me chills, you got me excited.

15:21

I love everything you just said, there’s so much good stuff in there. And you’re exactly right. Why not me? Why can I not be the person to do this to solve this problem? And, you know, when we jump back to the business conversation, why you started tropic, you saw a problem that wasn’t being solved. And you saw something where there’s an opportunity, and that opportunity took hard work, grit, innovation, thinking of doing something that other people can’t do. So starting a business of any kind, even if you know exactly what to do is difficult. There’s a lot of things to kind of figure out especially in a foreign country that maybe you don’t know all the local laws and the access and the language barrier, the dialect and accent barrier. Oh, yeah. So there’s so many things that go into that. And and I’m curious, how did you figure out? or How did you kind of go down the road of not really knowing what to do? And now all of a sudden, you’ve got a business that’s growing and doing great things?

16:21

Well, I think, you know, the ultimate test was being plopped in a country on the literal opposite side of the world from everyone you know, and love, and being told to, you know, make something happen out of nothing. And that was just like, Okay, if I can do this, I can really do anything. And for me, I’m, again, I may not be the the genius that can see all these numbers and analytics and can prove to an investor that this financial model makes sense. But I can work a room. I mean, I’m from a very chatty family, like I said, I can talk to people, I can make them feel good about themselves. And I can hold my own in a conversation. So for me, my secret weapon was networking and meeting everyone I could, I was talking to my husband at dinner outside on a patio. And this girl started playing with my puppy. It was like a dog friendly restaurant. And so we started chatting. And she ended up having a husband who is the founder of a startup here, who’s connected me to tons of people out here. And it was literally just because I decided to talk up every single person within my vicinity at all times, the fashion world can be very political and closed off and hierarchal. It’s a cool person’s club, right? Like, you never feel like the coolest person in the room in this world. If I want to speak to somebody or meet an influencer, or see if they want to be my brand ambassador, I’ve literally just slid into their DMS, you know, not heard from them, comment on their pictures, hey, we’d love to chat, check your DMS, like, you just have to really not be scared to be embarrassed, like all the time. And you know, I think people love and respect that. And I’ve made some really incredible connections just off of doing that. And so I just think you have to look at the world as an opportunity of connections. And the more people you meet, the more opportunities that are going to come your way. I was walking through this neighborhood in Singapore. And I looked up and there’s a guy wearing my clothes. And I didn’t know him. And I didn’t know who he was. And I just walked up like, Oh my gosh, how do you Where did you get these clothes? How did you find out about it. And it just, it was just a recommendation from a random friend, because I’m not spending money on online advertising right now. And I rely on word of mouth. And just seeing how that crazy world of connections ends up working out. It just really shows that you need to put your best foot forward in every single relationship that you can possibly have.

18:46

That’s absolutely true. I mean, you know, cliche phrase is your net worth is your network, and 100% or something. But lately, you know, it’s all about who you know, because that leads you from this conversation, this conversation. And ultimately, that’s all you’re trying to do anyways. But the other thing you said that I think is really important, is not being afraid to look like an idiot or to you know, send a message to somebody and never, never hear back because it’s it essentially that’s like little failures along the way are ultimately what lead to successes. And you know, not being afraid to fail not being afraid to try something is success stories that I’ve read about. They all have a mountain of failures and rejections underneath their belt. And I read somewhere it said something really interesting is that stories of success are not actually stories of success. They’re just people that are really good at moving through failures and like that’s it I had a huge rejection last week that cut me to my core and I thought the world was over. And you know, two days later I’m back on my feet. Something else great happens and then that’s something in my rearview mirror like it happens and it happens on a near daily basis and if you can keep moving past

20:00

And you’re better than nearly everybody else in the world. I’ve never met a business owner or somebody that’s done something significant. Who hasn’t failed a significant number of times? Yeah. So what really, what would you say is, as you kind of have gone through this process to this point with your business, what is one of those big challenges that you had to overcome, and ultimately, you know, now you’re better for it, or your business is better for it. and building a brand, I was just like, I want to start small and organic, and I’m going to make a great product, sell it, and then I’ll build the brand from that, you know, organically through my customer base, my people are liking, you know, which is what I’m doing. And I think it’s, it’s working for me right now. And I’ve just come out with a new line that is launching in two days. So no pressure, but I’ve got new stuff coming out. And it’s adding to this brand and adding to this product offering. Now, I entered in this, this pitch competition

20:57

a couple weeks ago, and it was this Vogue innovation thing, and I was really, really excited about it. And I was like, I’m perfect for this. I my brand fits the profile, I’ve hit all the judging criteria. And I ended up not winning it. And you know, I was, I was told I actually got some direct feedback from them. And they’re like, Listen, the look of what you’re doing is great, your products are great, you are great. But your brand lacks depth, which for me, that was like a blow to the heart. I love branding, branding. And marketing is like my bread and butter. So that was like that cut deep. And I actually like I had a bit of a cry about it. I moved around for a day and felt really sorry for myself. And my husband was just like, what are you doing? Who cares? Now you have some very, very valuable information, I’ll do something with it. And it was kind of like that reminder of like, okay, feedback is good feedback from these very important people is even better going into some very important meetings that I have coming up, I’m actually more prepared for those meetings, because I had that feedback. And I had that failure. So now I’m looking at, you know, my old pitch versus my new pitch and my new kind of brand offering. And I’m like, Oh my gosh, this is so much better. I wouldn’t at this point be embarrassed to present to them what I had before. And this meeting is even more important than the last one. So it was actually a gift that I had a little bit of a, you know, a wake up call, and I got to do some really incredible things because of that negative experience. Absolutely. I think you are explaining textbook, how businesses successful businesses kind of go through the process, you know, so you should be encouraged by these things. Because I think you’re doing it exactly right. And that’s the key. You know, sometimes you do have to, quote unquote, grieve a loss, right? Something that doesn’t go your way you need to take a day and beat yourself up, or however you cope with that and agree with that. But let’s go crush it the next day. As you continue to move forward with this brand. You’ve already gotten to do some really cool things. And I want to get into this whole apprentice experience because talk about getting feedback, I would assume that’s kind of the king of getting feedback. So how did you end up on a national television show, especially being based in Singapore? And what was that experience like? Long story short, it was crazy. It was the craziest experience and the craziest thing I’ve ever done at my own corporate job. I had met this founder of a charity here in Singapore. She’s the founder of a charity called love Mills. And it’s a program that supports children with cancer in hospitals in Singapore. And I had just left my corporate job and had not yet started up tropic. So I started volunteering for her as the marketing director part time, and that I met so many incredible people, and, you know, fundraising directors and, you know, donors and agent eyes, and just very interesting people that I never would have met otherwise. And through that experience, and one of our volunteers, her husband was working on the show, and they were still casting for the apprentice. And she came up to me, she’s like, would you be interested in going on a reality show? And I was like, um, listen, I watched the bachelor, I know how to change somebody’s image for the worst. And so I was like, tell me more, but what show was it? And she was like, it’s the apprentice. And I was like, boom, it’s a business show. I had just launched tropic. And I was like, actually, this could be perfect. I mean, I’ll take the call. And about a week later, I’m getting my casting contract and I start filming in three weeks. And it all happened very quickly. It’s known as the toughest apprentice ever. And so for those of you who have watched the previous apprentice or know anything about it, you know, it’s a business competition show. You start with about, I think 16 candidates and you get down to one and one The winner is going to be the apprentice of the big CEO. And historically

25:00

It’s been Trump and Alan sugar.

25:03

This one was chatri sityodtong, who’s the CEO and founder of one championship, which is basically like the UFC of Asia. And so I was kind of like, this is row like I’m going on it mixed martial arts business show. Like, that’s not really me, but why not? And I think doing things that make you uncomfortable are good because you grow from it. And it was the toughest apprentice ever. They actually modernized all of the challenges. So previous seasons, they’d be like, selling popsicles on the street or trying to sell some ridiculous item wholesale. I mean, just silly challenges. And this was like, Great, now create a marketing launch strategy for this Twilio technology that connects users to the customer service reps and figure out how to simplify a business. And I’m like, Okay, first of all, I don’t know what that technology is. So let me quickly learn about what I’m supposed to do. And then you’ve got to, you know, compete and come up with the best pitch which you actually have to pitch every single competition. And on top of that, they have physical challenges. So try not to be intimidated. But I did get in a cage match for jujitsu and I one, I hope there’s pictures or video of that, because I think we’ll need to absolutely I can share that with you.

26:22

I’m not the most intimidating looking, but I was, you know, I was alright, I hung in there. What a fun experience, though. So so what what was your biggest takeaway from this whole experience on the apprentice? I mean, obviously, you’re getting to do some things that most people don’t get to do, and you’re challenging yourself along the way. So what what stands out is a big takeaway. So I think one thing that people may not necessarily see from the show is because the challenges were so big, and in depth and complex, we’re going on this challenge schedule, but we’re also on a production schedule. So we’re filming and we’ve got to do interviews and reshoots, and seeing retakes and everything. So they told us, we’d be working about 16 hours a day. And the truth is, we probably worked 22 to 23, sometimes 24 hours a day. And then there’s no break in between challenges. So one week, filming was actually done in three days. So it looks like we have all this time when we’re doing it in half the time with no hours of sleep. So it sounds like I’m lying. But I’m really, really not. I’m most nights I had about two hours of sleep if it was a good night. So the whole time you’re fitting in naps during the shuttle rides. And when the cameras turn off for five minutes, you close your eyes and lay on the floor. So that being said, we’re doing these crazy challenges. We’re trying to put on a brave face for television, and we’re not sleeping, and you have to keep going because it’s a competition. And if you stop, you’re out. I mean, I think at the end, it became a stamina game, not a brains game. And so the craziest thing is I just saw what I was capable of under intense pressure and restrictions. And I really, really amaze myself, like, I look back at my journals and stuff. And I cannot believe that I did some of the things that I did rewatching the show I see some of these challenges. I’m like, What did I think that in 24 hours? how did how did I do that? And so that’s kind of the running joke now is whenever I encounter something tough, or I’m tired or don’t want to go on, I just think, Okay, get apprentice mode, you know, you can do it. And that’s what keeps me going. And I know that I don’t have an excuse, like I know what I’m capable of, which is, you know, I think kind of a once in a lifetime experience. I mean, when else are you going to put yourself on purpose through that much trauma, without any sort of risk bite arrest? And I think my there’s a book about it written by some Marine, and it’s called, I think the 40% principle. Have you ever heard of that? I don’t think I’ve heard of that one. But I’m interested. Tell me more. Yeah. So you know how Marines go through crazy training, and they’re pushed to their limits. And they’re basically made to drown once a day, and just crazy stuff. And the marine that wrote the book says, whenever you hit your limit, you’ve only actually hit 40% of your capacity, you still have 60% left. And I can tell you like, that’s 100% true. I think when you really put your head to the metal and you have the willpower, you can actually do some incredible things. We’re born that way. Like we have it in US natively. Most of us just never put ourselves in a position to where we have to understand what we’re actually capable of. And I think going through an opportunity or an experience, like you did with the apprentice, and even starting a business because when you’re talking about 22 hours a day, I’m like, well gosh, that sounds a lot like starting a business you know? Yeah, it’s not that different. Yeah. So it’s it’s awesome that you’re able to kind of go through that and and come out on the other side and be like, I mean, I’m still here. It didn’t kill me. So what else can we tackle? What else can we do? Oh, exactly that I mean, I may look dead in the final episode, but I just

30:00

They’re I showed up, I put on a dress and heels and I was at the boardroom. I love it. I love it. I want to talk a little more, you mentioned your passion for marketing and branding. You know, there, there are certainly businesses out there that can’t exist without a strong brand, that don’t have to market necessarily. But most of us if we’re not, if we don’t have some sort of brand, if we don’t have a market to to gain the attention of, then we can’t survive. So when you think about tropic and how you put this out into the world, what was your mindset of this is the brand I want to put together. And for me, the thing I’m passionate about, this is the story I want to tell, right? me my business, what we do here, we’re storytellers. And we take stories of organizations and put them out into the world in a way that connect with people in hopes that the consumer will interact with that brand or that organization. So what was it for you that said, This is the story I want to tell?

31:01

Um, well, I think it kind of goes back to maybe just how I think I’ve always been really, really curious person. I mean, I was the kind of person when my mom was running errands in the afternoon driving me around. It was Mom, how was glass made? Mom? How do they build billboards? That looks really hard? I’m like, looking at a book, Mom, how did they design this? I don’t understand how this was done. So I’ve been asking questions like that my entire life. And then as I grew up and got into, you know, media and starting a business, I really started thinking about how do people consume brands, what makes you like one thing over and over another. And that got me really into the psychology of human beings. So I’ve read countless psychology books, which I actually think helped massively with marketing and understanding, it doesn’t have to be a marketing book, per se. If you can understand what makes people tick, and how to relate to people and communicate with people and negotiate with people, I think you can understand marketing and branding, for that matter. And so I started thinking when I was building the brand, Okay, first of all, where do I position myself, you know, do a competitive analysis, start seeing the comparable brands pop up? And then dive into those brands? And see, how do I respond to this brand? How does it make me feel? Why do I like it? or Why do I not like it, and really starting to, like break it down to a science and pulling down the tangible things and I even get into color psychology, when I choose the coloring. When I first started tropic I hated the color orange, and it ended up being my brand’s color. So I think there’s so much into it. But again, what makes people tick? And what decisions do people make subconsciously when they communicate when they experience something aside from the look and feel that was its whole process, right naming and logo and colors and look and aesthetic, I drew a lot of inspiration from things that I think my target market relate to and things that they like, and men love this my target market love this, how can I draw from that and start creating products and a look and a brand that you know epitomize that. So even down to just having that core inspiration to kind of root yourself on. And then when it comes to communications, I mean, having a very strong voice is something that I’m building with the brand. And you know, within my email, communications and social media, and even my PR and marketing and you know, the publications that I get covered for me, I have a very set

33:29

way that I describe the brand and the way that I describe my products and my voice that I use when I communicate, and voice I mean, my attitude, my persona, when I communicate with them with the brand’s persona is, I make sure it’s very, very consistent. And, and one thing about marketing and psychology and stuff in communications is that people really trust consistency. It doesn’t even have to be good. But people like consistency, it’s just a sight. It’s a psychological fact about human beings. You know, if you had a friend that was always really, really sweet to you, and then for no reason she’s screaming and shouting and punching the wall, you’d be like, Whoa, I can’t trust you, I don’t understand you, why are you acting this way and you put up your guard, it’s the exact same thing with brands, people need to know that every time they interact with you or communicate with you, they’re going to get the same thing every time. So that was one of those things. You know, I said earlier, I think that I’m a classic overthinker and I like to, I like to plan and I like to think so much and be really, really tactical about how I do everything. And, and this is one of them. And this is one of the things that I think after you know some of my failures that I really want to develop even further. I want to deepen that brand and deepen that customer relationship in that. I think the community of tropic is something that I really want to develop over the next year. As I you know widen my product offering and I want people to feel like they have a friend to go to I want tropic to

35:00

They’re, they’re cool friend that they can always rely on for something fabulous to add to their wardrobe. It’s, you know, something that’s going to be comfortable and look good and fit good every single time with brand, you almost have to create a person because people are going to be communicating with it and interacting with it. Whenever I consume something, I like to think, why did that resonate with me? Why did that work for me, and I think about how I can apply that to my own practices. So I think, you know, in this digital social world, it we’re never going to have it all figured out, it’s always going to be evolving. And, you know, even Gosh, last week, Instagram changed their algorithm. And you know, Google and Facebook limited their amount of the amount of cookies that you can get. So you know, your whole advertising strategy and your whole social media marketing strategy has to adapt now. So the people who had it all figured out, have to pivot and start doing things differently. So I just like to always stay on top of it. And always be thinking about this and figuring out ways to apply it to my brand. Because the people that are going to get left behind are the people who are not treating Marketing and Communications like it’s their full time job.

36:13

We’re going to take everything he just said and play it on repeat for all of our customers all market because I love all of it. It’s so true.

36:22

Gosh, where to start? So I mean, you know,

36:26

when I think about marketing, branding, storytelling, messaging, communications, I’m right there with you. the psychology behind it is so important. And I’ve said it multiple times on the podcast that, you know, a couple of years ago, I really started diving into personality types, understanding different types of people, what makes them tick? Why does one person communicate one way and somebody else you communicate the same way with them, and they don’t take it the same way at all? And, you know, I think, personality tests By the way, he’s speaking my love language, right? So okay, well, let’s dive into that. So so what what are your tests? What do you like? What’s your favorite stuff to kind of dig into? Okay, do you know what you are for Myers Briggs? So that’s the one that I haven’t retested in a while I need to, I kind of really started to dig into the enneagram, a couple years ago, I am an ENFP. I think I’m the most fun one. But you know, it’s up for debate. I’m not biased or anything, but I think it does something like it’s like thinking, feeling judging, perceiving extraversion, introversion, intuition, and something else. So it basically takes these four core traits, and it gives you one end of the spectrum versus another. And then it shows you where you are on those four spectrums. So there’s 16 personality types in all, and so mine is a it’s called a campaigner. So it’s very, like very extroverted, very, like axon feelings. Very, very motivated and driven, very more creative than analytical, like, can’t be fussed with numbers and details, likes to focus more on big picture stuff and big projects. So when I read it, I’m like, who wrote this about me?

38:12

That’s what I love about personality tests is when you find your thing, you start to realize like, that’s somebody studied my life and put it down in this test, but then you start to realize, well, how many other people does this connect to? And we all you know, there’s only so many versions of humankind, it seems like yeah, and even though we’re all unique and different in our own ways, we there’s sort of this finite amount of ways we communicate and connect to each other. And, and understanding that makes it Okay, that some people you’re not as compatible with and other people you feel like you’ve known forever, and you just said hello to them for the first time. You’ve inspired me to go back and take the Myers Briggs again, because I’m really interested now to know

38:57

kind of where I fit into that scale. But bringing that back to the business side, the marketing side, the branding side, does your audience kind of fit one persona? Or do you have to market and create messaging for different types of people?

39:11

Yeah, so this is one of the projects I’m working on right now. Because I’ve initially tailored it towards one of my personalities, and which is a large part of my market. It’s, I haven’t done like an enneagram test for that’s actually a great idea to apply that to my customer personas. But my my guy is fashionable, but Fast, Free, and prefers simplicity because he’s so busy. And so that’s that’s one type of personality, but I’m also realizing I’ve got a different kind that’s younger and more fashionable, and has time to think about fashion. And I also have I’ve been realizing since I’ve launched I have a huge female gifting market who are super motivated by shopping for the man of the house. So I’m working on formulating these, you know these different communication styles.

40:00

towards each of them. So I want to ask you this, because I feel like you probably have a lot of answers. But if there’s something that stands out to you, what’s something you wish you knew when you started your business that you have subsequently found out? that’s helped you along the way?

40:17

I think that’s a really great question. Um, I think this sounds so simple, but it’s, you don’t have to do it yourself. Yes, I may run a business on my own. And I may have this idea and be, you know, a solo founder. But what I realized, especially through like, the mentors that I’ve been able to gain over the past year, is, you know, help is there as much as you ask for it. And I, I tend to get into, you know, my planning headspace and I can get locked, especially in a COVID world where you’re not in an office, and you’re not out events, and you know, work meetings and stuff like that, being behind a computer and home office all day, it’s very easy to just think I have to figure this out myself, I’ve just realized that, you know, the more that I do it, the more that I get out of it, and then it kind of starts motivating me of Oh, that was so helpful. When I spoke to that person, I’m gonna ask this person for help. And as you get into the startup business world, and the entrepreneurial life, people are so willing to help other people, you know, for free, you know, within parameters, of course, but I mean, my mentors are all my mentors, literally out of the goodwill of their hearts. And it’s just, it’s a mutual relationship, like, I don’t have to sit there for 30 minutes on FaceTime, once a month being like, thank you for your time, I’ll be really quick, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah. It’s the type of people that I can shoot a message to, and they send me a message back and says, email me that I’ll email it to my friends, we’ll give you your feedback. And so in when people do the same to me, I don’t think twice about helping them like I’m happy to help, you know, provide my expertise where I can and make someone else’s journey a little bit easier, because I remember how important it was when, you know, I was just starting out, and how important it is to me today. And so, you know, almost on the karma spectrum, like, you get what you give. And, you know, I think also with the maybe the insecurity of starting a business and not knowing what you’re doing every step of the way, you kind of think I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to figure this out on my own. When really, there, there’s a whole wide network of people that are willing to help you if you’re willing to put in the time into building those relationships. So true. So true. So you mentioned multiple times mentors, in your answer there in our world, we call those people Titans. So who are your Titans? Who are the people that kind of they’re just outside of your world, but you look at them and you say that’s a person I want to be like, they’ve done these things, I can do those things. Like I said, when I was you know, building the brand, I had a few brands that I would look at and obsess over and pour over everything that they were doing and break it down like tactic by tactic. I do the same thing with entrepreneurs and aspirational people. And I’d say maybe the first two stories that I heard about, you know, founders and entrepreneurs that really made me think, Hey, I could do this too. And was Sara Blakely and Eileen Fisher. And you know, Eileen Fisher was kind of a she was single and didn’t really have anything that she was doing. She just really wanted to make clothes. She liked making clothes for herself. And someone said, you should try selling this at markets. And she literally would like sit on her sewing machine at home. No business no how No, pre like this huge startup techie world that we live in. And she just made clothes that she liked, sold them at the market, got more demand and then ended up being this like fashion Empire and she still owns 100% of her business and she grew 100% organically. And that’s amazing to me.

43:52

Sara Blakely, you know, she was basically just poor had no money and just basically had kind of an idea of Hey, my might be nice to use these tights, something to get rid of my panty lines. And now she’s you know, on the Forbes list, and were the most successful female entrepreneurs in the world. And she’s done an insane amount in such a short amount of time. And for me, what’s so inspiring about Sara Blakely is that I think she’s one of those founders that just really knows how to keep moving forward. And she’s very willing to put herself out there and take the next step, even like after failures and roadblocks and not understanding or knowing how to do something, or maybe being scared of expanding or, you know, working with investors or whatever. She’s, she’s an incredible person, but it’s not like she was this incredible prodigy. She just did all this by you know, having the drive and determination to do it. And so I think that there they were my first few, I think, inspiration stories for sure. And then locally here in Singapore. One person has been really incredible.

45:00

To me, I entered in this startup incubator program during lockdown last year, and I got in withdrawal back. And it was basically a program that helps set your business up for success in fashion in Singapore, you learned everything from sustainable manufacturing to supply our resources, and, you know, understanding how to pitch to investors and basic accounting for solo business owners, I mean, everything under the sun, we learned how to do and we It was a three to four to four month program. And we got paired with a different mentor every time and you know, the cohort had asked these people to come on and mentor for short sessions for each of these groups. And there was a couple people that really stuck out to me who were very relevant for what I was doing, Sonia proco bag, she is an LVMH, certified luxury fashion professor from, you know, taught in France and everything like that, and now lives here in Singapore. And she is one of those people that really just had a heart, I think, for young brands that are wanting to do big things. And so we connected and we met through this program with this structure where I only had, I think, 330 minute sessions with her and a few email sessions with her. So they were like, do not take advantage of your mentors time. Be very, very careful about this. And so I you know, use her for everything that I could and afterwards, I just really liked her and she was so helpful. And I was like I’m staying on her radar. So I’d email her afterwards and tell her to follow me on Instagram, asked her what she thought of my latest brand pose, catch her on email, share with her my new product line or my new pitch deck and just say like, Hey, what do you think? And it meant, you know, finding a mentor can be a bit like dating, so you don’t want to overstep it. You don’t want to move too quickly in the beginning, but I really wanted to stay on her radar. And she was, you know, she gave me stuff back. And so I bit every time she came back to me and made sure to keep that relationship rolling. And now she’s someone that has been hugely helpful, looks over all of my pitches for me, gives me feedback on all of my products. And she’s now a customer and she buys stuff for her husband from me, not out of pity. She said

47:16

it was very important. You want that good, honest customer that. Yeah, because it’s there.

47:23

I think incubators are so great. We’ve had a guest on the podcast, his name’s Wayne Miller. He’s one of those guys that’s done a little bit of everything. And he’s failed at some things. He’s been incredibly successful at some things. And he runs this incubator for people in the financial tech world. So if you have an app that that handles banking, and you know, all those kinds of things, this incubators specifically designed for those types of people. And I think it’s so important that you find somebody that’s been there, find somebody that’s, that’s failed a lot more than you have. And they can at least keep you from making big catastrophic failures, even though there’s some things you still have to figure it out on your own. So I think that’s really great. Thanks for sharing that story. Always surround yourself with people smarter than you. That’s the best advice that I could give never be the smartest person in the room. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, you know, they say you’re the average of the five people you’re around the most. And I definitely don’t want to be the the, quote unquote smartest person in the room ever. So another thing we talked about a lot. And and I’m curious, because you talk about the sustainability of your business. And I want to get into that a little bit. But one of the things we’ve talked about is how do we do business better, right? So as we think about, you know, we’ve we’ve gone through this horrific pandemic, and it’s caused us to change and challenge the way we’ve done business in the past. So for you, what does that mean? Do do business better? What does that mean to you? And then how do you feel like you are trying to do business better?

48:52

I think the pandemic was great for the world, and that people became more aware of their consuming, right, whether it’s sustainability or just quality products, or whatever, you’re stuck at home all day long. Now, all these huge brands are being upturned for unethical business practices. And you’re sitting in the same clothes every day. So you very quickly realize like how negative fast fashion actually is on the world. And you kind of feel like it’s a sometimes it’s a little bit of a highway robbery. And then a very fast paced world where you’re always shopping and always moving through your wardrobe. It’s one thing but when you’re stuck at home with it, and you spend, let’s just say $150 on a dress and it comes in and it’s not no different from something you would get it forever 21 you’re like, hold up, this is not cool. And you you’re completely turned off by those brands and you won’t purchase from them again. So at least people are more aware now. And as I was, you know, starting up tropic in this timeframe, and in this era, I would say like Actually, I didn’t really have a big understanding of sustainability before I moved out to Singapore that really wasn’t on my radar as it probably wasn’t for

50:00

A lot of people, and then coming out here and getting to you travel the world, Singapore, such a great travel hub, and visit these, the most beautiful places in the world and gorgeous beaches and scuba diving and the most beautiful reefs. And you start seeing how poorly we’re actually taking care of the world and these gorgeous destinations littered in plastic and garbage. And you’re kind of like, why are we consuming like this, this is disgusting. And you can actually see the tangible results of what we’re doing. So getting into fashion and started realizing how much fashion is contributing to pollution and the amount of waste that we are all putting in by contributing to fast fashion, it was really shocking. And I was like, I cannot consciously build up a business that has my thumbprint on it that contributes to any of this or does business this way. So you know, it takes extra effort, there’s a reason that people are not doing it, there’s a reason big brands are not doing it, because it’s expensive, and it’s time consuming. So even designing my products, I have to design them better my first shirt took a year to make, because I kept sending it back to the manufacturer saying, This isn’t good quality, like I can’t charge this amount for this shirt. If you’re not, you know, making it this way. And this, you know, if you don’t catch it in the beginning, when you know it’s sampling and back and forth and time and money, then it’s never going to get that way. And so I wanted to start off really strong with a quality product that would last that would have a longer lifespan than all the other garments in your closet, as well as being sourced from factories who are practicing responsible manufacturing, who are paying their workers, you know, a living wage and safe working conditions. And back in the day, I would have traveled to my factories to see them. But now you know, I have been able to FaceTime them and see them and meet them and see the space and understand where my clothes are being made. So that I can be proud to share that part of it with the world and have that type of transparency with tropic and, and then I think you know, even down to the packaging, I mean all of us during lockdown, you’re ordering everything to your door and you’re getting packages every single day and you start seeing the boxes pile up. And you’re just like this is this is too much. And I think pre COVID we, we there’s a huge unboxing culture. And you know, it’s super exciting to get a big fancy box with all this gorgeous packaging and tissue paper and unbox within another box. And now it’s kind of like oh, like brands are being called out for wasting that much on something that’s disposable. And I mean, I love that. And so when I started even designing the packaging, everything had to be thought out, I didn’t want to have poly bags in my packaging. So I have reusable laundry bags that also help prolong the life of the garment. I ship instead of pretty cardboard boxes, I actually ship in biodegradable mailers. So when people get their stuff, I mean even down to the the tags, and the way that the hang tags are fastened down and the way that the the buttons are made, everything has to be, you know, responsible because it starts at the core. And as I grow and scale, if I don’t have that foundation, the brand won’t be that way. I love it. That’s so cool. And so much thought goes into that and you’re right, it takes so much more work to be that way. And and you hope the consumer just gets the product and loves it and they don’t think about all the work all the effort, all the things that you’ve done, to get there. But but it makes such a difference. And it’s inspiring, you know, we hope other brands see that and follow suit. You know, in our business, we have a mantra that we say be easy to do business with. And that sounds so simple. And it sounds so basic. But when you think about it, how many business interactions do you have that it’s just complicated. There’s so many steps to order, there’s so many contracts you have to go through, there’s so many different things you have to do. And it makes a business transaction difficult. And I think most businesses are difficult to work with. I think that the top level people are the ones that have figured out that exactly that that it needs to be easy to do business with. Yeah. And so that’s that’s all we do. What what that really means though, is that it’s harder for us, you know, it’s more work effort. And but we want our clients to have the easiest interaction with us they possibly can because, you know, the second that we make it difficult on him, they start to consider that relationship, well is somebody else going to be easier if somebody else is gonna make my life a little bit simpler. And so that’s kind of our whole mantra going into every customer interaction that we have, where are you going? What’s next? Where’s the the next big thing for you? I’m sure you’ve got lots of plans and ideas. And so my big exciting thing is I have a new loungewear line coming out

54:36

on what’s today on the 16th of July. So that will be live shortly here. And I’m really excited about that. That was a COVID revelation, and that is people spending more time at home and needing something nicer to lay around in so we create a sophisticated loungewear line so it’s matching sets for men. I think it’s really, really fun. The people that have already gotten

55:00

The pre sale items are loving it. So I’m really excited about that. But um, I don’t want to speak too soon. But I think some exciting upgrades to the brand are going to be happening soon. And I have a really exciting vision for what the next product line is going to look like as we fill out and make it more robust. And so I think big things on the horizon for tropic and and Yeah, I definitely give it a follow if you’re not already I’m sure you’re not because you’re in Little Rock. But uh, definitely keep an eye on it. Because eventually I do want to come to the states and set up a market there because I think there’s a lot of use for our products out there. Absolutely. I mean, yeah, being in the southern states, and it’s summertime, I think can I was going to ask Where can I get this cuz I’m ready for it. But no, I think I think it’s such a great product line. I think that everything you’re doing is amazing. So I want to jump into just what we call some quick hit questions get a little bit more behind the person who is Monica. So what are you a reader? What’s the best book or the latest book you’ve read? Oh, best book in the world. Everyone in the world should read it. And is never split the difference by Chris Voss. It is a negotiation tactic book from a FBI hostage negotiator. And I have tried it in business, I’ve tried it my relationship and it works every time.

56:21

And Chris Voss for people that don’t know who he is, or haven’t heard of him.

56:27

The guy’s brilliant. I mean, the things he talks about the way he talks about negotiation, breaks it down, makes it simple, and any. I love how he talks about the fact that every time you enter into a conversation with somebody, it’s a negotiation. And you know, he’s fantastic. And I just love listening to him talk. He’s got that, you know?

56:49

Yeah, the tone matches the voice 100%.

56:55

Okay, what is the daily routine that you kind of have to do every day?

57:00

Okay, for me, I have to have my morning to myself from my mind to relax. Like I said earlier, I’m a huge night owl, my creative brain works so much better in the evening, when it’s awake and alert for the day. So my mornings are my sanctuary. So I know a lot of entrepreneurs will say get out of bed, get your day started. For me, I’m like, no lay in bed, let your mind wander, be serene, have the peace, have your time with the coffee on the patio journal for a little bit, read a book for five minutes, anything to just wake you up and get you excited for the day. You know, for me, I’m not an early riser. And I don’t get excited when my alarm goes off early. And I start the day miserable. Because as an entrepreneur, I have to stay self motivated 100% of the time. And if I start the day on the wrong foot, then that’s it. I don’t have an office of people, you know, you know, getting me into gear. So my morning is sacred. And then I go through my admin in the morning, once I’ve woken up and had my coffee when I’m like more in a robotic mode. And I can hammer through the emails and hammer through the admin jobs and just get stuff off my to do list. And then I leave the afternoon for the real creative space in the creative strategic thinking. And honestly, like if I if I start hitting that lol, I always allow myself to take 30 minutes or even an hour and go for a walk, go for a run, go down to the pool, play with the puppy for a little bit, read a book, turn on the TV, whatever helps me unwind for a short period of time so that I can have that refresh to tackle the second half of my afternoon. And as an entrepreneur, we have some very, very long days. And like right now it’s 11:15pm. And I still probably have another two hours of work. And so it is what it is. And you have to do what you got to do whatever works for you to keep you going and keep you motivated and happy with what you’re doing. So true. And thank you for taking this time to chat with me so cool. This stuff, what is the best piece of advice you’ve either given or received? Um, just keep moving. And just do it. I mean, I’m originally by Nike. I know I did not coined that term. Um, but literally, whenever I have people come up to me, or I’m speaking to friends from home, and they’re like, Wow, that’s so amazing. How did you start this company? It’s so inspiring. Like, it’s not, I just did my idea. That is all I’m doing every day is I’m doing my idea. I’m not. I’m not a prodigy. I’m not a genius. I’m not the smartest person in the room. I literally just get up and I do it and I move forward and it’s hard. Not every day is a treat. You have those days where you feel really, really, really low, or nothing’s happening or a deal falls through and you don’t get what you thought you’re going to get. But all you have to do is take the first step because if you haven’t stepped anywhere, you’re not going anywhere. That’s right, absolutely. Have you heard of Simon Sinek? Are you familiar with him? Yes, yeah. He has a book called start with y. And as you were talking earlier, you mentioned the whole y aspect of it.

1:00:00

And when you were a kid, you were asking your mom all these questions. But I think that’s kind of the genesis of so many businesses and ideas and you start with why, but then to your point right now, then you just don’t stop. You know, you keep going, you keep moving forward one day at a time. And that’s how you build a successful business. I love that. Exactly. So obviously, COVID and the pandemic is caused a lot of changes in people’s daily routines and habits. So do you have any newly formed habits that have been created? Because you’ve been stuck inside or can’t travel like you used to?

1:00:36

Yes, so this is gonna sound annoying, but you know, we used to be so busy traveling, and especially going home to see our families in the UK in the US. We didn’t really have a lot of time for routine here in Singapore, we were always on the move, and always in a plane. I think something that’s been really, really valuable to me, and my husband and my friends, is setting aside leisure time. And I mean, it’s very easy to sit here and work till midnight every single day. But I think making sure that Guess what, Tuesday night is Girls Night, that is when you get out of the house, and you go see your friends, and you talk about the Bachelor. And you know, making sure that you know, on Friday nights, I’m out with my husband, and he gets out of his desk as well. And we get out of the house, we don’t eat at home, we’ll go have dinner at a restaurant and leave our phones at home. And so I think really, I mean, you only get one life at the end of the day. And yes, my work is super important to me. And it’s you know, my life’s passion, but at the same time, the relationships are always the most important and who you surround yourself with. And for me, you know, you heard a little bit about my love story, the beginning and I always want to make sure that I’m prioritizing the things and the people that mean the most to me. And you know, that’s my husband and my family. So, you know, as a rule, especially not going home, either. I always pick up a FaceTime from my mom, dad or sister or brothers. I’m always picking up the phone to my family no matter what, because I think life’s just too short. And the distance is just too far. Wow, I love that.

1:02:08

All right, what’s the best thing you’ve bought in the last year for under $100?

1:02:13

Oh, that’s a good one. Um,

1:02:18

this is gonna sound really stupid. But my chair

1:02:22

working from home for like, 13 hours a day, my whole body. I mean, I’m now 30 My whole body started giving up on me. It was like, hey, you’re not in your 20s anymore. You’re getting older, by some back support. Sit properly. So I got my whole desk set up with like, all my modular things so that my screens are all at the right height. And my chair now has back support, and I don’t feel like I’m dying every single day. Listen, and I got it for 60 bucks. You’re young enough. You’ve got a ways to go before you really have much to worry about in that regard. But that’s, that’s a very good fine, so congratulations on a great chair. Yeah. All right. Music. Do you have any favorite music or artists? Oh, yes. It’s embarrassing.

1:03:09

Okay, my guilty pleasure. You may not get this from looking at me. But you know, I was in high school in the 2000s. So my jam is to 1000s punk rock music that just brings me joy. I love it. Yeah, I mean, you can’t not be in a positive mood when that stuff comes on. Yeah, exactly. That’s so funny. Right your works these days? Yeah.

1:03:33

Favorite food? Do you have a favorite restaurant? Do you have a favorite type of food? Do you like to cook I love to cook so always cook a really nice meal from scratch unless we’re eating out. Um, maybe maybe the Texans will get this I don’t really know where this restaurant is. But I have a guilty pleasure. That is like my go to it is my biggest craving I ever ever have in being in Singapore. We don’t have it here. So I my first stop on the airport on the way home to Dallas. is we stopped at schlocky is do you have schlocky there

1:04:05

is a sandwich and the whole world. My dad cracks me up because anytime we would go somewhere, he he’d be like, well, let’s just grab lunch and I’d be like, Alright, fine. Where do you want to go? He’d be like, Well, how about schlocky? And it was every time it was like this matter of factly like, Well, what about this as though he wouldn’t say it every time? You know? Yeah, yes, I’ve had plenty of schlocky turkey sandwiches, and

1:04:32

I had a really bad craving recently. So I went so far as to look up a copycat recipe, make the sourdough bun from scratch and do it with some like disgruntled schlocky employee that posted the full recipe online. And I copied everything and it is like it’s a pretty close fit it actually it satisfied my craving enough to hold me over until I get back home.

1:04:56

Love it. I love it. Oh my gosh, I’m so right now.

1:05:00

tropic is not available in the US correct? It is available. And if you spend I know it’s all based in Singapore dollars on the website, but you can convert it. Okay. And

1:05:12

if you spend $200 or more you get free shipping to the US so you can buy in the US. We’re just not based there. Okay, well, I am going to get online here in about five minutes. And please, at least $200 worth of product but yeah, exactly.

1:05:31

So yeah, cuz I want everybody to be able to experience the brand, the product, the quality, the sustainability, everything that you’ve talked about. It just sounds like such an amazing brand. So I’m just so thankful that you took the time to have this conversation and talk through your journey to get to this point and wish you all the success in the world next time you’re in the States. Give me a call. I actually am from Dallas to I grew up in Plano.

1:05:58

So not not too far away, but practically neighbors. And I’ll absolutely look you up. Well, we’ll talk more. And But seriously, thank you so much for having me today. It was such a pleasure to talk to you. And I hope that you know the people listening can find some sort of inspiration or advice from all of this from my journey. And if you’re listening, you’re more than welcome to reach out to me on Instagram at Monica Millington. And I’m happy to engage with you and chat with you and talk all things startups. Awesome. Thanks so much, Monica. Thank you, Nate.

1:06:35

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