{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/612f97acc68da9001203e9e6/6a859f5a1ad8716bb6125ad7?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Build the Brand Before You Have It All Figured Out: Desmond & Dempsey","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/612f97acc68da9001203e9e6/1787141566266-b8f18b40-8c39-43c7-89e1-2f126f491495.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>In this live episode of Virgin StartUp Changemakers, Natalie Pearce sits down with Desmond &amp; Dempsey co-founder Molly Goddard to explore how a simple idea around pyjamas became a brand built around something much bigger: taking more pleasure in slowing down.</p><p><br></p><p>From making their first 100 sets in London while working other jobs to collaborations with brands including H&amp;M and the Natural History Museum, Molly shares how storytelling, curiosity and a willingness to ask for help shaped Desmond &amp; Dempsey. She explores building a brand before perfecting the product, balancing creativity with commercial reality, working alongside her husband and co-founder and creating a culture where play and hard work can coexist. </p><p><br></p><p>Whether you're building a consumer brand, turning a creative idea into a viable business or trying to protect what makes your brand distinctive as it grows, this episode offers practical founder lessons on storytelling, product, culture and building with curiosity.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>In this episode:</strong></p><ul><li>Spotting the gap that became Desmond &amp; Dempsey</li><li>Why a little naivety can be an advantage when starting a business</li><li>Asking for help when you don't know how an industry works</li><li>Testing demand with the first 100 sets of pyjamas</li><li>Building the brand story before the finished product existed</li><li>Why storytelling and product quality play different roles in customer loyalty</li><li>Keeping your purpose consistent while evolving how you communicate it</li><li>Balancing creative integrity with the need to build a profitable business</li><li>Creating rituals that bring play, celebration and curiosity into company culture</li><li>What Molly has learned from building a business with her husband and co-founder</li><li>Why co-founders need to align on risk, work and integrity</li><li>Treating mistakes as learning, as long as you don't make the same one twice</li><li>The collaborations and milestones that created some of Desmond &amp; Dempsey's biggest \"pinch me\" moments</li></ul><p><br></p>","author_name":"Virgin StartUp"}