Anna and Maria launched Pavlyn Boutique to offer women in Canada the ability to purchase the hottest celebrity fashion, something unavailable within the country’s online retail space during the time of their launch. Ask them what they think is notable and they’ll say one thing: Determination. Read more about their inspiring story in today’s YPDaily
Elevator Pitch: Describe your job in a nutshell.
We are the founders of a women’s contemporary fashion website called Pavlyn Boutique. We are Canada’s first online retailer specializing in bringing the hottest celebrity fashion to the Canadian market. Our focus is to identify the brands worn by today’s stars and provide the opportunity for women across Canada to shop the same items online, all in a seamless and hassle-free shopping experience. Essentially, we strive to become the ultimate curator of the latest Hollywood styles and affordable celebrity brands.
Why did you start working at your company? What was the inspiration for this career route?
It’s no secret that celebrities have significant influence on society, especially in the realm of fashion and style. Like many women out there, we have our own fashion icons and favourite celebrities whose style we just can’t get enough of. However, as we were looking for those special items worn by celebrities in magazines and online, we quickly became frustrated as we encountered only references to US-based websites. These sites charged high shipping fees and hefty duties when dealing with Canadian consumers, so we realized that a great solution would be to create a Canadian-based website. Combining our business experience with our passion for the fashion world was the natural next step for us and we seized the opportunity to do what we love.
What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis? The most challenging part?
The best part of what we do is making women feel great in an outfit – we know that it’s a priceless feeling! We love to get creative and help style special outfits for our customers in an effort to make them feel great. When customers tell us that they absolutely love their new purchase or even send us pictures, it truly makes our day.
The most challenging part is making our customers comfortable shopping online. We believe that the next step for the retail world is online and it seems that the US market is already there. However, Canadians are a bit behind, as they seem more apprehensive about online shopping. Once customers shop with us, they feel extremely comfortable returning, but getting over that initial fear of the unknown is definitely a challenge.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
We see ourselves doing exactly what we’re doing today, only on a much bigger scale – growing our business and taking it international.
What does success look like to you?
Success is when you get to do what you love and be good at it.
What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
We will always remember the day our site was launched. Our business was in the making for over a year, and after much hard work, sweat and tears, it was really rewarding to see it all finally come alive!
Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Do what you love, otherwise you will never be successful. You can follow the path created by the expectations of your family and friends, or you can create your own path and find that one thing that will make you happy. It may not be the easiest path, but it will be the most rewarding one!
Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
We really believe in giving back and try to support many organizations. One organization that we’re involved with is Free the Children. Pavlyn Boutique carries a brand named Love Quotes, which specializes in scarves and donates 10% of proceeds to this charity. We loved the idea of doing good through fashion and were on board right away! Recently, one of our customers, Dana Florence, introduced us to a foundation that her and her husband founded, named Three To Be Foundation. This is the only charity that specializes in gathering donations for research, education and therapies for children with neurological disorders. It’s a truly inspiring story and we’re looking forward to getting involved with this organization as well.
What to you is notable?
Determination.
Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Other?
iPhone.