This is an episode of the Glossy Fashion Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the fashion industry. More from the series →
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In addition to its DTC business, the customizable fine jewelry brand Tiny Tags has a Target collection that sells in nearly 1,700 stores and is expected to drive $7 million to $9 million in sales this year. On this week’s episode of the Glossy Podcast, the 13-year-old brand’s founder and CEO, Melissa Clayton, discusses how she’s growing the brand with a focus on moms and a “back to basics” approach to marketing, and without outside funding. Highlights from the episode, below, have been lightly edited for clarity.
Not relying on Meta
“We have grown the business by going back to basics: an amazing product, amazing customer service, really good storytelling and building a community. We have a huge word-of-mouth presence. We know that our moms wear our jewelry, and then their sisters see it, their daughters will see it, and their friends will see it. We’ve also had really amazing collaborations with influencers — we’ve worked with Madi Nelson for years now — and that has been a huge channel for us. We do obviously invest in Meta, but we are not in the business of buying customers; we’re not like a lot of other DTC brands that lose money on the first purchase and are just buying customers. That has not been our strategy.”
Remaining self-funded
“I’ve chosen never to raise money. Maybe I’m a control freak, I don’t know, but I love the journey of this. This has never, ever been about making enough money so I can sell it and go lay by a pool. I need something to do, and I love, love working — it is my passion; I look forward to Monday mornings. … I think when your business is not a means to an end and you love the journey of it all, there’s a lot less pressure that you put on yourself. Obviously, I have to pay my bills, and it is our sole income as a family because my husband works here — but I have never wanted investors, because I really don’t want people telling me what to do. And, as far as cash flow, for the DTC brand, it has always been that someone orders something, and then we make it — so cash flow has never been an issue. The Target [brand] has been a completely different beast. Luckily for us, my husband’s from upstate New York, so we have very good credit, and we have never gone above and beyond our means as a business. So, we got a line of credit, and we’ve been able to fund the business internally without going outside. So, no, I don’t see bringing on someone in the near future, but you never know. … In a couple of years, if someone said to me, ‘Sell me a piece of the business,’ but I get to be the face of the business and run it and they believe in our values and what we’re doing, I could see doing something. But right now, I’m honestly just having too much fun, and I love what we do.”
Why the Target ban is not a threat
“No, [I’m not concerned]. I read a lot of business stuff. I’m a big believer in being responsible for the content you consume. So, no, I am not watching all of that noise. Personally, Target reached out to me many years ago, and they came to me because they saw that we were doing something that meant something to people, and they have been nothing but an amazing partner for me. … I’ve heard stories of big retail, and that has not been my experience at all. They have been nothing but supportive of a female founder. They have not tried to squeeze every penny out of us. They have understood our constraints financially, and they believe in what we’re doing. … The entire business of Tiny Tags is about joys within us, it is about gratitude, it is about connection, it is about why we’re here on Earth — and Target saw that, and they were like, ‘We want to take what you’re doing on a bigger scale.’ So, I can only say great things about Target. … I think it’s just, kind of, a media stunt that the media picks up on, and things like that catch on.”
