We’re thrilled to present the latest addition to Afluencer’s content lineup – our podcast series featuring insightful conversations with influential brand owners. In this inaugural article, we have the privilege of introducing Lucianna Martinez, the visionary founder of Lybethras, as our esteemed guest.
Meet Lucianna Martinez: The Mind Behind Lybethras
Lucianna Martinez, the innovative mind driving Lybethras, takes center stage in the Afluencer podcast series. With a wealth of experience in the world of influencer marketing, Lucianna shares captivating insights, challenges, and triumphs that have shaped her brand’s journey.
Podcast Premiere: Delving into the Lybethras Universe
Join us in exploring the enchanting world of Lybethras through the eyes of Lucianna Martinez herself. We’ve embedded the riveting YouTube podcast video below, offering an exclusive glimpse into the transformative power of influencer marketing.
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Key Takeaways
00:00 🏊♀️ Introduction and Early Beginnings
– Lucianna Martinez’s passion for fashion started with her grandmother.
– She started her company at a young age, initially making party dresses and later moving into swimwear.
– Began exporting swimwear to the US, starting with a client in Kansas who introduced the Brazilian G string.
02:53 ♻️ Sustainability Efforts
– Liat Swimwear has focused on sustainability since its inception.
– They use eco-friendly materials and work on minimizing waste.
– They donate fabric swatches to an NGO that helps women with unexpected pregnancies in Brazil.
06:26 🚀 Growth and Competition
– Despite a competitive market, Liat Swimwear believes in innovation and caring for their customers.
– They see opportunities for growth and don’t overly focus on competitors.
– Lou Martinez highlights the cooperative culture among competitors in the US compared to Brazil.
11:34 💼 Influencer Collaborations
– Liat Swimwear is looking for influencers to collaborate on Black Friday promotions and dream swimwear lines.
– They aim to work with influencers who have a significant following and dream of having their own swimwear line.
– The collaboration provides influencers with the opportunity to have their swimwear line designed and produced by Liat Swimwear.
15:05 🌎 Trade Shows and Different Markets
– Liat Swimwear participates in trade shows such as Miami Swim Week and LA Fashion Week.
– The brand adapts its swimwear styles to cater to the different tastes of customers in various markets, such as California and Miami.
– Lou and her daughter are actively involved in representing the brand at trade shows.
Transcription Insight: A Peek into the Conversation
Gain an insider’s perspective as we burrow into the transcription of our engaging conversation with Lucianna Martinez. Discover the strategies, anecdotes, and wisdom that have fueled Lybethras success, all captured in this in-depth transcription.
In Conversation with Lucianna Martinez, Founder of Lybethras:
Brett:
Welcome to our ALU podcast special treat. Today we have Lou Martinez, ACEO, and founder of Lira Swimwear feature the last 15 years in Sports Illustrated, we’ve got some great swimwear products, swimwear based collabs that involve sending the product and potentially modeling it online. So great opportunity here for travel, fitness, swimwear focused influencers. So we’re going to get into the details about the brand, the opportunity in a moment. First, let’s talk about Lou. Lou, welcome. Thanks for joining. And can you give me a little bit of background about what brought you to creating and becoming CEO of Live of Trusts, swimwear.
Lucianna:
Thank you. It’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much for having me. So my passion for fashion began with my grandma. That was a seamstress, and then since six years, I stitched my own dolls, dresses and everything. And the passion was so amazing because this grandma teach me everything. And so I’m really grateful for that experience in my childhood. And now I began my company in my house when I was 17, 18, 17, 18. Awesome. And then I registered my company when I was 20, so I moved to a space and then started creating really new things, and then we started to sell to department stores here in Brazil. And then the business just fly. It was super quick at that time to make the business and the entrepreneurship was inside of me, and my father helps me away for everything. And then we started doing the party dresses, something really cool, handmade. And then I begin exporting 1999, and my first wholesale client was in Kansas.
Brett:
Really? Okay. Of course. Yeah. Was that a swimwear product? Yeah, yeah. Going to Kansas. Okay, awesome.
Lucianna:
Yeah, he is still my friend on Facebook, and we change message to today, but he is not anymore in business, but he was one of the first that bring the G-string from Brazil to us.
Brett:
The G-string from Brazil in Kansas
Lucianna:
Is started. Yes. Could you imagine Kansas? Kansas? That is very conservative.
Brett:
That’s perfect. Yeah.
Lucianna:
Yeah.
Brett:
That is so funny. So swimwear was always the focus then from the beginning. I mean, that’s an awesome start. And I’m jealous because my first company didn’t start that quickly as you did. That must’ve been quite the ride to all of a sudden you’ve got traction and you’re trying to fulfill and you’ve got customers going. So swimwear was always the focus. Bringing the shores of Brazil to Kansas was the hook.
Lucianna:
And he discovered us on internet. Our website was super old from the beginning.
Brett:
Sure. This is 1999 website.
Lucianna:
Yeah, yeah.
Brett:
Okay. Yeah. I mean, having a website was advanced
Lucianna:
And then we start to selling in Alibaba that at that time was persons looking for Brazilians and worldwide companies, not like today. That’s only most of all for Chinese manufacturing. And then in 2 0 0 7, I feel confident to open my brand. And for a worldwide shipping and selling, I feel confident in opening. And what’s amazing because in 2 0 0 9, we began appear in Sports Illustrated, and then this opened a lot for us. And then today we are really new by the G-string, the micro bikinis. And every fashion show we have to have one with a beautiful model.
Brett:
Right?
Lucianna:
Yeah,
Brett:
Of course. Yeah. You’ve got higher, very high standards, I guess, on your booth personnel.
Lucianna:
Yeah. Yeah. Each year it’s a new beginning and new things, and we are always open to all the best things that comes from us.
Brett:
Super grateful. So how did the Sports Illustrated start? Was it a model in Sports Illustrated? Who brought your brand? Brought Live
Lucianna:
Of Trust? We hire a PR in New York at this time, and then she put us on Sports Illustrated. And then the girls love so much that today they call us an email asking, oh, I need that. So our next dream is Stay on cover of Smart.
Brett:
There you go. Yeah. Yeah. That’s awesome. Tell me about the sustainability, Lou. So you’ve got eco-friendly products, which is great. When did that become a focus of yours to use the sustainable materials?
Lucianna:
No, since the beginning we started with those materials and looking all the process in our industry to be sustainable because I think this is the future, even when nobody talks about this, we were super pioneer here and taking care of the garbage. And today we have recycled products that we get from the garbage. Imagine those tiny micro bikinis begin like this that way to use kind of fabrics when you cut. It’s like a space that you have like this and this. Imagine a bikini that is a bottom like this, and then you have a space like this. And then we create some tiny ones. And then today they are susus and we don’t cut anymore like this, but we try to avoid garbage. And then the small swatches of fabric we donate for an NGO that we help here in Brazil, and they make tapestry, they make a lot of things or pet things, bed for pet, a lot of things. And they sell. And this money they revert for the women because it’s NGO that works with women that have unexpected pregnancy here in Brazil.
Brett:
Oh, wow.
Lucianna:
That’s
Brett:
Great cycle.
Lucianna:
Yeah. Then this year we have 30 babies already that was born this year. And then they take care, they have pediatrician, they have a lot of things, and we donate and we give back to them every month.
Brett:
That’s great. That’s great. Yeah, I would like to know where we can get the dog beds here in the us.
Lucianna:
That’s great. That’s great. Yeah, I would like to know where we can get the dog beds here in the us.
Brett:
Oh, is that right? Because you get all the different, they’re all sewn together.
Lucianna:
Yeah.
Brett:
That’s awesome. So what’s your philosophy, Lou, in terms of growing Li Buttross with respect to competitors? I know there’s a few ways to think about your own company in a competitive landscape. Do you look at competitors? And I know in our case, I mean we have new competitors that pop up all the time, and that’s always the question, do you pay attention to them or do you focus on yourself and what you want to do? And maybe you don’t worry too much about that. So how do you grow liveras in what I would imagine is a regularly competitive landscape in terms of swimwear?
Lucianna:
Yes, it’s very competitive. And since we have 32 years on the market, you could imagine that I saw a lot of companies began working and finish and ending. So I really think the market is for the strong company that have a real innovation and a mission and take cares for everybody. And I think everybody has a space, a niche you just need to find. So I really don’t worry about them. And also in us, I think they are great because if someone don’t pay the competitor tell you, oh, don’t sell to that store because they are not paying, so let’s keep the merchandise. And I think it’s much easier than in Brazil.
Brett:
Oh, interesting. So you get more information sharing
In the us. Yeah, I remember that from my last company, our main top competitor, and this is an affiliate marketing software platform. And we were basically competed quite often, but I knew him well, and we would see each other at trade shows and at breakfast, and I would always mess with him that I sent him a customer and he would wonder whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. But really it was very friendly. I mean, we would have drinks at shows and we would talk, and it was very civil, which is interesting. You kind of know, well, we each have a good thing going and we’re trying to compete, but not necessarily destroy each other. We’re kind of the same person in terms of having these
Lucianna:
Companies for sure. Here in Brazil, we don’t have this culture because they took you, oh, you get my customers. Oh, no.
Brett:
Right. Gotcha. Yeah, and you’re essentially growing the market. I mean, you’re bringing Brazilian swimwear to Kansas, so that’s making it, it’s growing the market for everyone in terms of your space. So let’s get into influencers. Lou, we were talking a little bit before we got on the horn here. What are we looking for? You have a couple collabs going. I know one for the holiday season here, black Friday focused Kenya. Bring everyone up to speed in terms of terms, what types of product we’re looking to model on these collabs and who specifically we’re looking for from an influencer or partner standpoint here.
Lucianna:
For this one on Black Friday, we are looking for girls that want to share our discount and want to share our micro bikinis because we are selling them a lot. And then we would like to change this Black Friday and do something more. Cool. And also the other one is something collaboration on the influencer that have big following and want to do a swimwear line, a dream line of swimwear that we are doing for a lot of influencers right now in US. And there is a lot of girls that want to do this and don’t have any company to make, and then we want to do this dream come true for them.
Brett:
Oh, very cool. Yeah, very cool. So they can essentially get the Sports Illustrated line of Tross. Yeah.
Lucianna:
Yeah.
Brett:
Great. Cool. For sure. Cool. Great opportunities. Yeah, we’ll highlight those, Lou, we’ll get you in the newsletter also since we got the Black Friday coming up, so we’ll have to promote that also so that our interested swimmer influencers can get that. So yeah, so we’ll put the link under this for everyone watching. I’ll get you out of here on this one though, you participate in a lot of fashion weeks, swim weeks in-person events. Where can people, influencers included, find you in person and then of course online?
Lucianna:
Yeah, we have been doing the Miami Swim Week for several years and since last year, LA Fashion Week, LA Swim Week, we just did the LA Fashion week on October. And for the Miami Swim Week, we do the trade show also. And then we love Miami. We love Florida.
Brett:
Yeah, that’s like the melting pot, right? For kind of where north and south it is almost like the headquarter of the Americas. I had a friend went there a few months ago. He was on a Disney cruise with the family, so a little maybe different type of Miami, but still he said it was amazing. He is just buzzing all the time. It’s just very cool. International flavor.
Lucianna:
And another thing is that the bikinis that we sell in Miami are completely different. The bikinis that we sell in California, is
Brett:
That right? It’s a different line, different style.
Lucianna:
Yeah, it looks like different countries.
Brett:
That’s
Lucianna:
The style and everything. Yeah. That’s funny. And I think we have few of each, and then the girls love buying for us.
Brett:
Yeah, interesting. Gotcha. So when you do the mail line, you’ll have to ship me a different product than the one that goes to Miami out here For sure. Out here in
Lucianna:
California, they are completely different. California girls are more American, and in Miami girls are more Latinas.
Brett:
Interesting. Yeah, very interesting. So are you always for the trade shows, are you the face of the franchise? You’re on the airplane going to the trade shows as well?
Lucianna:
For sure. Yeah. Me and my daughter is also working with us and we did all the trade shows and the fashion shows together.
Brett:
Oh, that’s excellent. Yeah. Yeah. It keeps you busy. But it’s nothing like having the founder at the trade show for people to chat with. I know I am that way with ours. And people always appreciate having the foundry to chat with versus you. I mean, I’m sure you see the other booths and maybe they just have someone who’s new to the company, they may not have too much to say, they may not know too much yet. And it’s always great having Lou herself behind you, behind the booth. All right, Lou, for Well, thanks so much. We’ll get the links to the collabs, as I mentioned. So how can people follow Live of Trusts when we’re on Instagram, TikTok, so forth?
Lucianna:
Yeah, it’s the name of the brand. Now, the platforms, we have TikTok, we have Pinterest, and we have Instagram in all them.
Brett:
Yeah, Lires. Gotcha. Okay. All right. Your English is way better than my Portuguese, but Obrigado, is that it?
Lucianna:
Yeah.
Brett:
Okay, we got it. Okay, good. That translates. Okay, obrigado, thank you very much, Lewis. It’s been great chatting with you about Lires, swimwear and all these collab opportunities.
Lucianna:
Thank you so much for having me.
Brett:
Great. Thanks again.
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Reflecting on a Journey of Innovation and Influence
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