From $60k in Debt and Lying About Being Unemployed to Becoming the Lazy CEO Behind Showpo’s $100 Million Empire
00:00 My name is Natasha Bamblett, I'm a proud First Nations woman, and I'm here to acknowledge country. Tii, gilinyan ganya, nianakaka yao yinbina waka, nianakai nianbina yakarumja, duminyagumiga dumiga ithawaka nirawamundamun imalan, mumibangaraboma ininyalan waka, gaunonyakarumja, wutunadanar. Hello beautiful friends. We gather on the lands of the Aboriginal people. we thank acknowledge and respect the aboriginal people's land that we're gathering on today take pleasure in all the land and respect all that you see she's on the money podcast acknowledges culture country community and connections bringing you the tools
00:42 knowledge and resources for you to thrive she's on the money she's on the money Hello and welcome to She's on the Money, the podcast where we share the real life lessons behind starting, growing and thriving in your own business. I'm your host, Victoria Devine, and today's Business Diaries guest is one of the most successful and honestly straight up entertaining entrepreneurs in the country. She went from a failed pop-up shop and a mountain of debt to building Shopo, a global fashion brand with over $100 million in annual revenue, millions of loyal customers, and a social following that most brands would absolutely kill for. Along the way, she's rewritten the rules on what it means to be a CEO, turned social media into a
01:45 serious sales engine and built a business that is 100% founder-owned, which is practically unheard of at her scale. She's bold, she's brilliant, and she's not afraid to spill the real story behind the highlights reel. Jane Liu, welcome to the show. Thank you so much for having me. I am so excited to finally get you on my show. This is so fun. A little pod swap. It's so nice to see you work your magic in real life. I love it. It's so fun. I feel like- In the flesh.
02:15 Yeah. And it's crazy because I'm, I'm meeting people while I'm in Sydney that I'm like, I feel like I know you, but like from socials and I'm like, is this weird that I know so much about your life? But you are a wildly successful founder now. Oh, thank you. But Showpo wasn't your first rodeo. Can you take us back to who you were before becoming an entrepreneur and talk me through starting your first business? Like I've heard it before, but I need my community too. okay so I used to be an accountant and just hot girls in finance like yes so I thought you know I I thought accounting was like quite sexy back then because you get a suit you get a paycheck and so it was all very exciting at the start and you know I because I immigrated from China with
02:59 my parents and I'm an only child so you know they're just all their eggs are in the jane basket and they no pressure babe none no it's super chill but all they wanted was for me to get into the right high school and then from the high from high school get the right marks and then from there get into the right university no pressure my degree get the right job blah blah blah and I did all that and I was like wow I've I made it I even played eighth grade piano I'm like a model Chinese daughter but so I all of a sudden no it was I slowly realized that I didn't love it yeah um it's a hard realization to come to, especially when your parents are putting so much pressure on you. Exactly. It just never seems like an option. Like back then it was 20, 2009,
03:42 you know, you just don't really consider like starting a business. Absolutely not. It was actually an ex-boyfriend that at the time he would, you know, kind of talk about it. I'm like, Oh, he's from Europe. He's like, Oh my God, this guy, like romantic. I'm just romanticizing the idea of starting a business and traveling. You know, I just never thought it would be for me. It just seemed like something you read about, you watch in a movie. So we learned something from every boyfriend. Yeah. Thank you, sir.
04:06 And then, so when I met him, I was like, I don't want to start a business. I wasn't even interested in traveling because it just seemed really expensive and like risk out like very frugal. Anyway, and then like cut to two years later, I was like, you know what? I am going to go traveling. So I broke up with him and went on exchange. He was like, we should go traveling. And then you were like, do you know what?
04:27 I think this is a more me thing. Yeah. it was like traveling bye so I dumped his ass no he was really nice guy I shouldn't say that but you also did kind of did but then so then went on exchange and I think when I came back yeah I just had like withdrawals you know and then I went back to my job and they just didn't feel the same and it was just looking at the world in a different light so then I was like oh my god I started to all of a sudden look at my because you know what my parents wanted for me was job security. That's what the career was, financial stability and like future-proofing your future
05:00 life. That's literally what we want for our kids, right? Like we want them to be safe and secure and have a good job and be able to put food on the table. And like you mentioned before, you guys immigrated from China. Like I'm assuming that they did so to give you a better life. Exactly. And that is the like Australian dream. Yeah. Right. Like you'd done it. You'd achieved it but model trial until so then when I came back I looked at everything and I looked at this 40 year career not as financial stability but as a prison sentence you were like uh what I'm trapped I'm like I did not want to do hard 40 years of hard time in accounting so I guess with this ex-boyfriend not only did I like dump him you know I've started the business before he started
05:44 the business and I've gone traveling without him. But then I actually started also this kind of side hustle. My friend came to me, she got made redundant as an investment banker during the global financial crisis. And she was like, just run this pop-up store. I'm like, dude, like I would love to start a business, but I don't think it would be fashion or retail. Like that feels like it would be something that, and this probably was back then, like it's for the elite. It's for people who are wealthy, who have connections. But then I didn't have any better business ideas. So I'm like, well, if I got no better ideas, let's just go with yours. Love. So basically we would get out, we made business cards and just went to market stalls and just handed them out. I mean,
06:28 she probably did most of the work, but. I like that you're giving her the credit. Yeah. Credit where credit's due. And no, she had the confidence back there. I didn't as much, but it did a bit, but anyway, you know, just handing out business cards and then just being like, do you want to be stocked with us? The business was called Fat Boy Group with a silent fat boy with an E at the end. Oh, I thought you were going to say PH, like PHAT, B-O-I or something. None of it is great. We thought, anyway, I don't even know. You know what? We've all got to start somewhere. And if you're not embarrassed, you started too late. Exactly. You know, we started operating this pop-up store and we actually got a ton of press and then we actually got suppliers,
07:07 crazy 50 like suppliers anyway the whole idea wasn't working it was just like just breaking even at best and it was so much manual labor and I think that one of the biggest mistakes is startups make is like they don't value their time and they don't pay I mean you can't pay yourself a salary but you're kind of not realizing what your break-even point is because you are not really understanding like cost of the opportunity costs or your salary anyway so then I was really hating my job and because I was distracted by this business I was hating my job and then it's like a downward spiral because when you're bad at something you become worse at it and then then you become you know more disengaged so and we double down as well because
07:51 we're not willing to admit that we're on the downward spiral exactly and but then I was spending half the time like on I had these fake spreadsheets open and I would just be like alt tabbing as soon as someone walks by my desk but actually being on Facebook the whole time trying to push the business and then um they started making people redundant as part of the global financial crisis and my two bosses who i thought were like the people there to that could look at support me they got me redundant i'm like whoa i am next i'm gonna be on the chopping block and then one day i was just you know what i need i need you something else because i all the only thing i've got to look forward to today is a meatball sub for lunch that's pretty good though
08:34 like I know it's not bad yeah extra sauce but I quit and they were so glad you could tell they were like you know that look and because I've done it before be like oh you quit oh it's gonna fire you thank god they did that to you I swear to god talk to me about the part where you lied to your parents because like this whole time when I quit my job I just could not the idea of telling my parents that everything that we've been working towards and I do say we because you know they are so committed exactly they've left their family and friends and jobs everything to move to Australia and then I had everything that they've wanted as we discussed and so I was like how could I possibly tell them that I just don't know so so you didn't you just lied to them so I just kept
09:23 um getting up and pretending to go to work every day so you got dressed in your little suit and you got your compendium and you walked out the door. What were you doing during the day when you were pretending to be at work? Well, so my mom also worked in the city. So we had to get the bus together. So that's also part of the facade. So you had to go into the city. So at the start I would like kind of romanticize. I'm like, I'm going to work on a business idea, work on this business. So at the time I wanted to turn this business into an online store. Yep. And then, so I started like building a website, like looking up how to do it. So I go to a cafe and just, you know, with my laptop, with my Dell, you know, like, um, that wouldn't
10:03 even last. It doesn't even last long enough. Yeah. Like 45 minutes of battery before you need to charge it. Someone will come up and be like, would you like to get another drink? I'm like, no, I can't afford this. So then I moved to state library, which really felt like I was going backwards because, um, that's why I spent my high school studying, you know, I'm like, oh my God, I'm stuck in the time loop. And then I started just going back home. but then once like I remember like my dad came home early but I boiled water but you can't really like unboil water and then like I don't know it wasn't time to tip it out he was like why was it and I don't know if he ever said all that I just I just remember that now you're just like keeping
10:44 up this facade that would have been exhausting yeah and then so it got worse when um so I've building this website for a month this online store which still felt novel at the time at this point I don't think I've really truly bought online yeah because I know my first big fashion online purchase was from ASOS like three or four months after I showed pro like I didn't even do research because I didn't have the money to yeah buy stuff and also it wasn't as easy to do the research as it is today exactly so my business partner coincidentally like she kind of was like also coercing me to like quit my job and focus on the business um she got me redundant so she had to be working so she was bored as well yeah and she was and then so she spent that month while
11:27 I resigned on holidays she came back I thought we'd be like hit the ground running like recharge like I've got a website almost ready and then she came back and I was like look at this website and she's like Jane you know I'm sick of being broke I'm sick of the startup life I've actually been job hunting while I was on holidays and she found a job and she was going back to work and she didn't want to do it because I would have been like oh I was waiting for you to come back and I've built this website for us and was begging her I was like just look at the website isn't it crazy in like retrospect because like I've been in that situation where someone's like I'm out and I've been like please stay like I need you and then all of a sudden sorry we're here now James that
12:10 was the best thing that ever happened to you. Yes. I said to her, I was like, please look at it. She said to me, look, Jay, no one shops online. And she is eating those words up one letter at a time right now. But I remember bawling. I was actually outside my in-laws house and I'm like, oh my God, how do I tell everyone I've just failed? How do I tell my parents? Like the whole thing was like, the business was meant to be successful so that I could tell my parents, Hey, I've got my job. I've got this successful business. And now I've got nothing. I am all of a sudden broke. I am in debt. No fat boy. I am no fat boy, no failed business. It just felt like another failure, embarrassed, ashamed. And it was in the middle of the global
12:51 financial crisis. So you can't get another job. So getting a job in finance was not happening. All right. So your co-founder's out and then you had to go all solo and like, you couldn't get another job in the global financial crisis. Your co-founder at the time had, which is low-key kind rude. Cause you would have been like, well, I can't go do that. Like that's not an opportunity. So you kind of got forced into starting yourself. What gave you the confidence to be like, I'm gonna do this by myself? Cause I didn't have the confidence back then. I would have been anxious. No, I actually, I went to, I had one friend that had his own business, one friend, like no one, like everyone had, were working, was still at uni at this point. And I kept trying to
13:29 get a job with him. Cause I was like, well, he's the only person that might give me a job and I could learn from him. And then he was like, nah, but I do have another friend that wants to start an online store. Why don't you meet her? And I was like, you know, like that's the last thing I should be doing. Fashion, retail, online. Like I've just failed. Obviously I don't want to do that. And then, so he just insisted, but I'm like, you know what? Like, I can't be like trying to ask him for guidance and, you know, hopefully a job later, but, and not even take on his advice. I'm like why don't I just go meet her when I don't yeah walk the walk when it goes nowhere I'll come back and ask him for a job again anyway met her hit it off straight away and just like became like
14:13 besties and then the maybe the third time meeting her like over we had a few too many glasses of red wine and then we started the name and id behind show pony which is what we were called back then I remember I was on instagram way back when like I I feel like it was the era of like what was it there was like cat memes yeah there was a lot of cat memes there was show pony and I used to follow you guys and there was like a few other like startup brands like beginning boutique yeah kind of like started around then too and like it was cool watching it grow but I feel like show pony you lost that co-founder as well so what happened so she's out as well yes and she's a very very good friend now yeah she always had her own business yeah and her business was
15:01 just taking off and show printing was failing and so by I think we were doing it together for like 15 months or something a year to a year and a half and then we were down to making five thousand dollars a month which is like again you know at a huge loss if you were to factor in like salaries we don't need to talk about that um but then it's like that's like one or two orders a day so think about like you're like oh I've just quit my job and I'm packing sending one or two orders a day we had stores but it just wasn't working as well as so you bought her out right yeah so for twenty thousand dollars money win so show pose last valuation is forty thousand dollars money win yeah let's just leave it at that like actually no we want the bank to see a little bit
15:43 more than that so that we can like invest to buy properties and grow the business that you've grown, but like you bought out her and like after what, 15 months decided, okay, I can do this on my own. Talk to me because Shopo is one of, honestly, from my research, one of the first Australian brands to really leverage Instagram and Facebook. Like, and that's what I mean. Like, I don't know how I found you so early, but I remember following and seeing like, used to do lots, lots of skirts, lots of tops. Like I used to follow and I used to buy it religiously. I was still at school with all. Anyway, how has that changed since? And like, is Facebook and Instagram marketing still your biggest? Definitely not so much Facebook, but TikTok is huge. And I feel like we need, we can
16:30 be, we should be doing better on TikTok. I feel like everyone I talk to says we should be doing better on TikTok. We should be more organic on TikTok. And then none of us are doing it because all really busy and we're also like millennials so we're like oh I'm exhausted no but I'm so annoyed because when I remember getting on TikTok in 2019 and then 2020 I'm like oh we missed the wave like at the start of 2020 and then I but and then I think I didn't get into it because I was like pregnant and you're just not feeling like getting behind a camera and then also you're not in the office to do office talk didn't want to film you know meet myself talking yeah if it was on the office, I think we could have done it and got it in much earlier, but it is what it is. And
17:10 I think it's like never too late. So that's the, that's the lesson. Like in 2020, I thought I was too late to TikTok. No, you weren't. But on TikTok and on Instagram, I feel like I follow Showpo and I'm not going to lie, like your personal social media account and the Showpo social media account make it look so fun to work at Showpo. Like I'm sometimes like, maybe I should work at Showpo because these girls look like they're having so much fun. I can't do anything. don't know anything about retail, but like, I would like to be there for the vibes. Was that intentional? Like, are you posting that way purposefully? And like, what's your view on founders being front and center on TikTok as a brand strategy? Because as you said, like I was
17:51 pregnant, I didn't want to do those things. But like you and I both know that when you put a founder first and foremost, it drives sales like no other. Yeah. And I think that's what like people resonate with. And like, I think part of my thing is like, I'm like slowly edging out of my demographic. So, you know, like you're not, you're not, you're still young. You're still fresh. You're still vibrant. I love it. I was 24 when Showbro started. And I used to say our demographic is 18 to 26. And that just kept creeping up and creeping up and creeping up. Now it's older millennials. Yeah. I think it's like, honestly, these days it's, it's look at, look at, I mean, look at road right like selling for a billion dollars to elf like and all based on like hayley
18:32 bieber's brand like three years maybe 10 products like it's insane that that just i mean that's on the very extreme she is a celebrity but like that shows the importance of the emotional connection that people will have with the founder and a and the personal brand absolutely does that mean if someone approached you with a really big deal you'd sell shopo oh yes if anyone wants to send me a billion dollars. Take it. I mean, you're making a hundred million dollars a year. Like your annual turnover is insane for a business that is still completely found to run. Like I always look at it. I'm like, how is she a magician? Like not only are you still managing to make time for the pub and your kids and your husband and having fun at work. I don't think people understand
19:16 that is a lot of volume. That is a lot of work that you're putting in behind the scenes while making it look very sexy online. Girl, how are you managing this without completely burning out? So I have a very good support network. So, I mean, obviously the team, we have a really good team. And then I also have a nanny. She does like, you know, like 30 hours a week and then helps with drop-offs, pickups, kids' breakfast, all that kind of stuff. She's on annually right now. Are you dying? So I'm definitely, this is not me at my best today. I'm like, that's why I'm like, oh like you said it does take a village it does but I think really my husband does so much so he
19:58 used to work in he used to work in banking and private equity all the good people finance yes he used to you know have these big corporate jobs he was doing strategy and planning also at uber and I just thought he was very corporate so I didn't but how did you two meet go back on exchange in Sweden so that's right that's the thing also about my ex-boyfriend right I'm like I'll just go to Sweden see if I'll come back maybe I'll maybe I'll no you met your husband I didn't I met the father of your future children so um great support network you've got a village around you supporting you but like what are you doing for you because that sounds like a lot of people are managing a lot of things for you I do a lot of habit stacking um so you know in terms
20:44 like working out. I've got a Peloton with a stand and then, you know, like, so then I can just work on my laptop while I'm like doing that. And then like, I think like, you know, podcasting while you're like in the middle of like putting on makeup, that kind of stuff. I think it's just like stacking things together, really just buying more time. And then the thing I truly do for myself is like watching TV. Like I have to watch an hour of TV at least a night. So I'm watching like momma wives obviously i don't know if you saw i'm already through that clocked that yep did you see our momma wives dinner yes absolutely the reunion was iconic so we are yeah so met met all most of the ladies that were so lovely that was actually wild i remember seeing it and like
21:26 you had posted something i think i just saw it like on your story fleetingly and i thought that you were just like there by chance and saw someone famous right no and then i saw more and more and I'm like, holy shit, she's orchestrated this whole thing. And we baited like, is Jane joining mom talk? I'm not. Why not? But they don't enjoy going to the pub. Yeah, exactly.
21:50 Things like that would never have been on my radar, but somehow on your radar, like you're just like, oh, this would be really good and would go viral. And it absolutely did. Like I feel like after I saw it on your stories, it was everywhere and everyone was talking about it. They've blown up season two even more. A hundred percent.
22:07 again my team I am obsessed with that but you've clearly got a very good eye for what's trending and what's coming up and what is going to be popular or might even go viral so tell me what emerging spaces have you kind of got your eye on at the moment oh my god I actually I just know that you're always looking yeah we always you know we've done so many things as like a first like when we've done extended sizes we were the first of a business our size to like our in terms of like a smaller business yeah to do close up to size 20 and then we did like affordable bridal we were like one of the first to do like activewear in this space which we don't even do anymore we do always kind of like think about where to innovate next and so I think part of that has
22:53 kind of like shifted from like product innovation because I think now it's all about also like niching down and being more focused in product. And then that evolving to more like in like the marketing space, what can you do for customers? So we've covered, I guess you having really good instinct and innovation and seeing trends before they're trending, but how do you actually scale to million dollar months and keep it all together? I'm going to go to a really quick break on the flip side. Girl, you're going to have to answer that. all right we are back jane what's it like hitting million dollar months like is that some kind of like i feel like it's a wild milestone that lots of business owners will only ever achieve in their
23:38 dreams what what got you there what did that feel like are we celebrating are we terrified like what does that look like when we're hitting million dollar months because that girl that's wild it's And you do this literally every day now. It's honestly crazy because I don't think I, in a way, this is going to sound really dumb. This is definitely girl maths. Like I didn't realize how much that was until I started my podcast and I'm writing people's, like the intros. And I'm like, wow, this business is so impressive. And they're doing like 20 mil, which is so impressive. And I'm like, oh, like businesses, I'm like writing about the growth and they're at that three mil. I'm like, wow. I'm like, wait.
24:16 i feel like when you're in it you've just got blinkers on it's it's not like a big you know it's always been like an organic growth yeah so i was speaking to elise tran before you i got the privilege of interviewing her and i was like you know you've achieved so much and she's like oh have i and she's very modest she's not just modest but like she's always looking for the next big thing and like you know i think you and i would sit here and be like oh tde was like so impressive it was so cool and she's just like yeah whatever like I grew that but like there's always more to do and I think that as founders we just don't give ourselves the credit that other people give us but also yeah we've got blinkers on inside our business and so like you would have hit million
24:56 dollar months and been like oh god like we just don't have enough here or here like you're not really thinking about that as a quote milestone but when you did your podcast and started to reflect, hold on. I have a hundred million dollar revenue business. Were you like, do I have the right number of zeros? That is right. Holy shit. But I love that for you. And what does that look like day to day? Does that change? Cause you're just a girl. No, like, cause I'm Chinese and Chinese people are naturally frugal. My husband's just like very, like he calls it rational. So we're both not like crazy spenders because we just can't rationalize it because we both he grew up like me he went to private school so he's not that but like I grew up poor he grew up frugal
25:41 like so what does that look if I can be so pervy but what does that you've clearly got a hundred percent founder owned business I would make an assumption that there is some pretty nice profits coming out of that pretty regularly obviously that means that you're pretty modest to be honest like you're just like, yep, cool. Like probably wear your own products all the time. I know you splash on some nice shoes. You and I are on the same page. Like we love a nice pair of shoes, but like I do see your content and you're like, I'm not going to spend money on that. Like I still love going to the pub. Have you seen my tinny? I absolutely have. I've also seen your husband's shoes. And I just look and go, they're so down to earth. But what are you doing with your cash?
26:19 Are you investing it? Are you investing in property? Is it just sitting there? Cause you have analysis paralysis? Like what's it like being a frugal person who also has cash sitting there that you could probably spend? I think part of it is like my husband is very, so we're now going down, like we might actually invest in more property. We're not property people. Like he's a very like financial instruments, like shares index fund kind of person. I should ask you for your advice. But then I feel like he's got his head screwed on as well. That man is smart, smart. I actually had yesterday, I spoke to Melanie Gleason, who's the founder of Indoor to Spa. And I was like, what would you tell your younger self? And you know, most people are like, oh,
26:59 just like trust yourself, blah, blah, blah. She was, it was the most practical one that she's, I can recall. She said, I would have started my Instagram, the business Instagram account earlier, and I would have brought some of the properties that we were operating in. Yeah, smart. Now I didn't dig deep enough. I was like, I don't know if that's because like landlords have jacked up the prices due to their success, or it's because of the land appreciation or both. Anyway, but I'm like, okay. So I'm like, maybe like, I do think like we will get some like property opportunities, but he's always just wanted to like, you know, do his like trust,
27:38 tax entity, trust, blah, blah, blah things. And I'm like, I don't know, pop off king. And then just like invest in like index C fund kind of thing. Because I mean, knowing your story, you went from being in like $60,000 worth of personal debt to now not having that kind of financial pressure. Is that something that changes the way you make decisions or were you always like, no, no, no, I'm going to be successful. Like talk to me about getting out of debt because like, I don't think people ask you that because they're all too probably preoccupied with the idea that you have a hundred million dollar business. But I'm like, so when you're in $60,000 worth debt, what that feel like and what did it feel like to get out of
28:14 it felt like you were like walking in concrete or like just like concrete that's about to dry up like you're just like you know those nightmares you have when you're running and you can't run fast enough yes that was really tough and they're actually getting out of debt so basically the month after my business partner left we doubled from five thousand to nine thousand dollars and then the next month went to forty thousand and then 75 and then 140 so within a she was grow growing. Less than a year, we went from $5,000 a month to 140,000, which is a million dollar run rate. So the getting out of debt happened, that actually happened so fast. I was like, whoa. And then actually to wrap up the previous story about my parents and lying to them,
29:01 and I actually, so I put up that facade for six months and then my boyfriend, my husband, he moved from Brisbane. So he's, we met in Sweden, but he lived in Brisbane. So he moved from Brisbane to Sydney for his investment banking job. And then we never had a chat to be like, can we, should we live together? As soon as he showed up, I just like rocked up at his apartment with all my things and all my stock as well. I love this. And he was like, right. So I guess you're staying. Yeah. No. And then for the next year, at least I could, I kept up that facade, but I wasn't living at home. So it was a lot easier. And it took me like two years to finally tell them and that was probably one of like my happiest moments when I told them and I said
29:43 I just wanted to really make sure I was still being a good Asian daughter so I was sandwiching it so I said I'm buying you guys your first ever brand new car they've only had like secondhand and really old secondhand cars and also I've just like quit that job I quit two years ago and I want to pay off your mortgage stop it what was that like being able like I feel like you know, you're saying, oh, like, you know, immigrated from China. Your parents have given up everything. That was a lot of pressure. You clearly lied to them. Not because you're like, do you know what? I really want to lie to my parents. You were like, I'm feeling this pressure. Yeah. But you didn't just go, oh, I quit my job. And at some point the truth's going to come out.
30:23 Truth not only came out, you paid off their mortgage and bought them a car. I don't know what I do. I think I'd like, what was that like for you? Oh, it was just like everything I felt was like, I can't believe I've actually like, I'm living the immigrant dream like this is what like is that one of those pivotal moments where you're like oh shit I've kind of made it not the yeah I know that you said before oh shit like I have kind of lost track of the the numbers side of things but what are the pivotal moments for you that you're like shit like I've made it I think there's that and then also just at some point I've realized that I've just actually built up the skills that if I was if everything failed
30:57 this is very quite early on if everything failed that I could actually just like get a job somewhere else that was that's better than so you run a hundred million dollar company and you're like i could still get a job i think at some point i think the i'm a very positive person when the iconic launch in sydney australia and they were doing really well so this is like 2016 2017 i'm like well business fails like i can always just go work for them i love that you're like i could get a job there that's cool to your other point i just about you know kind of being not living it up too much when being I think you know we definitely got to a point where we were being like a bit yolo with money in 2019 we have like the very we overspent on the offers everything
31:45 was just like very we were kind of spending a lot on activations and that kind of stuff and then you know like because our risk profile was super high felt like we could just like keep growing keep making it back like and just like if what and then also if everything failed I'll I just had this like, you know, confidence that we'll just bounce back and do something else. But also the risk with the business was quite low because the business was growing. Cut to a year later, COVID hits and it didn't hit as well. And then I was pregnant. So then you're also, I think just something changes in you where you obviously you're not just the center of your own universe anymore. And then I got married. You have other things to worry and care about.
32:27 and then also the risks with the business came up the risk profile change and it just completely inverted and that's why I'm like you know what you always need to like have a backup plan have a backup plan and yeah I love this so the iconic if you're listening to this oh my god if you ever see Jane sells a shopper maybe she'll come work for you but you have a very impressive resume and one of the things on your resume is you were a judge on the last season of the shark tank which was so cool I remember seeing the ads and I was like hey that's Jane. And I was like to my husband, Hey, that's Jane. Like, that's so cool. Also seeing a female in that space, a young female in that space. Impressive. What's that experience like?
33:08 Oh, I couldn't believe it. And just even that as that pinch me moment was like, wow, I didn't grow up seeing girls like me on TV and like what that must, that doesn't sound cheesy. Like that must give other girls the encouragement that they can do it. And like, you're not just a girl as well. you are a Chinese immigrant and like seeing that front and center being pushed like oh my god this is the latest poster with a red jacket it's me in the center she's a power suit I love that you got to be in the middle I know Wolde my husband jokes he's like oh it's Jane and the sharks I mean that's cute like they're just my back Robert Herjavec's just in my backup band I love it but also not only are you a shark tank judge you also call yourself the lazy CEO like
33:53 that's like your tagline, which I think is absolutely iconic. But what does being a lazy CEO look like day to day? Because I would love to be a lazy CEO, but I feel like if I was, my business would go straight into the ground. Why do you think more founders should really be working smarter, not harder? To have long-term growth, I think. To be in it for the long haul. To be sustainable. And now I'm 15 years in and I'm very like, I feel very balanced. And I think it's through delegating, through trusting other people. And then also really importantly, like some people will like not work out. Some people might screw you over. Some people just, and you just have to bounce back. It's like, if someone broke up with you in the relationship,
34:37 you've got to, you've got to bounce back. We're not begging our business partners to stay. Yeah. But we have to go through that to kind of grow through that, right? We have to have that experience to be like, we don't beg. Exactly. Tell me if you had to start tomorrow from scratch, no following, no money, no show po, what would you do first? Would you be starting another brand? Would you be like, nah, I'm going to go work in a salary PAYG job? Like what would Jane do? I would love to, like, I think I'm, this is so silly. I romanticize the idea of like having, doing something hospitality, like opening restaurants and cafes and bars. I know I can't cook. I don't know. I just like, I mean, to say this rudely, babe, but like,
35:16 you've got enough money that you could hire people to cook. No, exactly. In your, in your cafes and restaurants and bars just taste the food I am a harsh critic no obviously I'm not poking behind the kitchen I don't even know why I said that but um that it's like this like romanticized retirement plan yeah I think when I'm older I'm like no no I won't want that but then I secretly want to start like a little kiddie clothes business but I know that's hard also because it's very competitive space but who knows fashion is competitive I love that with everything that you've done now and achieved which is a lot if you could go back to baby jane sitting on the bus next to her mom going to a fake job while her
35:55 mom goes to a real job and then going into the state library with her i guess failed pop-up and 60 grand worth of debt hiding your unemployment from your parents what would you tell her don't worry about what other people think just do what's right for you and you'd be surprised how the biggest naysayers are actually the people that they will be the first to come to you for advice and oh it's such a cliche but things will work out like better than you ever expected i love that i wish i had so much more time with you i feel like we often get together and all we do is yap and i love it i love the yeah but it has been so good having you on my show it's been such a fun chat but i also know that our community is going to walk away being like oh my god like she's just
36:42 so down to earth but also like so inspirational and tips and tricks and i mean probably don't lie to your parents but like you do what you've got to do right yes like we do what we've got to do to get ahead listen to your parents exactly um now that as parents we're like no be listen to your parents can you imagine like i think about my son and i'm like what do you mean you would lie to me for years absolutely not absolutely not for anyone who wants to follow along your journey or your next move or shopo where can we find you at shopo yeah i i feel like that's i feel like that. The lazy CEO. Sorry. I will. Do you know what? I will just put all of your handles in our show notes so that people can find and follow you. Jane, it's been a pleasure. And for
37:22 those of you who loved this episode, let us know in the comments or share it with someone who's also dreaming big, but maybe just needs that little extra push to get started. And don't forget to follow and subscribe so that you never miss a business diaries drop. We've got plenty more powerhouse founders coming your way very soon. I will see you guys soon. And Jane, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. The advice shared on She's on the Money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's on the Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice
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