MY LIGHT BULB MOMENT
Jane Wiest of Initially London
Jane Wiest, 53, set up the personalised gift site initially London in 2014. she lives in London with her husband allen, with whom she has four children. WHEN I moved from New York to London in 1999, I soon realised how hard it was to bring up young children without any family support nearby.
I had a demanding job in the City, and juggling that with two babies was killing me.
When I came home one day to find my nanny had quit and the children were parked in front of the television, I felt as if I’d lost control of parenting. I didn’t have anyone to turn to, so I quit my job on the spot.
I went on to have two more children, and to work as a trustee for a craft-based charity called the Bottletop Foundation. Building that from a small idea into a brand was inspiring. It made me want to do something similar.
At the time, by chance, I was looking for a stylish monogramming service. It is a big thing in America, where everything is monogrammed — sheets, towels, napkins, bags, clothing, even cars. One of my favourite things growing up was my monogrammed bag.
But, while certain companies sold the odd item here in the UK, there wasn’t a company specialising in monogramming all sorts of things. That was my light bulb moment.
I registered Initially London in 2014 and launched the website in 2015. We started out with a small line of classic products — gym bags, washbags and tote bags. My background in banking helped me to project manage, pull together a team and stay on top of cash flow.
Building a business has been hugely satisfying and it’s wonderful to work with such talented people — but, of course, there have been endless moments of despair alongside euphoria.
Despair when a big project is lost after it’s been staffed and stocked. Euphoria when someone approaches you out of the blue with an exciting project.
When high-profile clients came to buy their Christmas presents from us last year, that was a significant vote of confidence. It made me feel on top of the world.
It’s been exciting to see monogramming really take off in the UK. Celebrities love it, of course. But we’ve made it affordable for everyone — our bestseller is the £25 St James seersucker washbag.
initiallylondon.com