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Conna Walker
Interview Phadria Prendergast
Felisha Tolentino
Felisha TolentinoConna Walker had no plans of starting a business in her teenage years however, 10 years later, at the age of just 27 years old she has built an international household name. Fellow London-born influencers Sarah Ashcroft and Patricia Bright, Beyoncé, Chrissy Tiegen and Kylie Jenner are on the never ending list of influential women who have regularly sported her figure accentuating dresses – in short, there’s something for every woman. So, just how did a 17-year-old Conna get her father to invest £3,000 into her business idea?
It’s clear that Conna was always destined to be a global leader, when at just 17 years of age she created an eBay account and began to sell dresses after accompanying her parents on a trip to China and coming across dresses she had never seen in London. Though at the time it was mainly to get her father off her back about finding a job, the silhouette expert turned having a simple eBay account into a multi-million-dollar business in just 10 years. Makes you question what you’ve been doing with your own eBay account doesn’t it? Conna would purchase at wholesale, bandage dresses in small quantities, list them and then pack the orders before and after school – Which she was shipping to various countries, not just the UK. “At 17 it wasn’t really my intention to start a brand. At the time I was just trying to get my dad to leave me alone and earn a bit of money! Once I started to see the pieces selling, I started to think ‘I can make something bigger of this’ and decided to build my own website. From there, I wanted to make it into an actual brand.” Conna was able to borrow money from her father to invest in her idea which she explained was down to the trust her family had in her. “I think my parents just trusted me really. I’m not sure if they fully trusted the business idea but they trusted that I would make good choices and of course they’ve always been there as a sounding board for me.” Conna considers herself extremely privileged to have had her father’s help and his loan is one of the main reasons for her CBWOMEN4WOMEN fund which she opens to the public every year. The 2020 CBWOMEN4WOMEN fund awarded 3 female owned businesses and startups in May with £10,000 as the first prize, £5,000 as the second and £2,000 as the third – all of which was given to them for free. Conna loves giving back, specifically to women. “Women are paid less, given less grants by banks and are in less of the top-tier roles in corporations so, I hope the fund helps change that and also encourages more entrepreneurship in women too.”
The entrepreneurial gene certainly runs in the Walker family. Conna’s parents who are market traders have also owned bars, furniture stores and now own a chain of restaurants too. Despite the many ventures her family were part of, she was never pressured to do anything specific career wise. The London born powerhouse spent her final teenage years carving out a future that has now manifested itself in the form of stunning luxury pieces guaranteed to hug every woman in all the right places. “I learnt a lot from them,” she states, referring to her parents. “I also was originally buying in small numbers, so I could grow comfortably as the brand grew. I’ve made mistakes and learnt from them - there’s no way of avoiding mistakes and you wouldn’t want to. Natural instinct plays a large role too. I tend to trust my gut to make all decisions" Conna finishes in response to being asked about where she picked up her business acumen.
House of CB is headquartered in London and consists of a small but effective team which Conna loves. “We have large teams across our production and retail though, as we own our own factories and warehouses.” Conna admits that her leadership style is very hands on when it comes to the business. “Practically everything has to be approved by me.” She also told WOTC how she has built her global tribe over the years. “My team is the best; I’ve been doing this for 10 years so have had my fair share of team members that weren’t a right fit. It takes time and experience to find someone who is right for the brand and the team they work in. The more I have learnt and evolved, so has the brand and the team behind it and I’ve also learnt what works for us and what doesn’t in that time too. So, finding your tribe really means you have to know what your tribe is about and what it needs, which takes time and can change.”
Felisha TolentinoSocial media; particularly Instagram has been House of CB’s key marketing tool and has played a pivotal part in House of CB’s success. With emphasis on the current worldwide pandemic, businesses like House of CB have continued to thrive during this time having long built an extremely strong digital presence. “It’s been a huge role; without it, the brand wouldn’t be here. We started on Instagram when it was just becoming more mainstream, which was lucky as we managed to carve out a space early on. It’s quite a full marketplace now which can make it harder, but that just means you have to step your content up. It’s great to be able to see real-time responses, interact directly with clients, and it’s great for small brands which have little to no budget too.”
Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, House of CB have kept their community engaged through a number of giveaways and reductions. Customers also have the opportunity to be featured on their website and Instagram page wearing House of CB whilst at home and had access to a virtual beauty takeover with LA makeup artist Lina Mourey who has been part of Adrienne Houghton’s and Mariama Diallo’s glam squad. Following the recent events and the fight against racial injustice, House of CB have also shown their support by making a $20,000 donation to a number of organizations both in the UK and US and have also made it possible for customers to make donations too. Alongside this, Conna has also committed 15% of any House of CB profits made in the month of June to be dedicated to these organizations.
Felisha Tolentino