Today I am talking to Xantal Farnós Vidal, CEO and co-founder of Vandômian – a one-of-a-kind online shopping destination. I was visiting Man Repeller one day, when I saw a banner of Vandômian. The name intrigued me because it immediately made me think about Place Vendôme in Paris. Besides being known for housing the Ritz and the most famous fashion houses of the XIXth and XXth century, Place Vendôme was and still is the place to be for fine jewellers like Cartier, Bulgari and Repossi. That is why I was glad to discover that Vandômian was a jewellery online retailer. With brands like Charlotte Chesnais, Ileana Makri and Annelise Michelson to name but a few, Xantal is carving her path in a market that has yet to be explored. With a background in Civil Engineering and Management, Xantal who is also the CEO of Vandômian is creating a platform specialised in selling contemporary fine and semi-fine jewellery. So far, I have never seen such a venture so interviewing her felt like diving into a whole new world. Xantal is a pioneer and hearing her story from how being part to the Lean In Circle – a community supporting women that helped her launch her business to how she managed to get some of the most promising jewellery designers on board is a feast for the ears, so put those headphones on!
On her background…
I’m from Barcelona and I recently co-founded Vandômian – an e-tailer exclusively focusing on contemporary designer jewellery for women. We are in the early stages and I am really happy that I finally decided to launch my own project. Besides from that, I studied Civil Engineering here in Barcelona and I did my Management Degree in HEC Paris. During this time I lived a few years in-between Paris and London.
I am really into fashion and jewellery but I am also a little bit of a nerd. I like maths, analysis and I am a very outgoing person, I love going to the mountains and to the sea.
On how she ended up creating Vandômian…
I couldn’t find the jewellery that I liked. So I thought about creating something related to it and then I started thinking how I wanted to go about it. I thought online there were a lot of things to explore for jewellery. The idea didn’t come to my mind in one day, this is something I gave a lot of thought. Then you start thinking ‘what’s my need?’ and my need was I couldn’t find jewellery and I wanted to find it somewhere. I started thinking how I wanted to do this so, that was a long thinking process.
Up until now, I haven’t found someone that exclusively focuses on designers’ jewellery despite brands having their e-shop. I researched a lot at the beginning to find if there was a project like mine and I didn’t find anything so I decided to go for it and launch Vandômian.
On the power of women standing for each other and how being part of a community contributed to build Vandômian…
Lean in
I was having a bit of a difficult situation at my workplace and reading this book I could picture myself in some of the stories she was telling. So I wanted to know more about it and I found in Barcelona there was a Lean In circle so I joined. A Lean In circle is a group of women sharing their objectives, fears and challenges – at least, that’s how ours works. We try to help one another, it’s kind of a support group for women.
The first meeting I went to, I explained my project and told them it was related to fashion jewellery. You know, just by saying that you become accountable. We see each other once a month so they ask about it, they try to help and because you are accountable to them, you keep pushing yourself to then see your project take form. That’s why the Lean In circle has been important for building Vandômian but, also it has made me a more assertive person, more aware about certain situations. So it has helped me professionally and personally.
Our circle is around 10 people and there are always the same. You have the point of view of everyone and in the end, you end up taking their opinions into account. More than mentorship I would say it’s supporting each other. The circle we have is very heterogeneous, some are from Kenya, Belgium and people are coming from different professional background.
On being a CEO of a startup…
My role is really diverse. On one side I am in charge of the strategic decisions and on the other one, I am the one who let know my team how I want these decisions to be implemented. I am also a connector among them.
I am in charge of analyzing a lot of data to know how to move forward. And because we are a small team I am basically doing everything. Whatever needs to be done, I’m there!
I also have a lot of say in buying.
On how having a career in management and finance helped her build Vandômian…
Working in management and finance is how I started Vandômian. When you start a project, you do it with what you know. And I what I knew were business plans and financial modelling. I think you have to start where your expertise is because this is where you feel the most comfortable in. It has helped me a lot, especially at the beginning. Everything I didn’t know, I learned on the job.
On how she managed to bring on board some of the biggest names in the industry and what are the criteria to be on Vandômian…
Just knocking at their door. You try to contact them, tell them your project and try to bring them on board. It’s not easy. At the beginning, you will receive a lot of no’s but you will also have people seeing value in your project and seeing you are bringing something different to the industry. These are the people that actually matter. Some brands like Charlotte Chesnais, Annelise Michelson and Uribe were really committed and really believed in it since the very beginning. If they see value in your project, they will want to be on board.
I am very grateful they accepted to listen to me at the beginning. You know, it wasn’t easy, I was nobody in the fashion industry. I didn’t have any connection, it all started from an email. If they don’t answer, you try again politely and then you have many meetings. It’s just perseverance and having a project that really adds value to them.
For a brand to be at Vandômian, it has to have avant-garde designs that bring something different to the industry. Most of the designers we have on board produce where they design so, they have full control over the production process. The outcome is really great quality of their designs and products. Also, the fine jewellery designers we work with have their stones sourced ethically. Last thing, they have to have a story to tell, and this is really important. Take a brand like Uribe, their pieces are inspired by their background and they use a lot of lapis-lazuli sourced in the home country of the designer.
I think brands found it strategic to be on Vandômian. There was no project like ours out there. I think they found it was a good place to be for them. They also liked our criteria of selection. They knew who was going to be there – be it an emerging designer or a more established one – I think they wanted to know who was going to be there.
On building a niche business…
If you have a vision and you think it can work, definitely go for it. I wouldn’t change my path for anything. You never know how a business will turn out but what I know for sure is that if I didn’t try I would have regretted it my whole life. So if you have a vision whatever the industry, definitely go for it.
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