Who We Are

In 2019, Baeyoung was a company that started the same way that most ideas start: with a conversation between two complete opposites. One (Gerson) is a gadget-obsessed computer science student, self-taught web developer and programmer from Cape Town, and the other (Lerato) is an LLB graduate, writer, aspiring novelist and visual artist from Pretoria.

Through talking and an increasing mutual interest in each other’s fields of discipline, it became clear to us that there weren’t enough brands that functioned as an online global voice to the modern day experiences of young ethnic identities. We realised that there was a growing need for the representation of old and new sophisticated products and ideas that challenge western narratives of what is considered relevant in social culture, and stylish in fashion identity.

We decided that the best way to change the status quo was to provide a platform that merges the arts and technology in order to create and celebrate authentic, meaningful products that cater to this need for representation and that boost human-to-human connection by having a positive socio-economic impact. We did this by creating an online clothing store and an online content site that stand as our promise to fulfill this need to validate underrepresented voices and communities, giving them a fun and intimate space of nostalgia, present-day experiences, and futuristic discovery that relates to who they are.

What We Stand For

In a world that is saturated with information and consumerism, we wanted to provide a platform that would make our customers feel human and seen. Instead of feeding the overwhelming and dissatisfying experiences of a capitalist culture whose focus is on maximising profits, at Baeyoung, we do the opposite: maximise the experience of a superior connection by building not just a healthy relationship, but a strong bond with our customers. Our purpose is to offer ideas and products that people can relate to on the deeply personal levels of self-expression, personal struggle and success, culture, history, ethnicity and racial background, heritage, and self-discovery. We believe that people are always in the process of growth and recreating themselves, and we wanted to encourage this creativity of the individual by providing a space in which people feel welcomed to pursue this journey of self-realisation and freedom of expression.

Taking Action

Between the two of us, we were armed with one laptop and two minds that were determined to make it work. Fast-forward to 2020: after several months of planning and building our own website (because we could not afford a fancy professional developer), the Baeyoung clothing store went live with only one blog article and a product deal we were still hoping to land.

We dived into the endless opportunities that the internet has to offer in order to educate ourselves about marketing and awareness creation that channels like social media and web presence afford, making use of networking, ad campaigns, blogging/content creation, and word-of-mouth style brand awareness.

Our Hustle Strategy

Selling online is not the same as selling in person. The online experience runs the danger of being alienating, because of a lack of human contact. In addition to this challenge, people quickly lose attention and they are tired of marketing strategies that feel like marketing strategies. Our engagement with our audience eschews this aggressive approach in favour of a more humanitarian attitude that is in line with our values:

• We make use of software to create a user-friendly experience when customers visit our website and engage with our content.
• We inspire valuable conversations about relevant issues by publishing influential, thought-provoking articles on the blog site, and by encouraging readers to engage with us and with one another on our social media pages. This is a strategy that creates a better engagement experience with our customers and enforces a sense of community. By educating our customers about a product, we want them to feel a connection to the product that they buy, and this fosters new relationships with our audience while strengthening existing ones.
• We run ad campaigns and measure the successes and failures of the ad campaigns through the use of technological metrics that help us to predict the viability of the success of future ad campaigns, and through learning about the conversion of potential customers into successful sales.
• We continue learning about how we can grow as a business, and we aim to improve our existing skill-set through continued education and the development of healthy, sustainable business practices that ensure the permanent longevity of the business.

The First Product Deal We Finally Landed

We offer two good examples of our business in action. The first one would be the introduction of the internationally famous shoe brand, Feiyue to a South African audience.

It is a brand that was relatively unheard of in our country, and what attracted us to it was its deep, heritage significance to it’s people and the cult-like vintage status it is famous for worldwide.

Our marketing strategy focused on creating content that promoted the values that the brand represents and sharing this information on different social media platforms in order to generate awareness about the brand.

The purpose of our methods was to encourage a connection between the South African consumer and the brand. We did this by creating content that explored the shared historical identity between a South African consumer and the heritage significance of the brand. Our published articles discussed the link between Feiyue and the current social sub-cultures of hip-hop, martial arts as a form of practising cultural pride, the growing demand for comfortable fashion, as well as vintage streetwear, all of which are lifestyle and fashion disciplines that the brand embodies and that South Africans are familiar with.

We combined the mediums of both art and technology to achieve this objective through the use of editorial copywriting, content writing, photography, music, as well as video content to provide our audience with a tangible experience of the product.

The second example of our business in practise is in regard to two articles published in light of current social matters in our country. One was a review of the internationally critically acclaimed South African series, ‘Blood and Water’, and the second was an essay that was written in honour of Women’s Month, and which celebrates the rising political and social awareness of women’s rights in our continent. A playlist and photographs formed part of the Women’s Month feature.

This approach, of marrying technology, via our website, and art, via the content we produce, is the basis of creating a wholesome business identity for our brand as Baeyoung.

Our Future Goals

Part of our broader objective is to use technology to make online spaces more accessible, transparent, and useful to individuals of our communities, both in South Africa and Africa. The first step in realising this aspect of our vision is the inception of our retail apparel store.

In the long-run, regarding this aspect of Baeyoung, we aim to be an established and trustworthy global source of tastefully curated collections of local fashion designers, especially fresh and emerging artisans, selected vintage and antique garments, bespoke, and new items from around the world that boast a rich ethnic identity, culture and heritage.

Once the business has developed into a more established operation in the community, the second step is to create products that solve problems in education, as well as social and environmental affairs. For example, it is becoming increasingly clear that a degree is no longer absolutely necessary in order for someone to lead a fulfilling life. While formal education has value, it is good news for those who cannot afford expensive university and college fees. Our future role in this dynamic environment of education, socio-economic and collective-developmental human rights would be to provide an educational programme or product that is geared toward empowering creatives in poorer communities to take advantage of the many opportunities that online platforms and the internet have to offer. Through the creation of this free programme, we hope to share information on our journey as a business and the things that we have learned so that people can replicate our success. By giving people a tool that they can implement in practise, we can inspire and show them how to pursue alternative career paths in self-employment and remote working, which are in high demand in our country and continent.

How Winning Will Improve Our Chances of Success

As a company that is in it’s early stages of growth, being one of the winning contestants of the Shoprite Hustle competition would give us the opportunity to grow our business substantially.

We will use the funds to upscale the skills levels of our team through reputable online courses in the fields of data science, artificial intelligence, journalism and writing courses, videography, fashion, and business. We will use the funds to acquire better equipment, such as computers, as well as professional but reasonably priced second-hand camera equipment. These items will enhance better data and video processing, and allow us to improve the quality of our software and content. The funds will also be used to provide training and equipment for out-sourced fashion designers, in order to substantially elevate the quality and quantity of their output.

The injection of funds gives us the much needed cash flow that will allow us to test and implement ideas that we could not implement before, such as flexible returns and exchange policies – practises which are intrinsically customer-focused, because they ensure that our consumers have the best possible experience when interacting with us and they are practises that will greatly improve the personal quality of our service.

Finally, winning the competition will give us the chance to improve our business skills through the GetSmarter online business course – an opportunity that we were both delighted about when we came across the competition. Finding structured information and personal tutoring is difficult and largely expensive, which means that the GetSmarter business course will be an invaluable experience to us, one that will give us strong guidance in the uncertain world of entrepreneurs.

The Shoprite Hustle competition is an exciting and valuable opportunity and we are grateful that the Shoprite company is creating these types of possibilities for people like us. We sincerely hope that you will look favourably on our application.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Regards,

Lerato Ramodike
Gerson Calete