In 1995, Jessica Iclisoy borrowed $2,000 from her mother to launch the natural baby products company California Baby. Today, Iclisoy is worth an estimated $260 million, according to Forbes.
Her biggest takeaway from her 20 years in business? You can't rush success.
At the Iconic Tour in Los Angeles, the California Baby founder says that adhering to the company's values of creating high-quality products has helped keep business growing so rapidly.
This means moving at your own pace and not according to a competitor's time table, says Iclisoy.
Iclisoy admits that it's difficult to not be "spooked" by a competitor's speed especially as they come out with the new "it products." However, she says that she continuously brings herself back to the center and core of what California Baby is about.
"I don't try to compete with my competitors," she says. "I really just try to do what we do, the best that we can do it and then I feel like the consumer will recognize that."
Iclisoy says that fads always come and go. Therefore, she doesn't want to chase them in order to boost revenue. Why? Because, she says, she will not only lose her focus, but also her customers.
Iclisoy adds that she saw this strategy in action in a previous job. Prior to founding California Baby, she worked for the Tunisian-born fashion designer Azzedine Alaia.
There, she learned that product is "queen," which influenced how she soon came to run her own company.
"The product rules. It's the beginning and the end," says Iclisoy.
The businesswoman says that while working for Alaia, she saw that he was very "technically specific" and he wouldn't be rushed. The designer would often be late for fashion shows if he felt that his clothes weren't up to par.
"That's where I learned not to be rushed," says Iclisoy. "If the product isn't ready, it isn't ready...and I learned that and I take some strength from that."
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