Sepiia
Not all founders are in the same boat. Federico Sainz de Robles was working in a textile lab when he wondered why clothing brands didn't move with the times. He figured if no one else was making attractive, practical, and durable clothing, he would. So he founded Sepiia, a Spanish clothing startup that operates at the intersection of fashion, technology and ecology. Instead of creating cheap, resource-intensive fast fashion items, Sepiia focuses on sustainable, high-quality items. Federico explains, "We designed our products to be attractive and comfortable, but also functional: they are stain resistant, wrinkle free and odor free. And because they're locally produced and require fewer washes and less maintenance, their water footprint is 87% smaller than conventional products and their carbon footprint 53% smaller." When customers no longer need a garment, they can dispose of it guilt-free by participating in Sepiia's easy-to-use recycling program.
Sepiia's nine-person team was working in Valencia and considering returning to Madrid when another startup recommended that they look into the Google for Startups Residency: Madrid program. "As soon as we heard about it, we knew it was the perfect opportunity and the best place to go. And we were right," Federico recalls. As part of the seven-month program, Federico participated in weekly mentoring sessions as well as roundtable discussions where he shared his progress with the cohort. He looked forward to the monthly "theme day," where founders learned about successful startups that served as models for growth in a particular industry. At the annual Startup Advisors Summit, Googlers from around the world traveled to Madrid for a few weeks to mentor Federico and the other founders in their areas of expertise.
When COVID-19 hit Europe in early 2020, retail companies such as Sepiia had fallen to an almost historic low. Despite the slowdown in growth and in the spirit of giving back to its community, Sepiia donated enough fabric to produce 10,000 masks at the beginning of the pandemic. Fortunately, the relationship with Google didn't end when the Google for Startups residency program ended, and soon after, Google provided Sepiia with macroeconomic reports to help them understand the situation and how it was affecting the retail market. This allowed Sepiia to quickly adapt to changing consumer priorities. "Instead of focusing on our technology and the functionality of our garments, we communicated about our local production and the sustainable aspects of our garments, which people valued more than innovation at the time," Federico explains. "The key was to adapt, but you can't do that without information. After updating its positioning on Google Ads to focus on being local and sustainable, the company was able to triple its sales and regain the momentum it had before the pandemic. Today, Sepiia works with 14 suppliers and employs more than 500 people between its supplier network and its own team.
Throughout the process, "we learned a lot, including how to get the most out of Google's tools, which is a great asset for any business." On a daily basis, the team uses Google Analytics to measure key performance indicators and understand user behavior; Google Ads to reach new customers; and Google DataStudio to create useful dashboards. Every two weeks, the Sepiia team consults Google Search Console to get a sense of their company's ranking and visibility. They also consult Google Trends to identify new keywords for search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM), and Google Optimize to perform A/B testing.
