Tata Prada: From Employees to Entrepreneurs. The Family Footwear and Handbag Business

Tata Prada: From Corporate Employees to Fashion Entrepreneurs — The Story of Daniel and Javier Prada

Magneto Pymes' “Between Entrepreneurs” space is pleased to present Daniel Prada and Javier Prada, founders of Tata Prada, a Colombian brand of bags and footwear with more than a decade in the market. In this talk, the Prada brothers share with us the beginnings of their business, how they combine their family relationship with the business environment and the journey that led them to leave their corporate careers to build a solid brand.

Presentation, Origin of the Name and Initial Roles of Tata Prada

The Brand and its Founders

• Host: “Today we are accompanied by Daniel and Javier from a company called Tata Prada, which is dedicated to the production of bags and footwear.”

• Daniel Prada: “My name is Daniel Prada and my brother [Javier] and I are the brand.” Javier adds: “We are brothers and we are the brand. We want [to tell them] that there is another sister that makes up the essence of this company.”

The Origin of the Name “Tata Prada”

Javier explains that the name came from the need to find something “eye-catching that you will like”.

“The name Tata Prada was born because our last name really is Prada. Between searching for different names, we came to Tata Prada, which is a combination of the sister's name with other things. When it worked, it attracted attention, had a good connection, people started to like it, and it had Remembrance.”

Roles within the Company

Despite being three brothers, the areas were naturally defined:

• Daniel: It focuses on the area commercial.

• The sister: Work the part of design and fashion.

• Javier: It takes care of the most administrative.

From Corporate to Own: The Leap of Entrepreneurship

The Initial Idea and the First Footwear Order

Daniel recounts how the idea was born, after more than 10 years in the market.

• Daniel Prada: “It was born from an idea of wearing shoes and Make women happy... I worked in the commercial part of Almacenes Éxito and one day I had the idea of offering women's footwear because I saw that women were falling in love with shoes.”

Watching a “business opportunity”, decided to start. But how did they go from idea to production?

• Daniel Prada: “At first we didn't know anything about production. We went to a maquila that made, to our liking, the designs, with the colors and shapes we wanted. We send to do six pairs of shoes.”

First Sales: An Unexpected Success

• Daniel Prada: “When they gave us those first six samples, we took them to the companions [of Success]... we didn't know how we were going to do. And that day we sold like 20 pairs of shoes Among those who liked the first one, she told the other friend, and all the areas.”

This was the key impetus for the Diversification and learning:

Daniel Prada: “We said: 'No, women really like shoes, we have to get more into the subject of learning how they are made, knowing about delivery times'.”

What was the “Trigger” for Leaving Corporate Stability?

Leaving the security of a salary in a large company like Almacenes Éxito was a “difficult decision”.

• Daniel Prada: “From the three of us, we wanted to be building a company that could help more people, we could have more employees, we could be as a person and as a family, but also give the opportunity to other sectors.”

The decision was not based on “total certainty”, but in the determination.

• Javier Prada: “What prompted us to make that decision was the desire to move forward, the desire to do something different, the desire to set up a company, to do something our own.”

• Daniel Prada: “If you have the perseverance And the resiliency, and knowing that you have a good product, a different product and that you have an audience that is accepted, you go ahead with the company.”

👨👩👦 Family Dynamics and the Challenges of Sibling Entrepreneurship

The Role of the Family in Business

Working as siblings is a common question that they approach naturally.

• Javier Prada: “The family part is a part that people ask us a lot and that sometimes seems a little strange to people... 'But how are they able to work as brothers? '”

The key, according to Javier, is the family unit from the start.

Javier Prada: “From the beginning, we have been a very united family: parents, siblings, everyone. That has made it easier for us to carry a Good relationship in every sense... they don't end up being serious things.”

Discipline, Capital, and Overcoming Challenges

Entrepreneurship involves many everyday challenges:

• Discipline: “The first thing you have to have is a discipline when you don't have bosses.”

• Capital: “At times you need capital, you need other learning.”

• Management: Solve “chicharrones” with staff, suppliers, banks and government entities.

The Impact of the Pandemic and Digital Transformation

The pandemic was a critical moment, forcing a physical store to close, but it also boosted the resiliency.

• Daniel Prada: “That strength we had to move the company forward gave us the opportunity to create other commercial channels... strengthen the whole digital theme a little more, the whole subject of tataprada.com, the topic of social networks.”

• Javier Prada: “Catalogs are born, all the sales online that helped us to reinforce... We started to ship by messengers.”

Tata Prada's Business Philosophy and Future Vision

The Human Team and the DNA of the Brand

Tata Prada has grown from a few to more than 40 people between direct and indirect.

• Daniel Prada: “For us it has always been important that both we, as brothers and as a family, give that warmth of home to our close friends who are part of the Tata Prada family.”

The company seeks that its team is identify with your philosophy and convey the essence of the brand.

Purpose and Human Quality

• Javier Prada: “The most important thing is service and keeping that human quality among all... is not how to treat people as a product, but as what they are: persons that are really evolving and constantly changing.”

What's Next for Tata Prada? Dreams and Growth Channels

The brand has an ambitious vision, driven by constant evolution.

• Daniel Prada: “We dream of a much larger company in terms of personnel, that we can have allies everywhere in Colombia... We hope to strengthen each of the channels: what is the online stores part, what is the physical store part, what is the part of exports as a company and products to other countries.”

They seek to continue offering a value proposition focused on female audience, with trending products that maintain a “young spirit” and that adapt to different occasions of use.

Final Message and Invitation to Start

Daniel Prada: “I want to tell all the people who want to start a business that Believe in your dreams, that they believe in what they are doing, that they have the strength to move forward and [with] they will surely do very well.”

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