Erika Nilsson-Humphreys founded Dappad to help men dress well while making zero effort. Here, she tells us the story of her clothing curation brand.

Dappad is a clothing curation service that aims to help men “dress well with zero effort”. In founder Erika Nilsson-Humphrey’s words, it creates “minimalist and high-quality capsule wardrobes” with items hand-picked by stylists and delivered to the customer’s door.

Dappad aims to take the hassle out of clothes shopping by providing its service for free – even shipping is free – and the client only pays for the clothes they keep.

Nilsson Humphrey wants the brand to help men “find the joy of dressing well”. We caught up with her to find out more about the business’ story so far.

What is Dappad’s business model?

We make money as a normal retailer – whole sale to retail margin.

How do you measure success?  

If we are happy and feeling aligned with what we are doing, making money at the same time as we’re making a difference in the world.

Growth plans for Dappad: Do you plan to trade globally, enter new markets, etc. in the next 12 months?  

We are in constant growth mode and northern Europe is a growth area.

How did you fund your business? 

I put in my savings and then I had an angel investor.

What technology does Dappad clothing absolutely rely on and why? 

We need a front-end system where we use type form and then a back-end CRM system and we will start to develop in-house algos to optimise how we pick clothes for our men.

Where do you see Dappad in five years?

We will turn over 10 times the money that we do now and fashion will become a more conscious and “less is more” type of industry.

What is your greatest business achievement?  

The best and the worst go together. I managed to have Dappad up and running as I was undergoing cancer treatment which is a big achievement, but at the same time it’s also the worst one because of the stress and health impact it had on me.

What would you tell your younger self?

To relax, all is well and will be well.

What do you want to see from the government in an ideal world?  

To tell the truth when it comes to health and the environment. Make people understand that they themselves can take control of their health with what they eat and do. as well as how they live their everyday lives impact the environment.

What is your biggest piece of advice to other entrepreneurs?

Don’t try and grow too quick but build a foundation and then grow. Also, trust your intuition!

What would make you a better leader? 

To speak my truth in a confident way.

What is your daily routine?

I get up to meditate 5.30, then have a cup of hot water with lemon and a green juice. Then my daughter gets up and I get us ready then take her to school. I then go to the office and am there for most of the day. In the afternoon, I try and do some sort of exercise, whether it’s yoga or boxing. Then home to my daughter, dinner with her and my husband, and some sort of relaxation and Netflix and bed early at 9.30.

I need balance and health as a priority then other things just flow.

 

 

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