What Do Luxury Goods and Tech Have in Common?

Incorporating insights from multiple perspectives has always been a hallmark of SineWave Ventures’ investment decision-making.  At a recent Women’s Leadership Summit at the New York Stock Exchange, organized by Supermomos, I was surprised to find valuable insights from a very unexpected perspective: the world of luxury goods. Pauline Brown (former Chairman of LVMH USA & ex-MD at The Carlyle Group) spoke about the value of early brand development, in addition to product development, as a determinant of success in luxury goods companies. It struck me that this concept readily translates into the world of technology.  Many tech companies fail to thrive not because they do not have good technology but because they struggle to gain market traction in noisy, complex environments. Perhaps if they developed a brand, a clear concise expression of what they are and why they are special, they would succeed in breaking through the noise. We need to find founders that can speak to the market in a way that captures hearts, not just brains.