Transcript - Dr. Guido Lang

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Joshua Williams: Retail Revolution is a special, limited podcast created specifically for retailing and service design. A unique course that is part of the Fashion Management graduate program at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Each episode features in depth conversations with guest experts in omnichannel retailing, with myriad perspectives, technology, consumer engagement, data analytics, merchandising, and more. We pay special attention to the short and long term challenges and implications of Covid-19 and potential opportunities to rethink retail's future. Retail Revolution is produced by Joshua Williams and hosted by Christopher Lacy, both our Assistant Professors in the School of Fashion at Parsons.

Christopher Lacy: Hello, and welcome to another episode of Retail Revolution. I'm your host Christopher Lacy, and joining me today is an experienced academic entrepreneur with an extreme passion for technology and education. He is currently a visiting researcher at UNESCO and his co-founder and CTO of Check Samples.  

Welcome to the show, Dr. Guido Lang. 

Guido Lang: Thanks Chris. Happy to be here. 

Christopher Lacy: Awesome. I'm glad that you were able to make time.  How are things in Paris? 

Guido Lang: Actually, I'm happy to say that today's the first day that the restaurants and cafes are back open; parks opened yesterday, so it's really nice to see, you know, slowly people being on the streets again and enjoying life as it used to be. 

Christopher Lacy: Ah, I can't wait till that happens here in New York. So, Dr. Lang tell our listeners...

Guido Lang: Go with Guido. Don't worry about the doctor. 

Christopher Lacy: All right, that works. I was like, you know, you work hard for that PhD, so I don't want to not use it.

so tell our listeners about yourself please. 

Guido Lang: Sure, sure. I mean, as you were saying, I'm an academic entrepreneur. What that means, I'm currently an Associate Professor of computer information systems at Quinnipiac University, which is pretty close to New York city, right outside there in Hamden, Connecticut. And, there I founded the app development lab, which helps students, you know, build mobile applications and math applications, and the founding board  member of the Center for Innovation Entrepreneurship, which similarly was all about helping students start their companies, launch their products and get into market.

And, as you were also saying, I'm now currently here in Paris as a visiting researcher, I'm on sabbatical. I got a one year sabbatical, so I was fortunate to be here for a year and work with UNESCO on my research on digital skills. In terms of entrepreneur experience, I'm a bit of a serial entrepreneur.

I started actually quite young right out of high school awhen I was 17 with my first company, which was a web development agency, if you will. And, you know, that's how I got my hands started and the whole tech business doing web development and, and going from there and multiple startups.

And now I'm on number five, which is actually a startup called Check Samples in the healthcare technology space. So we can talk more about that later as well. But, in a nutshell, sort of, that's me. 

Christopher Lacy: That's an amazing path you've had since the age of 17, because you then at a very early age knew that you wanted to create something new, that you wanted to change, your approach and the way things were working.

And so you always had this entrepreneur, I guess, underside to you that was there. So, I guess my first question to you would really be considering you started that at age 17, what were your biggest challenges that you faced when developing your startups and your companies, from that time to now?

Guido Lang: Yeah. I guess there are some similarities.  So my startups actually were all over the place. I was saying there was a web development agency involved there. I did something in education did something in ebook publishing. There was a peer to peer lending platform in there. So, really it's, it's been all over the place and now currently healthcare. But, I always focused on B2B, problems. So I, I guess. You know, I'm a no frills kind of guy. I love solving complex problems with technology really, and with simple solutions at that. So, this talk is not going to be something, you know, fancy about VR and AR and blockchain and all that good stuff. But, really my focus is much more using the short technologies and solving problems that just have been overlooked thus far. And, I think one of the biggest problems always when you think of a startup, especially in the B to B space, is that people might not realize that there is a problem, that technology can actually make their lives better and make their lives much easier, and their work as well. And so I think it's sometimes tricky to uncover those problems because people don't even realize that they have those problems. And then of course, getting them to change, right. And implementing a new solution that's, that's always a challenge no matter what industry you're in. And, I've been struggling with that, but also, honestly, it's a lot of fun. So that's, that's why I keep doing it. 

Christopher Lacy: So, one of your specialties, when we talk about your startups and what you do, is around understanding the user experience and the user experience, really, you kind of understand it through assessing those problems like you just talked about. There's a, there's a problem and your goal is to find the solution. 

Many of our students and quite a few of our listeners, they're at a point where they are assessing how to change, or how to develop a startup or develop their company in a way that ,answers questions or solves problems to a current system that has some breaks in it.

In your time, what have you seen that are mistakes to those wishing to launch an app or a startup when it comes to developing their user experience? 

Guido Lang: I think the number one thing that I've seen over and over is a lack of focus. I know it seems, it seems obvious, but when you have an idea for any product, any startup for that matter, it's very easy to sort of, you know, keep growing that idea in your mind and trying to solve all kinds of related problems with it. I think the most important thing, honestly, for anyone launching their own startup or product is to focus, be laser sharp, focus on a particular problem that you want to solve and just solve that. 

This whole concept out there, which your listeners may be familiar with, which is the minimum viable product or MVP for short, which really sort of gets to the core of that idea that the first product that you bring out to market, the first thing that your customers or potential customers can sort of interact with, should really just focus on solving one core problem, addressing one core need and doing that well.

So, usually when you look at products today, the things that we use, they have so many bells and whistles attached to them, but that's not how they started. Most of the successful startup products started out very simple with a very fundamental problem and need that was solved with no thrills attached, and I think that's one of the biggest problems that I see startups struggling with this lack of focus. It's very easy to get sidetracked. 

And, on top of that, I think then the number two is, I see many students, as I said, I work with many students, you know, working on their own startups, very quickly wanting to build for scale, although they don't even have one user yet.

And that  honestly, and I'm just as guilty of many of these mistakes myself. Right? So, it's very tempting, because you can control what you build, but you can't control your market's response to it. Right? So it's very tempting to still be very invested in what is it that you're building, your product. And in my case, that's usually digital products, so websites, and many times then you're tempted to build them already in the very beginning so that they can scale to millions of users. And that's, that's really a waste of time, a waste of resources.  so I always suggest to students, or fellow faculty that want to start something is, start with a very simple tool. Use something that you know, and these days it's really cool, there are so many great tools out there  in this whole no code and low code space where anyone really with very little tech skills can develop actually functioning MVPs, bring them out to market, and do that really with simple tools.

So, yes, they may not scale to millions of users, but guess what? When you actually have a successful product, you can always, you know, hire the right people to set up the project and product for you so they can go scale up for, for the millions of users that you're hopefully going to have. But, that's a big one.

And the last , I find that many don't have a plan on how to get the first users. That's a big one as well. So oftentimes, you know, you have an idea and you think like, you know, this app would be great, or this has resolved the problem, but then you just build it and that's it. And you hope somehow that the world magically, you know, comes across your product and everybody's gonna use it. But, that really doesn't happen. So, I find that it's really important to have a concrete plan of how you're actually going to get, let's say your first 10 users, and then the first 100. But, start small. But, it usually involves, you know, rolling up your sleeves. you know, if you're doing something in the B to C space. You got to figure out how to invite your target users, the ones that you want to work with. Maybe go for your friends or influencers, but you've got to find them somewhere and contact them. Reach out. And then the same is true in the B2B space. You know, they are, of course, it's oftentimes more difficult if you're working with large enterprises to sell something to them. But you know, you, you gotta work your way through connections. I do cold calls. You go to conferences. I mean, you really have to sort of, get out there and just, you know, convince people to try your, as of yet untested product, and hopefully to get to your first, you know, first user, first two, first five, and, and grow from there.

But, I find most lack this sort of this very concrete idea and they might just say something general like, you know, I'm going to put online ads out there or something like that. But in my experience, really it doesn't work that way. You got to start with, you know, one-on-one connections, one on one conversations with your potential users and and grow from there.

So, I think those three, like a focus, you know, this idea of building for scale from day one, and then no plan for your first users, are really the biggest problems that I see over and over. And, as I said, it's very easy to make those mistakes. I've done to myself as well. 

Christopher Lacy: Everything you just said, it's a proper strategy, right? I mean, that's really what a strategy does. It's your roadmap. But before you even really get to that roadmap and you start going through the process, I'd love to know, because you've done this so many times, what did you do in the moments where you were like, Oh my gosh, don't know if I'm going in the right direction. Wait, maybe this is the wrong idea. No one's going to like this idea. You know? And there's always that moment when you're birthing something new, right? Where you, you have a moment where you second guess yourself. And then there are times where you're like, I know this is exactly what's supposed to happen, and then no one is interested in it. Right? 

So  how did you approach that? 

Guido Lang: It's, it's tricky, honestly, because I'm a realist myself. So, I think it helps if you are a really strong optimist that might, might help, but I'm a realist. So, it happens quite often, that in effect all of my startups, I always have a co-founder. I'm never the sole founder of any of my companies, because I know myself, I, I'm a social guy. I am a realist, as I said, and I might overthink and doubt too much at times. So, it's important for me to have a cofounder that is an optimist, someone that sees the vision as I see it, but we'll relentlessly push forward and, and that helps.

  And that's the case right now with my co-funder as well. He's a real optimist and he keeps pushing and then oftentimes, you know, I balance that a bit, you know, because I say, Hey, what about this? That might be an issue, or here's a problem. How should we tackle that? And so I think we have a great balance, sort of going on where one of us keeps pushing the other one in my case, keeps asking, I think that the critical questions, which are important as well. So, ideally, I guess you have both of those sides in you as one person.  It's not the case for me. but I think, you know, choose your co-founders wisely, choose your team and take it from there.  But, it's a challenge, honestly. I mean, I keep doubting myself too, you know, in the beginning, you end up doing the big stuff. You end up doubting, you know, if that's a problem at all that's worth solving. Right? At a certain point, you know, we've been at it now for a number of years, and you know, our software is used by many, many clinics in the U S and, and almost all of the big pharma companies. So, we're at a place now where, we have proven the basic problem and our solution, and it's a matter of scaling that up. But, you know, even then you have small dots, but you know, what is the right way to do what is the right way to go about it. And I think, then my academic side helps as well because I'm very, you know, I'm a data guy. I love  making data driven decisions. So, I'm always for just trying out something, doing a quick experiment, you know, collect some data, see what works. So, if you're unsure about which rate to go, I think the best way is not to listen to someone that gives you good advice, but rather test it out. Get some data, even if it's very rudimentary. Do a few interviews, and then make a decisions based on that. They won't be perfect, but you know, they're the best that you have to work with, really. 

Christopher Lacy: Thank you so much for that.   There are two words that you said that jumped out to me. And one is, you said that you are a realist , that's your approach. And you said your co-founders, or your partner that you have now, is the optimist. And whenever anyone is talking to me about leadership or, becoming a founder, they tend to think in the terms of iQ. Right? Or they think of terms of EQ , emotional intelligence. And I always think that we overlook AQ, which is the ability to adapt. And, three components of adaptability is cognitive flexibility, it's emotional flexibility, and then what you just talked about is dispositional flexibility, which is this ability to remain optimistic while also maintaining realism.

It's a different and difficult skill to really grow, because when we all look at ourselves, we're like, I'm either optimistic, or if you view yourself as a realist, others view you as being pessimistic. Right? So, so it's hard because when you're being realistic about something, sometimes we consider the realism of something to actually not be that positive. So, I do think that's, that's something that you touched on, that I want listeners to understand, is when you're thinking about your startups and you're thinking about leadership, is understanding what your flexibilities are relative to adaptability, and then, you know, really start to build that and get comfortable on that. And if you recognize you don't have that ability, find someone who does to help you. 

Guido Lang: Yeah. 

Christopher Lacy: You mentioned before your startup is in healthcare and you've worked across many areas. First of all, can you tell our listeners what does Check Sample do?

Guido Lang: Sure, sure. So it's, it's relatively straight forward. As I said before, I love solving Interesting problems with specific technology, but Check Sample is really, in essence, is a drug sample and vendor management platform, and that's built for healthcare clinics and pharmaceutical companies. In particular, the medical sales reps and the core really of the problem that we uncovered, and then it was really my cofounder who had been in pharmaceutical sales for over 15 years at that point, he realized going into clinics that, you know, no matter the size of the clinic, you know, many of them have drug samples that doctors give out before writing a prescription, you know, to make sure that the patient tolerates the drug efficacy there and test for preference as well.

So, drug samples are used frequently before writing prescriptions, and they have a really crucial role in patient care. But, unfortunately, many clinics have either too many drug samples on hand, so that many of them expire. We found that's actually a multibillion dollar problem where many, many drug samples expire every year in the US and they have to be discarded properly, and that's a costly process for the clinics.

And at the same time, you know, you also have stockouts and that there are no drug samples available when the doctor would like to give them out to the patient. And that's of course a problem as well. So, we realized that clinics could benefit tremendously from having a simple inventory management system that allows them to sort of predict, you know, what stock levels do we need for our drug samples on hand, and then communicating that with the pharmaceutical sales reps so that they would know in turn, you know, how much samples to bring in and what the current inventory levels are. And that was really the essence of the problem and the essence of the solution that we began with. And that's really it.

So, of course then over time, you know, we expanded that out and added additional, parts to the puzzle to it additional problems you know, whether that's, you know, more in the vendor management space, working with credentialing or, you know, making appointments and that kind of stuff. But at the core, really, that's how we started. And I think that's also driving ideas, you know, to reduce waste in healthcare. In particular, reduce the waste around drug samples, because you know, before you toss any of them or discard them properly, you know, there's always someone in need, a potential patient out there that, you know, can't afford whatever medication they're on, and they could benefit tremendously from getting those free drug samples, and getting them out to patients instead of wasting them.

So, that's really our idea, is reducing that waste in the healthcare space. 

Christopher Lacy: So I have to be honest, when you just said that it, I didn't realize, because I've never worked in healthcare, how much waste there would be relative to samples, I don't think many people have ever thought about.

And if I think about how one industry can gain insight from another, it would be, here we are in fashion retail, and a constant conversation is waste, sustainability and transparency in the supply chain. 

Guido Lang: Hmm. 

Christopher Lacy: So, hearing what your platform does. I'm wondering if there's a way that this could also work in our retail industry.

Guido Lang: So, you know, again, my approach is focus. So, it's possible that there are similar problems in other industries such as retail.  I know, of course there's this work with showrooms and the showrooms have samples on hand and I don't know what they do with those samples at the end of the season. And, so it's possible they are some of the problems out there that could be solved with a similar system. But, of course for us, you know, it's all about focusing and solving one particular problem well. So for us, it's really important to stay sort of focused on healthcare space specifically, and dealing with that particular problem and finding out all the possible ways we can optimize solving that problem.

And so, you know, I'd be amiss to say, you know, you can use check samples in the fashion space, right? But, it's quite possible that there's the space, that there's the similar problem out there, and potentially the  solution could be of value. So it'd be, interesting for any of your listeners out there to take that idea and run with it in the fashion space. I'd be very curious to know and hear what's the state over there and see.... 

Christopher Lacy: Well, if none of the listeners do, I think I'll be in touch with you about how we can make this work out.

I'll you, you focus on check samples and then I'll figure out something for the retail space.

Guido Lang: Let's do it!

Christopher Lacy:  I probably would be the worst person to do a startup or deal with technology. Josh, the producer, I feel bad for him cause I'm always like, why isn't this working and how do I make this work? And I hate technology. So... 

Guido Lang: That's great though. That's how you have to start. I mean, all kidding aside, right? If you're a, if you're the complainer. That's great, because you know, you're, you're pointing to problems, right? That others may not see. So it's, it's great to have that again in your team as, as a cofounder as well, right? Someone who complains, resets what doesn't work, and then you of course, have to have someone that you can think of the solution as well and make it. But, I think it's crucial as a skill, right? To see what things don't work. Cause many people, quite frankly, they just move on with their work, right? They, they do the same things day in, day out. They never reflect. They don't even think what could be done differently or where there is a problem or there's inefficiency.

And so I think it's crucial to have that mindset to constantly keep complaining in a way, but look for problems that you can solve.

 Christopher Lacy: I think that's great. You bring that up , there is the need for those critical thinkers and critical thinkers are often the people who complain because they're pointing out, you know, holes in a, in a system. And I think there's so many systems we have right now, especially in, in the fashion industry where we've done things the same way for so long. And, and the fashion industry is not the only industry with that issue, right, where we are all just on autopilot. And so we're like, well, we do it this way because this is the way it's always been done and nobody thought we could stop doing it this way and go to another direction. So, those critical thinkers are complainer's are, are necessary. 

Guido Lang: It sometimes helps them outsiders, right, coming in. So, you know, just like we having this conversation now, right? I'm a complete outsider to the fashion world. And so, you know, I have worked on this kind of idea in a different space, but it's sometimes helps to have conversations like we're having right now to get different perspectives on your own industry. So, it might be hard because you're so ingrained in the way things have been always done in the industry to sort of look beyond that.

So, these kinds of conversations I think are really helpful, for, for myself and for everybody else, I'm, I'm hopeful as well to get that different perspective on things you've been always doing and start questioning.

Christopher Lacy: I think that needs to happen more often. And what I started doing three years ago when I was writing new trainings and things like that, I always wanted to talk to people outside of the fashion industry. As a matter of fact, I rarely spoke to people about a strategy or what could be done if they worked in the same industry that I'm in. So, you know, I talked to people who worked in hotels and car companies, and tech people, because what was interesting to me is when they would talk about their experience when they went to a retail store, right? Or their experience with how they perceived fashion. And it's funny to hear from them how they perceive it and how they engage with it because it's completely different for us who's been in the industry for 20 some odd years. Right? We just know what to do.

But for someone else who's coming into it, they're like, I don't understand these terms, these meanings. Why do you guys do this this way? We do it this way. And I think to your point, it's necessary. I think even more so now as we navigate the next normal. We're definitely going to have to rely on different industries to help us all succeed. Right? 

And I think, you know, speaking of helping everyone succeed, you're doing research right now at UNESCO, while you're on sabbatical. And I actually would love to hear more about the research you're doing because I think this is something that needs to also happen in the fashion retail space.

Guido Lang: So, before I even got to UNESCO, you know, ever since my academic life started really, I've been doing most of my research in computing education. So, you know, I love teaching. Honestly, I'm first and foremost a teacher. I, I love the interaction with the students. And now, of course, mostly online, but,  I need that. I love this back and forth, you know, and I find often times when you do teach something, it helps you also reflect on, on the way things are practiced and students ask good questions as well, and then help, you know, be critical about what is it that is being done in industry. So I've always been fascinated and interested in understanding how can we make computing education better.

So, I teach most of the technical subjects at my university. So, whether that's web development, mobile app development, web analytics  statistical programming, that kind of stuff. And I love doing that and bringing technical skills to nontechnical people really. I love, I really enjoy that. And so most of our research has been focused on how can we make the teaching of computing better, right?

What are the skills that people need when they go out in the job market and how can we best teach those skills?, And now I came to UNESCO with the idea to sort of broaden my horizon a bit, because I was very much focused on, you know, what's happening in my classroom in higher education in the US, and I came here to sort of say, okay, what's really happening in the bigger picture. And, I quickly came to realize that there's a a big problem  that's happening all over the world. Which is sort of this polarization in the labor market where, you know, we really have a reduction demand for all these middle skills jobs. And, we've seen increasing demand for the low skill side and for the very high skill side.

And I think that's really a big problem, right? In the longterm that will leave many people in either the low skill or hopefully, you know, in the high skill area, but it's really gonna create this hollowing out of the labor market, which is a problem. But, when you look at the labor market overall and the digital skill requirements of jobs, you can see that the jobs that, that meet digital skills, they are growing at a much faster pace and are paid much better than the ones that don't need digital skills.

So for me, it's sort of obvious that, you know, we need to grow digital skills out there in the workforce and do that in a way that's inclusive. Right? You know, women in tech or women in general with digital skills, if you look beyond the US that's still a big problem. And with outher minorities as well.

So, for me it was all about sort of, you know, how can we solve this sort of the big problem with digital skills to help the labor market and so I've interested in global digital skills initiatives, sort of ways that, you know, we can help develop digital skills outside of formal education and mapping some of those initiatives and seeing, you know, where are the gaps and what works.

So I look, for example, at coding bootcamps. Which you know, if you come from a traditional university like yourself as well, I find coding bootcamps have sort of quickly filled this void that, you know, many of the universities and other technical vocation institutions sort of left wide open because there's a demand for more tech skills in industry. And, we as education institutions didn't react fast enough and didn't provide the right skills. So, I was doing research and understanding, you know, how do they operate those coding boot camps? What kind of skills do they provide? How do they maintain agility, and what are some of the best practices around the management of coding boot camps, the pedagogies behind it, the curriculum.

And, and likewise, I've been looking at, corporate digital responsibility programs where you have large companies, you know, IBM, they run a skills academy. SAP that you were learning for life, and then Microsoft, Google, and others. Many of them have launched these digital skills initiatives where they're trying to give back and trying to, you know, help a digital, skilled workforce. And so we're looking at, you know, these different programs and initiatives to see what can we learn, what are some best practices that can be shared across initiatives. But, of course, also shared back with educators such as you and myself, that can help us, you know, bring the digital skills in the right way, to the right skills, taught in the right way to the students. So that's, in essence, what I've been working on here. 

Christopher Lacy: I love this project that you're doing because, when you talk about the global economy, the global labor market, we know that, in this next normal, it really is going to change, right? Because you're going to have companies that realized that they needed to diversify their supply chain. We will definitely see much more production coming from countries in Africa as they're developing at a faster rate. 38 of the top 50 fastest growing economies are in Africa. We know that there's going to be a surge for Vietnam, as we go into the next normal, things will become far more localized.

So, in saying all of that, what is someone who's in the workforce,  how do they kind of get their heels into digitization in the right way, without having to, you know, decide they're going back to school for another two years. What kind of advice would you give them so they are attractive on the market that they feel comfortable in being able to sustain and create new things in their current job. 

Guido Lang: Right. So I think that's the beauty is that you don't necessarily need to go back and get more formal education. As you know, universities now are forced to really think hard about their business models, right? And the rising costs of higher education. And, what I think is, you know, these initiatives that we've looked at, they've shown us that you can create meaningful learning experiences fully online. And you know, you can certify those with badges, for example, right? Or micro-credentials, certificates that, yes, they may not come from a traditional higher education provider, but at the end of the day, what matters in the workforce. What matters in industry is, you know, what are your skills? What can you actually do? So, my advice to anyone out there listening that feels, and really everybody should feel that, that there's a need  to upskill their digital skills. I say go out there and explore. There are so many free options out there, whether it's Udacity, Coursera, WedEx, you name it.  And the earlier academies that I mentioned as well, from the corporations. They're out there that you can, you know, learn stuff and get certified and get credentials for free or at other points, you know, for very little money, nothing comparable to what you would spend in higher education. And, you know, start with that. And then hopefully you find a course, something that forces you to actually build something, to do something. I think that's really crucial that you know, when you, when you have completed the course, you have to be able to go out and talk about what is it that you created. So, if it's maybe in the analytics space, right, where you learn how to deal with large amounts of data, analyze them and visualize them. You know, build a web application around that. Build a website that shows, you know, what have you done, what data have you analyzed, and what did you come up with? What are your recommendations? So, you can talk about something concrete that you've done that shows your skills and that goes beyond just saying, I've got this credential, I've got this badge, because at the end of the day, people want to see what can you do, whether that's, you know, building web applications on mobile apps or whether it's analyzing data. You have to sort of ask yourself which tech skills are relevant in your industry. And again, there are great resources out there to see for career trajectories, you know, what would be helpful for you to get as a next tech skill? So, I would start there understanding which tech skills are needed in your industry, you know, for you to advance and then going out, looking for free or low cost options to get those skills. Yes, get a little badge or credential on the side, but more importantly, get hands on experience that you can talk about it and you can show what skills you actually got.

Christopher Lacy: Thank you so much. I want to ask you just kind of a fun question here because, as you mentioned, you don't come from the retail and fashion space. Can you tell us what is the most frustrating thing you find about shopping. 

Guido Lang: Good question. So I'm going to... let me think about it. I'm probably the worst person to ask this question, because I'm a really weird guy. I love patterns and systems. So, you know, I literally own uhhhh six pants. six blazers, ten or twelve button shirts and four pairs of shoes. That's it. That's all I have. I mean, I'm, you know, a couple of jackets obviously for the winter, but that's about it.Really, I mean, I kid you not.   When I moved here to Paris, I came with two suitcases, you know, and that's all I have. I have nothing else less than New York City. That's all I have. And I'm going to go back to New York City again with the same two suitcases. So, I love the idea of knowing what I like and then, you know, recombining. So I'm, I'm sort of the antithesis to shopping for shopping sake. I don't really enjoy it much. I love having the few pieces that I like, being able to combine them. So, for me, it's always, you know, if I wanted to buy something new, would, the important question for me was like, how does it fit in and how can I maximize the compatibility with my existing wardrobe pieces, so that, you know that's not wasted. So I guess this whole idea of reducing waste goes through my personal life as well. If anything, I guess I could benefit from, here's my wardrobe and here's when I bought them. And that there will be a service that tells me these pieces will soon break or end their useful life. And, so you have to replace them. Here are the recommendations in order for you to further optimize your wardrobe. But again, I'm like a really weird guy in terms of shopping, I guess.

Christopher Lacy: No, I have to tell you what you just said has been something that's been in the back of my mind for quite some time and you, you actually are, would be a client that we would look at and say, you know, you're ideal for a replenishment program. Like, it makes it easy for you. 

Guido Lang: Yeah.

Christopher Lacy: But, there is this other idea that I've always had about, and it's funny because I did not know you were going to answer in that way, but it totally goes in line with that, which has a big smile on my face right now. 

So, Guido, how do people say up on what you're doing and your company and your research? 

Guido Lang: Sure. So just, I'd suggest connect with me on LinkedIn. I'm not much of a social media guy. I, you know, I like to focus on my work and stick to that. So if you would like to reach out via LinkedIn, I'm always happy to chat, always happy to connect. I've worked with, you know, a bunch of different companies and helped different startups. So, if you want to chat, you know, you have an idea, whether you're an established company or startup, happy to, you know, give feedback and guide you through the kinds of questions you need to ask. I'm so happy to share. So please, reach out. 

Christopher Lacy: Guido, this has been a very, very pleasant conversation. I'm so glad you made the time to speak with us today. Have a great remainder of the week and take care. 

Guido Lang: Thank you so much. It was my pleasure. Well, I'll be back in New York City come August, hopefully. So, I hope to see you guys then. 

Christopher Lacy: Yeah. We'll find a French bistro. 

 Guido Lang: Okay. Thank you.

Joshua Williams: Thank you for listening to this episode of Retail Revolution, a very special thank you to everyone who has helped make this podcast possible. Our guests, our students and fellow faculty at Parsons School of Design, especially in such an extraordinary and unprecedented time. Our theme music was composed by Spencer Powell. Be well, and stay tuned for our next episode.

www.RetailRevolutionPodcast.com

Joshua T Williams

Joshua Williams is an award-winning creative director, writer and educator.  He has lectured and consulted worldwide, specializing in omni-channel retail and fashion branding, most recently at ISEM (Spain) and EAFIT (Colombia), and for brands such as Miguelina, JM, Andrew Marc and Anne Valerie Hash.  He is a full time professor and former fashion department chair at Berkeley College and teaches regularly at FIT, LIM and The New School.  He has developed curriculum and programming, including the fashion design program for Bergen Community College, that connects fashion business, design, media and technology.  His work has been seen in major fashion magazines and on the New York City stage. Joshua is a graduate of FIT’s Global Fashion Management (MPS) program, and has been the director and host of the Faces & Places in Fashion lecture series at FIT since 2010.

http://www.joshuatwilliams.com
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