Aussie turns $1k into $60m empire

The Sydney teen had a “crazy idea” to sell statement shoes, and began listing them online after embellishing and bedazzling them herself back in 2011.

They were an instant hit – and just 12 years later, her Babyboo Fashion brand has gone from a gamble than began in her bedroom to a growing fashion empire valued at a staggering $60 million.

It’s not a bad achievement for a young woman who is yet to see her 30th birthday.

“It has been a bit of a roller coaster after starting when I was really young – I had just finished high school and was on holidays between school and uni when we started,” she told news.com.au.

“I had been working late night and weekend shifts at Pizza Hut during school and making something like $6 an hour, so saving $1000 was a lot for me back then, and I put it all into stock.

“It was definitely not supposed to be a business – it was just a hobby, but when we first put the shoes online they went viral. I popped them on a Facebook page and it kind of evolved naturally over time.”

Ms Conditsis’ brother William has been with her every step of the way, and she eventually “stole him” out of uni to work on the business full time, after also dropping out of her own Visual Communications degree to focus on building up the brand.

Within three years of launching the online business, the pair decided to expand into clothing, and after initially running Babyboo out of Ms Conditsis’ bedroom and taking over “every inch” of her parents’ Baulkham Hills home, it was soon time to expand into a proper warehouse and office.

Today, Babyboo has customers in almost 150 countries around the globe, a team of more than 40 employees and 1.1 million Instagram followers.

Ms Conditsis said one of her secrets to success was really understanding her customers from day one.

“I started bedazzling shoes myself because there were just no products like them out there … I always liked to be the one that stood out with outfits and I realised we’d have to start (making them) ourselves as there was a gap in the market,” she explained.

“If you’d told me back then we’d be as big as we are today I would have laughed at you – there’s no way I would have believed it and it is now so much bigger than I ever imagined.

“We never had a business plan or goal and each year that the business would double would come as a surprise.

“Now it’s more of a structured business with processes and strategies but in the early days it was all trial and error and learning from our mistakes quickly.”

The now-29-year-old said it was a blessing to work so closely with her brother.

“It has been great to join forces with him – we’re so alike, but have our own strengths and weaknesses that work well together,” she said.

“Will is really good at understanding operations and processes and is very creative as well, and I focus more on the product, brand and social side of things.”

She said the biggest achievement for her personally was building a business from “absolutely nothing” with no financial backing to one now valued at $60 million, which has also allowed her to build up a team and community of women who “share the same passion”.

“We empower a lot of women around the world by making them feel good, we’re with hundreds of thousands of women worldwide for all their special occasions,” she said.

“Dressing them and making them feel empowered is what gets me up every morning – it’s not just a business, it actually serves a purpose.”

However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing.

Like most retailers, Babyboo took a hit during the Covid pandemic, but was able to quickly pivot and expand into loungewear, which was soon snapped up by those living through brutal lockdowns.

The move saw sales boom – and now, the next step for the thriving business is continuing its international expansion, settling into a new office and warehouse and launching new collections to increase the offering for customers.

When it comes to advice for other budding young entrepreneurs, Ms Conditsis said it was simple.

“I always say never compare your chapter one to someone else’s chapter six – eventually, you’ll get there, after going through a process of evolving and learning,” she said.

“When I was young, there were a lot of people who didn’t take me seriously and I got a lot of nos, but I think most of the businesses that will rise in the coming years will be from young people, who are very in tune with social media and have a lot to offer.”