Jeans are the ultimate clothing item. They are durable, fashionable and easy to adapt to any outfit.

I think the biggest thing that local brands are doing now is changing the sentiment of what it means to be South African. It's changing the sentiment of how we as Africans look at our country. It's changing the sentiment of how we consume local brands. It's basically changing the sentiment that we are actually as good as everybody else in the world.

Growing up, I've always wanted to be like my grandmother. She's a storyteller and I grew up a shy kid, always quiet, always in my corner. I was a loner. She's a storyteller and she's a pastor. Every time she goes on stage, she'll tell stories and inspire people and she uses storytelling as a vehicle to tell a message of hope and to inspire the community. I've always wanted to be like her. What I do now is inspiring people through stories, not just the product, and I guess that's one of the biggest things that I've actually learned from her all these years, just watching her speak and how she handles people.

The product itself is a very important part of branding your business.The quality of your product speaks to your values and your understanding of your customers.

I feel like it's the heartbeat of your brand. Partnerships could make or break you. I've had the greatest partners in my life. My business partner is somebody who understands me, who understands my vision, and who came in and formed part of my vision. And we are moving as a unit. For me, that's why having the right partner next to you is such an important thing.

So I think the opportunity here is to have a much more interactive online space and that means a lot more technology has to go into it, a lot more apps have to go into it. Something that can make it easy for people to navigate and understand what the fit is, what the feel is without even coming into the store and trying the pair of jeans on.

Packaging is everything. How you package, how you fold, how the product smells - it all plays a role. So we go deep into those things and make sure that when you receive your product, it's beautiful. It's well packaged and well presented. It smells good because smell is such a great thing for us.

I have a couple of tough lessons that I've learned in my business. One is customer service and the importance of quality. A couple of years ago, our quality wasn't the best quality and I had to go to the Amsterdam School of Denim to learn how to make a pair of jeans with world-class quality. I think one of the lessons was not meeting our customers' expectations when it comes to quality at some point and that really hit me hard. So now, I'm really obsessed with quality. I'm obsessed with stitching. I'm obsessed with the fabric. I'm obsessed with those things because I understand that poor quality can really kill our business. 

Something that has propelled me forward is the fact that I had to understand, first and foremost, why I was doing this. Understanding the product side of things, being curious, learning all the time and putting myself out there to know more about denim.

Your purpose is a great compass for your business so be clear about what it is. Build strong relationships with your suppliers. Enjoy what you're doing and have fun doing it.