How Carlotta + Gee’s co-founders grew its annual turnover 350% while working on opposite sides of the world

With the business world getting smaller as the number of ways to connect grows, having a business that spans time zones is now easier than ever. For the founders of Carlotta + Gee, they grew their all-natural, sustainable Australian linen brand, despite being on opposite sides of the world.

Best friends Georgie Cavanagh and Carlotta Casals started the 100% French linen bedding company in 2019 in Sydney, completely unaware of the impact the pending global pandemic would have on their working relationship and growth.

Before the storm

Without a crystal ball and no way of knowing what was to come, Carlotta and Georgie decided the time was right to commit full-time to the business.

After a few years of building Carlotta + Gee as a side hustle, they quit their jobs.

“This was just before COVID-19, and we had no idea what was coming. While it could have been terrible for our business, it did bring many new opportunities our way,” Cavanagh told SmartCompany Plus. 

When the world started shutting borders, Carlotta, who hails from Spain, returned home to be with her family, and Georgie was locked down in Sydney. But nothing could stop these two lovers of linen from bringing their style of sheets and duvet covers to the market.

“We are often asked when is the right time to quit your day job and move into your own business. My answer is always ‘when your heart is no longer into what you are doing and your passion is elsewhere’, then it is time to move on,” Cavanagh said. 

That philosophy sums up the beauty of the linen Carlotta + Gee sells. After holidaying in Bryon in a cute little hotel, Cavanagh and Casals had the best night’s sleep on the most magnificent sheets, and it was all they could talk about.

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“We were curious why it was only on holidays that you sleep so well, and when you go home, you don’t have the same sleep,” Cavanagh said. “It is because the sheets in hotels are so luxurious, and that’s what we wanted to bring to the market.”

Backed by Casals’s family background in textile and interior design and Cavanagh’s PR experience, and with a flagrant disregard for messy time zones, they grew Carlotta + Gee’s turnover 350% in the past year.

Cavanagh said the key to growing a business with owners living in different hemispheres is good communication and not overstretching.

“Our growth in the beginning was organic. Even before we launched, we had over 100 pre orders from family and friends. Instead of going in hard and spending lots of money on things that were not important and could go wrong, we kept it simple,” she said.

Communication is key

Cavanagh said it is also important to know your business partner’s strengths and weaknesses. 

It gives you a solid foundation to grow on, and rang especially true for the duo after Casals headed back to Spain during COVID-19. Knowing how each other ticked helped avoid misunderstandings.

“We made sure we spoke often, so we were always on the same page.”

While having your business partner on the other side of the world is not ideal, Cavanagh and Casals made it work by following a few simple suggestions from their mentor. 

“It is important to remember the world is a big place, and try not look at everything through a local lens,” Cavanagh said.

“I made sure I had the world clock on my phone and computers so I always knew what time it was in Spain. You feel part of a bigger global business when you know what is going on outside your four walls.” 

Carlotta + Gee’s co-founders in the same hemisphere. Source: supplied.

“Communication is key. Carlotta and I realised early on we needed to agree on how we would communicate. If it was a short message, we used Whatsapp. If it was complicated or something needed urgent action, we used email. If we sensed the other person was having a bad day, we picked up the phone.”

While Cavanagh and Casals are equally brave and bold, they knew that being too bold with money wouldn’t serve them well.

“This meant not spending a lot of money; there are other ways to be bold and get noticed. As a small business, you can be nimble and quick in ways big business can’t. Like the time Matt Damon and his wife ordered a lot of products from a store in Byron. We worked our magic to make it happen, because we wanted them sleeping in our sheets,” Cavanagh said.

While 350% growth in revenue is impressive, it didn’t happen in a vacuum. Cavanagh and Casals have dedicated time together to planning and showcasing how their products different, even while they are apart.

Their planning was all about the big picture — such as a ‘cool activation’ release where people can experience the product before buying it — but the two co-founders never lost sight of the day to day.

“If you look too far ahead, you can get overwhelmed. Our growth came from focusing on daily tasks, because they lead to bigger things,” Cavanagh said. 

“Every morning, we had a checklist of three things that each of us would achieve that day, and always checked in to make sure we ticked those three things off our list.

“Doing this every day adds up.”