016 Building a wine brand as an American in Spain

Subscribe to The Stanza, a newsletter for investors & entrepreneurs in hospitality & fashion sent every Friday Welcome to The Stanza (thestanzamedia.com) Today's guest is Layla-Joy Williams, founder of IYLIA wines. Layla-Joy is an American entrepreneur living in Spain, where she produces IYLIA to distribute in the US. Prior to IYLIA, Layla-Joy was a womens shoe designer for Stuart Weitzman and Michael Kors in NYC, and has a background in technical product design. We chatted about her experience working in NYC fashion for over two decades, entrepreneurship as an American living in Europe, and how her design career prepped her for the wine business.   A personal side note from me: I've mentioned IYLIA's moscatel wine on the gift guide this year because it's such a beautiful and crisp wine. I also wanted to compliment Layla-Joy on her rose wine. It's probably the best rose I've ever tried (and I'm not exaggerating). It smells fruity and it just goes down very easily. It's the perfect aperitivo wine and I just think it's so cool to hear Layla-Joy's story especially as another American living in Europe. Enjoy the episode. Episode Highlights: Layla-Joy's experience working as a fashion designer in NYC Why Layla-Joy decided to focus on womens shoe design Pivoting from shoes to wine during the pandemic Starting a business as an American in Spain How Layla-Joy's technical experience as a shoe designer prepared her the wine business Perspective as a female entrepreneur Sales tips for early stage founders Advice for brand builders Check out Iylia Wine: https://iylia.com Connect with Layla-Joy on IG: @laylajoy Follow The Stanza on IG/TikTok: @thestanzamedia