Name of your business: Lucas & Lilli, young riders’ equestrian wear.

About the company: Lucas & Lilli is a fresh, new, Irish equestrian brand, for three to 16-year-olds, with designs and quality to rival the best. Caroline Jago has been involved in start-ups and small businesses for the last few years, but has taken on this new challenge, with an experienced team. We caught up with her to hear about how it all started.

Background: I already feel like I have had so many careers! I’ve worked in advertising, had my own Irish dancing business and now I’m doing equestrian wear! But really, all I have ever wanted to do is work for myself, so that’s what I’m doing.

How did Lucas & Lilli start? Lucas & Lilli launched after one of the team members and co-founders, a passionate equestrian designer, noticed the jodhpurs and conservative polo necks available for her own little rider. Frustrated by this, she decided there was a gap she could fill and was determined to have a go. Together with my business experience, we started Lucas & Lilli. Our first product was a cotton-rich alternative to jodhpurs - the jogpur. We now cater not just for the children’s market, but have just launched our Leggings and Sports Tops for teens. We offer refreshing alternatives to the big global brands and innovate where we can and most importantly, we are Irish.

Your equestrian background: At Lucas & Lilli, we’re obsessed with horses! I have grown up immersed in horses thanks to my eldest sister and her total obsession with the creatures and now this love has been passed on to our children. The team spend their days either immersed in their own horses or our horse products, you can’t get to our desks for product samples everywhere.

The Product: Lucas & Lilli want to be known for their quality, fitting and their fun, fresh flair. The Irish element of the business is something we’re very proud of. Right now, we have the new Basic Breech in four fresh colour pops; we have our Izzy Sport Tops, featuring our graphic horse head to create the most unique sports top out there. The Donny Hoodie is made from luxurious cotton-rich material and made in the EU, has bright contrast-coloured zip pockets and embroidery overlay of the logo, just some of the details making them so special... the list goes on. Arriving just in time for Christmas, with high quality, soft leather, we have gorgeous sparkly browbands.

Did you get any help to start you off? When I sold my last small business, Irish Dance Pro, to my former business partner, I put all the profits into making equestrian wear. It’s been both scary and amazing. I remember everyone telling me I was crazy, that you couldn’t make another equestrian wear brand work in Ireland. But today, we have a small team and we’re making things happen. We also have great support from our Local Enterprise Office.

The challenges you faced or face now: Recruiting new customers cost effectively is a big challenge when you’re self-funded. There are no marketing grants available for small businesses, so that must be managed carefully as marketing budgets, particularly digital marketing budgets, can vanish into thin air! I still think traditional marketing plays an important part for us, combined with digital. Another challenge we had was getting low MOQs or minimum order quantities from manufacturers, but through contacts, we now have the most amazing network of suppliers who allow us to order smaller quantities, which cuts out waste and allows us to move quicker.

What has been your biggest failure and what did you get out of it? I have made so many mistakes over the years, worked with the wrong people, made the wrong choice, took the wrong path, but it’s never been about failure. If you fail, just get up and go again.

What do you feel has been your biggest success? Every morning when I talk to my team, hear a new idea, or get an email from a happy customer. It fills you with so much energy.

Do you sell in Ireland or in Europe too? We sell solely in Ireland right now and are in the process of rolling out to all equestrian stores and independent buyers and wholesale websites. We are also selling directly to consumers online and we have amazing customers from all over the country. We’re also in the process of recruiting an agent; so far, we’ve been approaching shops ourselves.

Have you plans to expand in the future? Once we have an agent on board, we will begin to explore Europe. We have so many plans, so watch this space.