In 2004, Valentina Lapitz (33) had to miss school for two weeks.
And as a result of the boredom that he experienced during those days, he began to experiment with a discipline that changed the course of his life.
According to what he told Coffee & Business who is now the owner of the venture specialized in eMaxs accessories, at that time He found a clamp in the garage of his house with which he decided to disassemble his own accessories and then, with a wire that he also had available, he began to create new designs.: He dedicated himself to creating caravans and bracelets.
This is how he discovered his passion for what he considered a hobby for many years, but which now marks a large part of his life: create accessories with native materials.
“The accessories I had available are nothing like the ones I sell now, because I hadn’t taken any courses,” Lapitz said, recalling that in her youth she used to only sell the pieces to her high school classmates.
But, three years after making his first piece and with enough tools to make better products, he decided to become a professional.
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Emax Accessories
This coincides with the moment when her mother, María del Carmen Martínez, learned to make accessories; so together the two women chose to start selling to a larger audience. And they did it –at first–, through a space at the Sunday fair in Parque Rodó. The success was such that shortly after the entrepreneurs added a sales space on Saturdays at the Villa Biarritz fair.
“At every fair we discovered, we joined”Lapitz said.
And as he said in the interview, these participations determined a further growth of eMaxs because it was through these that the accessories venture finally gained access to different design events, such as: Feria Máxima or Hecho Acá.
“At the fairs we made more and more contacts, through which new opportunities arrived”, pointed out the entrepreneur.
This was marking a path of organic growth for the entrepreneurs, who now sell their products in the Pura Lana store. The average price of an eMaxs accessory (caravans, necklaces and bracelets) is $800, according to Lapitz. Still, he said prices vary greatly depending on the materials used in each product and also on the type of product itself.
The entrance to Sowing
Through the word of mouth that characterized the entire development of eMaxs, it was how they came to integrate the Presidency program, Sembrando.
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Emax Accessories
“A person who worked in the program knew us from the fairs, and from time to time he would buy products,” the entrepreneur told Coffee & Business. He remembered that This person was the one who presented the accessories of the entrepreneurs to the referents of Sembrado, who were interested in the products and they called them to get more information about their venture.
So, Lapitz appeared with her mother in a meeting with the program’s mentors where she told her story of growing up. In addition, she brought samples of the products to get the final approval that allowed them to become Sembrando entrepreneurs.
“We had meetings with the Sembrando team, who saw our potential and invited us to participate in various projects”, said the entrepreneur.
The projects with Sembrando
Regarding the activity in Uruguay, Sembrando helped the venture to register its brand. “As a small entrepreneur there are things that one does not know, obviously. Sembrando helped us understand the importance of registering the brand, and also to do it“, said Lapitz.
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Emax Accessories
But the greatest help from the Presidency program was not in the country. is that gThanks to Sembrando, eMaxs was able to position samples of its products in fairs located in different countries of the world: Australia, China and Dubaiwhere contacts are generated and then marketed in those destinations.
“He opened doors for us that one alone is very difficult to open ”stated the entrepreneur about the participation in Sembrando.
In this sense, he said that beyond the fact that one can have good products, it is always important to make oneself known and that is what the fairs in the different countries allowed.
“What Sembrando gave was the push we needed to make ourselves known abroad, and to open up new opportunities,” he said.
eMax in the future
By way of conclusion, Lapitz said that both she and her mother would love to continue working with markets outside of Uruguay because: “There are a lot of possibilities”.
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Emax Accessories
But not only that. Although eMax is already positioned in the country, for the entrepreneur it is also important to be able to continue making the brand known in Uruguay: “Being able to reach more people; that more and more are aware of our proposal ”, he concluded.