Consuelo Chasseing, For_me | Social Commerce, Community and Corporate Partnerships [Ep. 89]

The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.

Social commerce is a commerce model where distribution is led by content creators who recommend products to their audience. It is not very different from word-of-mouth marketing, but amplified by the viral power of social networks.

Under this new paradigm, everyone wins: the product brands, the creators, and the customers themselves, who receive more authentic recommendations from influencers they trust.

Today we spoke with Consuelo Chasseing, CEO and cofounder of For_Me, the largest beauty social commerce platform in Latin America, which connects brands and retailers with a community of around 500 thousand women influencers.

We talked about the rise of social commerce in Latin America, how to start and scale online communities, and finally about how to plan and negotiate a partnership with corporates, based on her experience with Walmart Mexico.

Youtube Timestamps*

[1:42] - Intro to Social Commerce

• How did Consuelo get into the fascinating world of startups?
• What makes Consuelo’s relationship with her partners special?
• Consuelo has said that there is a large volume of content creators who do not monetize their audiences and, on the other hand, a large number of brands are very far from their end consumers. Why is it hard for creators to monetize and for brands to connect with their consumers?
• The premise of your For_me is to connect content creators and brands. What prevents this from happening organically, and how does a company like For_me enable that connection?
• What differences does Consuelo highlight between social commerce and a traditional referral program?

[23:26] - How to Grow a Community

• What is the origin of the For_me community, and what has allowed them to build such an engaged network of influencers?
• How did Consuelo grow the For_me community in its early stage?
• Building a community is quite difficult. What features did they develop that made their creator community grow?
• For_me was born with an app where its community could interact. However, they decided to abandon it. What advantages and disadvantages did Consuelo find in making this decision?

[40:16] - Partnerships with Corporates

• Recently, For_me closed a partnership with Walmart Mexico. How did Consuelo reach such a large corporate, a key one in her industry, and what was her step by step for building an alliance?
• How does Consuelo recommend that a founder evaluate a corporate’s true interest and decide whether it is worth investing effort in an alliance?
• Consuelo has a high-quality network of mentors and advisors. What is Consuelo’s secret? What is different from the rest of the founders that allows her to connect successfully with these people?
• How does Consuelo get her investors and advisors to get involved proactively in For_me?

[39:09] - Tweet Round

• Recommended book by Consuelo
• Changes Consuelo would like to see in the Latin American startup ecosystem
• Founder Consuelo recommends interviewing

Episode Mentions

You can find Consuelo on LinkedIn

Recommended book: Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by Leonard Koren

Founders to interview: Maricarmen Herrerias of Casai (Listen to the episode with Maricarmen here)

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Follow Enzo Cavalie on X: @enzocavalie.