Catherine Olivier’s journey to launching ‘LükBook’

66% of Australian women wear a size 14 or above, but finding fashion-forward, stylish pieces in larger sizes is a time-consuming task. Lükbook is a new player in the plus-sized clothing market. In the less than three months since they launched, LükBook has experienced meteoric growth, with designers queueing up to join the platform and monthly sales growing exponentially.

With the fundamental pillars of Fashion, Fit and Family, 'Lük' is a common word in Dutch and Afrikaans that means nice/fun and speaks to the Founders' heritage. Lükbook is here to rewrite the narrative of what it means to be a chic, stylish woman.

Bachelor of Commerce alumna Catherine Olivier is the COO and Co-founder of LükBook. We discussed her career since graduation and what the business means to her.

The message behind LükBook is one of acceptance and inclusivity – what inspired this?

Our branding tagline "Come As You Are" encapsulates the core of our business.

We want LükBook to be a safe space where our customers can turn up just as they are and not feel like they have to change a thing.

We have made a very conscious effort to foster this through our choice of visual imagery across our socials and website.

We have received numerous feedback points which re-iterate this.

"I love seeing relatable content."

"It's so useful seeing what the garment might look like on a similar body to mine!"

What inspired you to study a Bachelor of Commerce?

My mother was a serial entrepreneur and so I was brought up to believe that entrepreneurship was the norm.

After leaving school I didn't know exactly what part of business I wanted to pursue so I decided to study a Bachelor of Commerce to make sure I had a formal education in the fundamentals of all things business.

As COO and Co-Founder of LükBook, what are the main responsibilities of your role? 

LükBook is an early-stage start-up and although we've seen tremendous growth to a team of 7 as a co-founder, I do anything and everything.

However, my main responsibilities are management of team members and workflow across the business, financial forecast and analysis, stakeholder management and business strategy development and steps for implementation.

You studied a Bachelor of Commerce with the University of Newcastle, what parts of your degree feed into what you do now?

The core subjects of my undergraduate degree have all come into play when leading LükBook. Leveraging learnings from cross functional subjects such as marketing, management, economics, finance and strategies for growth to name a few.

I studied a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in accounting, this set me up really well for my first job starting as a trainee Financial Auditor at PwC.

Additionally, I was fortunate enough to be awarded international experiences through my university degree such as the Singapore Immersion Experience and Song Institute of Higher Education Japan.

Both of these cultural exchange programs were specifically targeted at doing business in these regions and definitely positioned myself to be better equipped to lead multi-cultural and national teams.

What advice would you give to current students or alumni looking to start their own business?

There is no better time to enter the entrepreneurial space. Unlike when I started my undergraduate degree there are so many amazing support networks, start-up accelerator and incubator programs that can be invaluable in guiding you through the initial stages of starting your own business.

"My advice would be to first work for a scale-up to learn as much as you can and receive the right mentorship to apply to your own business when you feel you are ready to take the next leap".

Check out LükBook.