WINNER! Round Seven SPARK $5k Women in Business Grant

Congratulations to Fairina Cheng, Fairina Cheng Jewellery for being awarded the SPARK $10k Women in Business Grants.

TRANSCRIPT:

Danielle (SPARK) (00:04):

Congratulations. Oh my God, thank you. Very excited. Thank you very much.

(00:10):

Oh, so amazing. I am not going to lie. I was very excited when I saw your name pop up. As we know. I don't get to judge, but I have my favorites and I know that's so sweet. Well, you and I have talked so much and I know you've been actually really dedicated to improving your application and getting feedback and you've applied several times, so I was actually just stoked because also I know your business and I know it's great, and I know when you

Fairina (00:43):

Good innovation, it was great being able to get in touch and then get feedback because then it helped me know that it was at least going in the right direction. So don't give up and just keep going.

Danielle (SPARK) (00:58):

Yeah. Oh, I love that. So good. So we better start out by telling everyone who you are and what you do.

Fairina (01:05):

Okay. I'm Farina. I design custom, mostly custom jewelry, and I tend to design for rule breakers and makers, so people who want something that's a little bit different to what they might see in chain stores and shopping mall windows.

Danielle (SPARK) (01:23):

That is so cool. I love it. And what will you spend your current money on?

Fairina (01:29):

So I have developed an AI powered engagement ring idea generator. And so people, it's like a questionnaire that people fill in and they tell, well, they tell the AI a little bit about their relationship and their partner and then it generates ideas for their engagement ring text-based at the moment. But it's done in a way where it's written as if in the same process that I would use, which is quite different to what a traditional jewelry store would use. It's very much focused on story and using the story as the centerpiece for the design.

Danielle (SPARK) (02:11):

Yeah, it's so cool. And that's what I love about your brand. I mean, I know, I remember when I was shopping for an engagement ring, I was like, I just don't want the same thing everyone else has. And it's so funny, I remember at one stage when all of your girlfriends get married and we were having a bit of a laugh, like everyone's ring was exactly the same.

Fairina (02:35):

And everyone's comparing. They're saying, oh, this is the diamond I got and it's this color and this size. How big's yours? And that's not something that really speaks to everybody

Danielle (SPARK) (02:48):

And not what it's about. I know mean sure it is for some people when that's fine, but that's why I love your business and your brand so much because it's so personal and you do take so much care and consideration around people's stories and what they want and crafting a piece, whether it's engagement or whether it's something else that they will have forever and they will be able to tell the story around. So just,

Fairina (03:14):

And

Danielle (SPARK) (03:14):

Then to innovate with AI and bring that to the table. I just think that's so cool and so awesome for a jewelry designer.

Fairina (03:23):

Well, the AI component really allowed it to become bigger than it was before. It was a process that I'd been using, but I was unable to scale it because whenever someone would fill in the form, I would sit there for half an hour writing up these ideas for 'em. And it just wasn't something that I could use, I could promote with ads. It wasn't use as a lead magnet and now it is, which is amazing.

Danielle (SPARK) (03:52):

Yeah, it's so smart because yeah, you're right, especially when you are in a industry or whatever where it is, and it is a real artisan skill that you have that sales component of actually doing that for every person. You kind of look at that business model and go, when it's bespoke, how do you scale it? And so that's why I think it's genius because you've leveraged new technologies to make you scalable, which is cool. Yeah, thanks ai. I love it. I love it. I love it. So talk to me about the grant application process. What was that like for you?

Fairina (04:32):

I mean, the application process itself is, I mean, it's easy and it's hard depending on how you look at it, because for me, the easy part is writing, the hard part is filming a video. So whereas for other people it might be the other way around. So it was really good to have both elements, which allows people with different skill sets and preferences to kind of come through in their interview in different ways. So it was a good process. I applied a few times. I think I was on my fourth or fifth time, and each time I emailed afterwards and asked for feedback and it was great because you were really helpful with the feedback and you said it was good. Just keep going.

Danielle (SPARK) (05:24):

Well, it was funny because I saw, so last round I saw that you got shortlisted because what the judges normally do, because there's been about 80 to a hundred applications each round, usually what they do is they'll shortlist their top 10 or whatever and then make a decision from there. I think that's kind of how they kind of look at it and cull people and then kind of try and whittle it down. And I'd seen that you were on the shortlist. I was like, oh no. Okay. Obviously you'd just bang on the money. It was just that round because I think in the earlier rounds I might've said, angle this way a little bit more or whatever. That last round I was like, nah, I think you're just so onto it.

Fairina (06:05):

It was good. I had changed the URL of the story Smith link. I changed the URL and it stopped working.

Danielle (SPARK) (06:14):

Oh no, that's right. Yeah. And

Fairina (06:16):

So whatever they were looking at was just, they would've just gone to a URL. That didn't work. So sad.

Danielle (SPARK) (06:21):

Well, and that isn't that wild too. So obviously the story and video you had was strong enough that you got shortlisted, but maybe that was the thing that didn't quite get across the line last time and then now you did. It's just like, I felt

Fairina (06:33):

So silly. But anyway, check your URLs. Don't change them after the fact. That's a good

Danielle (SPARK) (06:39):

Tip. That's a great tip. Oh my God. Oh, I love it so much. I mean, yeah, I just think what you're doing is amazing. I love your innovation, your creativity, your business, your brand. I think it's so cool, and I'm just so happy that we can support you with the Spark Grant and I can't wait to hear more about how it'll unfolds.

Fairina (07:02):

Yes. Yeah. I'm really excited about that because I'm going to use the funds to develop the funnel a little bit more and test advertising to get out there.

Danielle (SPARK) (07:13):

That's so cool. And that's it. You've found a way to make things scalable. Now you can turn it into a funnel, and that's what the grant's all about, right? It's like how do you get extra cash to grow? And I love that you, oh my God, anytime. Well, you'll have to keep us updated. I'm very excited to hear how it all goes. We'll have to get you on a future episode of the podcast, maybe six to 12 months to reflect on how it all went.

Fairina (07:40):

Yeah, thank you.

Danielle (SPARK) (07:42):

Amazing.

Fairina (07:44):

Awesome. Thanks Farina, and congratulations again. Thank

Danielle (SPARK) (07:47):

You.