The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan 627: How Lia Georgantis Built an Iconic Aussie Fashion Brand in Just 5 Years
Jan 29, 2026
Leah Georgantas, founder of Girls With Gems and creator of Sneaky Link, left law to build a cult Aussie fashion brand through relentless social storytelling. She talks about pivoting through COVID, posting 6–9 raw relatable posts daily, launching a private-label that now drives half revenue, managing burnout, and why authenticity and creative campaigns beat polished ads.
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Limit Sales To Protect Margins
- Avoid relying on frequent discounts; limit sales to preserve full-price purchasing behavior. Leah enforces a rule of no more than three sales a year so customers learn to pay full price.
Black Friday Harms Retail Margins
- Black Friday undercuts retailers' crucial seasonal margins and trains customers to wait for discounts. Leah views broad participation as harmful for multi-brand and lower-margin retailers.
Husband Joins As Ops And Strategy Lead
- Leah recruited her husband to handle operations, structure, and scaling tasks shortly after he proposed. He brought tech and ops discipline while Leah continued to lead creative and brand strategy.