The theme of episode #18 of the Empreenda BSB podcast is family businesses. Brice Filiatre, from Rever (@oculosrever), a brand of handmade glasses, and Mayton Campelo, from Brechó do Óculos (@brechodooculos), tell how they managed to develop businesses by combining family experience and their own personality.
First, other paths
Before discovering his entrepreneurial spirit, Brice Filiatre explored other paths. He graduated in Economics in France, practiced the profession, and considered changing careers to become an actor just before launching his brand.
He says that, since he was little, he visited the factory with his father on weekends, a custom he repeated during his college vacations. "I was always surrounded by eyeglasses, but at the time I wasn't sure if I wanted to work with them," he says.
It was in 2008, while working for a multinational company in Curitiba, that Brice decided to accept his father's invitation to return to Brasília and work together at the family's eyeglass factory, which has been producing frames locally since 1982.
After a few years, in 2016, the Rever project emerged, a brand of handmade glasses, in Brice's parents' factory: "it was a way to do it my way, but at the same time supporting the family project," says the entrepreneur.
Mayton Campelo decided to start working with his father when he was left alone in charge of the store after the divorce in 2007. "I stayed at the optical shop for a long time, but I didn't want to be an optical shop," he recalls.
At the time, Mayton wanted to work in cultural production. "My father said I had to take over the family business, but I wanted to work with art, with film, which is what I really enjoyed," he says. That's why, in 2012, he left the optics business to work in the cultural field.
Two years later, already experienced in planning, Mayton found his business opportunity within his father's store: "At that time, the optical shop was 25 years old, and I found some old glasses stored there and thought, 'there's an audience that will enjoy these glasses,'" he says. And that's how Brechó do Óculos (Glasses Thrift Shop), Mayton's curated eyewear business, came about.
Challenges of starting a business with family
Both agree that starting a business from a family business has advantages, mainly due to its already established market trajectory. However, they admit that conflicts can arise in relationships: "If you want to start a business in the same field, it helps a lot, but there will always be conflict because it's not such a professional relationship; it's a family relationship," Mayton points out. For Brice, it's necessary to know how to differentiate between moments of professional conduct within the company and family relationships when with family. "The most complicated relationships are those with the people we are closest to," he says.
The challenge is finding the opening to express oneself and put forward one's ideas: "a culture clash, a generational one, ends up happening. But I see that we managed to find our way. I found a way to express myself, to do things the way I believe in, but still supporting the family business," says Brice.
Personality in business
For Brice, the time he spent working in the factory with his father was important in understanding what is important for the brand. Since his father had always sold the glasses to opticians, he faced the challenge of demonstrating the advantages of supporting a local business. A problem that he transformed into a solution.
“That’s what I did with Rever: showcase this family history, the local manufacturing, a more manual process, which resonated perfectly with the moment we are living in, where people are valuing local and handmade products more,” he explains.
Mayton also found a way to combine his family history with a passion, as he explains: “My relationship with glasses has always been like this: it was something that was part of my life. I was forced to go into the optical shop because my father was alone, but I didn't want to take over the business. And I've always liked thrift stores. So I gathered the old glasses from the store, which has been around since the 80s and had a lot of accumulated pieces, along with the treasure hunting, which I love to do.” Today, Mayton also hunts for vintage glasses in other stores and brands.
Therefore, both entrepreneurs agree that it's necessary to put personality into the business, as Brice concludes: "it's about putting in what you believe in, it's about putting in your truth."
To learn the whole story of Brice and Mayton, just listen. Episode 18 of the Empreenda BSB podcast, an initiative of the School of Management, Economics and Business at IDP.
