“Once I talked about this business idea, we were invited to a fair in Zona G, where I accepted without hesitation. The only problem was that I had nothing, not a single product, not a single t-shirt, in 15 days we managed to get all the t-shirt suppliers, we made designs, prints and we arrived at this fair with 3 phrases: “Vaca pa la pola”, "Hello, fagot" and "What a chimba parce". In the end we were a hit and we began to collect our herd of Black Sheep” as recalled by Yovany Ramírez, the owner of this brand that exalts in Colombian language through phrases of tradition. We invite Yovany to our section of 23 questions for entrepreneurs and their ventures to understand what you are doing from your company, how your business idea was born and how far you want to go with it.

1. How old am I? What did I study?

Yovany Ramírez, 35 years old, Financial Administration with a Master's Degree in Marketing and Sales Management from the EAE Business School in Madrid, Spain

2. What was my idea and when was it born? What did I create?

My business idea was born after being present at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where I was able to observe the pride of culture, homeland and gastronomy of all countries and especially Latin American ones. There I was able to see that despite our problems, violence or economies we are proud to belong to each of our countries, the sad thing was that all this pride and patriotism vanished by always wearing clothes and garments with prints and phrases in English. There I knew that I had to change that and create a brand that conveyed that pride of being Latino, speaking Spanish and being unique. This is how OVEJA NEGRA fashion in Colombian Spanish was born

3. How did I manage to make it a reality and put it into practice?

In December 2018, it was ground zero to start this business idea. Initially, I had no idea about the fashion market, where to find suppliers, where to print, what materials are more durable, etc.

Once I talked about this business idea, we were invited to a fair in Zona G, where I accepted without hesitation. The only problem was that I had nothing, not a single product, not a single t-shirt, in 15 days we managed to get all the t-shirt suppliers, we made designs, prints and we arrived at this fair with 3 phrases: “Vaca pa la pola”, "Hello, fagot" and "What a chimba parce". In the end we were a hit and we began to collect our flock of Black Sheep.

If you are looking for more entrepreneurship stories, their creators and creators are here, in Entrepreneurship and Leadership from El Espectador.

4. Where did I get the money to get it going and how did I pay for it?

The money to launch the first production and fair of Oveja Negra came from savings, the December bonus and a loan from my boss to be able to pay for the first fair in which we participated.

5. What am I achieving with my entrepreneurship? What am I changing with my idea?

We are transmitting the pride that Colombians feel in our country, beyond the stereotypes that are held about us, both abroad and internally, we are crazy in love with every corner of Colombia, its culture, its seas, its mountains, its food, its people and above all its language with words so unique and humorous that they are transmitted from grandparents to the last generations

We are changing the concept that only what is cool is foreign, what is written in English, we are showing that it is cooler to wear clothes in Spanish that are 100% Colombian.

6. Am I happy?

I am hypermega happy, at Oveja Negra our mission is that people who visit us, even if they do not buy a product from us, can leave with a smile, a laugh or simply with a face of astonishment when seeing their own phrases stamped on garments clothes that look fashionable.

When I see the reactions of our flock of Black Sheep I am very happy, because I am fulfilling my dream of making clothes that make people feel proud and happy of their origin.

7. Would I sell my venture, my company?

No, absolutely no. I would look for strategic alliances, but I would not sell my business.

8. How hard was it for me to start a business?

It's hard to start a business, even more so when you're facing a pandemic in your second year. We had to close our first store and bite the bullet to get through this crisis. When you are an entrepreneur, many times you continue in the informal sector and while there you do not have subsidies or support.

9. Did I fulfill my dream? What do I need?

There is still a long way to go to fulfill my dream. The idea is for Oveja Negra to position itself as the preferred urban brand for all Colombians and to be present in the main shopping centers in the country and why not exporting all our joy to many countries.

10. And now that? What's next

The next step for Oveja Negra is to open its physical stores in strategic points, at least in the main cities of the country. They do not necessarily have to be hyper-local, but some modest points that are within the reach of our herd located throughout Colombia.

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11. Is my venture scalable?

It is 100% scalable, within about 10 years Oveja Negra will have physical international headquarters in the main Spanish-speaking countries and also in other countries with languages ​​other than English, where people have the latent need to identify themselves and feel proud of his origins.

12. To grow, would you receive investment from a stranger? Would I give you part of my company?

I could seek a strategic alliance to grow and take Oveja Negra to the next level, but I would not give up my company for financial support.

13. What would I not do again?

Buying from the first supplier where I got my first men's t-shirts, that was a disaster in terms of quality. Nor will it participate in fairs that are not inside shopping centers.

14. Who inspired me? Who would I like to follow?

As such, starting this venture was an inspiration and own initiative, and a constant struggle to get to where we are today. As for a leadership inspiration, I have to mention to my boss that he supported me in the first fair in which we participated, I would like to be a leader with those characteristics.

15. Did I fail at some point? Did I think about throwing in the towel?

In the path of being an entrepreneur you have many obstacles along the way, but I would not call them failures, rather ups and downs such as not finding a good supplier at the beginning, losing money at a fair in which we participated in Medellín, closing the place due to pandemic. All this makes you more intelligent in terms of making future decisions and it trains you as an entrepreneur.

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16. Am I part of some kind of community that helps me on this path of undertaking?

As such we are not part of an entrepreneurial community, but we are presenting ourselves to the Emprender Fund.

17. Does what I'm doing transcend? Will it be able to impact new generations?

We are generating a bond between all generations, we have clients from 60 to 70 years old who have purchased our products, also young people aged 15 and even parents who have bought for their 7-year-old children.

It is nice to see how Oveja Negra creates garments that all generations were looking for and yearning for. So clearly we are going to transcend and remain in time so that more generations can identify with our clothes in Colombian Spanish.

18. How do I see myself in 10 years and how do I see my venture, my company, in the future?

The vision is to be present in at least two more Latin American countries, creating fashion with their own autochthonous and humorous words. Looking for the flock of Black Sheep from those two nations.

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19. What role have my family and friends played?

Clearly family, friends, co-workers are your first focus group, or so-called early adapters. Without them I would not have had the feedback of knowing what to improve and what they liked. The first sales were friends and coworkers at the time, that encourages you and fills you with energy to keep going.

20. I did it. Would you help other entrepreneurs to achieve it?

100% I help other entrepreneurs who have traveled this path as much as I can, although it is not much, it is important to share and help other entrepreneurs. The best thing about belonging to this group of entrepreneurs is that we help each other and share with each other to improve and not die trying.

21. What role did my team play? Who is it?

Equipment? (laughs) at the beginning of a venture you yourself are the manager, accountant, business advisor, producer, logistics, inventory, red wines, cleaning and everything else that a company carries out.

After this growth process, its sales team has been vital for Oveja Negra. They are fun, young, jocular people, some LGBTI, they are the pillar of Oveja Negra.

22. What is my personal stamp? What sets me apart from the rest?

The personal hallmark of Oveja Negra is that you feel as if we were friends from long ago, even if you take our product 2 minutes after having passed by our stand. We were the first company to create fashion with phrases in Colombian Spanish, which is why many Colombians feel that attachment and love for each phrase we print.

The quality of our products, our people and how daring we are, differentiate us from the rest, since at Oveja Negra we do not simply seek to sell a piece of clothing, we seek happiness, pride, humor, patriotism and identification of each customer.

23. What have I learned from all this?

It's been a long learning journey. Mainly knowing how to structure a business, how to negotiate and knowing how to listen to clients to evolve and hit what they are looking for. I also learned to turn a deaf ear to baseless criticism, envious comments, and meaningless statements. In the end, all of us Black Sheep are a little crazy (laughs).

If you know stories of entrepreneurs and their ventures, write to Edwin Bohórquez Aya (ebohorquez@elespectador.com) or Tatiana Gómez Fuentes ( tgomez@elespectador.com).