Kara Richter built From Bags to Riches (FBTR) from the ground up. The new business venture was given life when she and co-founder Sam Mangiere began brainstorming ideas for a new business. Incredibly, Richter and Mangiere soon found themselves enthralled in their own from-rags-to-riches story, thanks to the Internet’s presence and some organic ingenuity. Richter organized her e-commerce company in a frenetically short time span of six weeks. At the time, Richter was taking a strategic management class as part of her MBA curriculum at the University of St. Thomas. With a steady stream of encouragement from her classmates and professor, Dennis Ray, Richter had the confidence she needed to succeed. In October 2004, Richter launched From Bags to Riches.

Ray was impressed by both Richter’s ability to expediently bring her business venture from thought to execution and her demonstrated entrepreneurial talents. Ray, so inspired by Richter’s business savvy, intends to include FBTR as a case study for future MBA students to analyze. By focusing on the fundamental the-customer-is-first mantra, FBTR has become a fast-growing niche marketer in the new incremental retail segment. Under her leadership as chief executive officer, Richter’s company surpassed total projected sales for the first 12 of 15 months of its operation.

With over 13 years of experience working with large, medium and small-sized corporations, Richter helped FBTR establish itself as a robust leader in this innovative business sector. Of course, being a fashion enthusiast hasn’t hurt Richter either. FBTR displayed its keen couture sense when the company became the first to market the borrowing of Louis Vuitton’s Cerise line, the Balenciaga First, and the Fendi B bag.

Another successful example is the company’s development of its flexible Club Diva frequent-renter program. This
customer-optional program proved its worth when nearly 70% of all handbag rentals in the first five months included a Club Diva membership. Members of Club Diva enjoy exclusive inventory previews, rental discounts and an extensive rewards program. In late August, FBTR will release the specifics of its newest Club Diva privilege, Urbanity. FBTR management hints that Urbanity will greatly expand exclusive luxury and fashion opportunities for its members.

With a relentless ambition to improve the success of FBTR, Richter continues to spearhead the strategic business
development, market definition, and is active in the product selection. Through genuine entrepreneurial leadership, Richter is devoted to staying one step ahead of the competition and consequently has earned her innovative-eye reputation.

From the first time I was exposed to Gucci handbags, I became a bag maven -- an honest to
goodness bag-lady, desiring to wear the most luxurious brands of designer handbags. However,
at 14 years old my pocketbook could not afford me that indulgence… Actually a second scoop
of ice cream was about the extent of my fast living. Upon completing high school, I promptly
invested my graduation money in my first Fendi handbag. It was to serve as my “good purse” for
the next eight years, arriving with me at each important interview, presentation and social event
I attended. As I transitioned from my less-is-more years, the bag begged for retirement.

My lifestyle became increasingly more diverse and so did my appetite for handbag variety.
More bags. More colors. More styles. And yes, more money. But designer bags carry a high price
tag and a low shelf life, making an abundant supply simply impractical. Still I mused, wouldn’t it
be great to fill my closet with a huge variety of handbags that I could carry at any time? Change
color or style on a whim? After all, I have more than 30 pairs of shoes, why not handbags?
Then came my handbag revelation: From Bags to Riches.