This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Shay Mitchell loves it when people approach her in public and ask about her luggage instead of a selfie.
The multi-hyphenate founder never wanted her brand to be BÉIS by Shay Mitchell; she wanted her business to stand alone as a solution for customers. Mitchell is an actress, producer, entrepreneur, activist, author, and mother of two.
She’s best known for her work on the hit show Pretty Little Liars but has transitioned the Hollywood glitz for the boardroom blitz. Since 2017, she’s founded three companies: Amore & Vita Productions, BÉIS travel wear, and Onda canned sparkling tequila. Through her production company, Mitchell is launching a new travel show with Max called Thirst with Shay Mitchell that combines all her loves—travel, drinking, and being on-camera.
Foundr CEO Nathan Chan caught up with Mitchell to learn more about the origins of BÉIS, how to name a brand or product, and working with celebrity partners.
Q&A with Shay Mitchell
Nathan Chan: So, you’ve got a lot going on.
Shay Mitchell: Everything has just kind of happened at the right timing with this and I think that a huge part of it is, you know, hard work and luck and the right timing. It just, I feel like with BÉIS, it came after a year after [Pretty Little Liars], and we’ve been so lucky.
When it launched in 2018, we’d worked on it about a year and a half prior to launching. And then with Onda, that came out of my love of drinking and also seeing another white space in that market.
NC: So, talk to me about BÉIS. What did that process look like? Because I think a lot of people might look at a creator like yourself and go, “Okay, well, that’s easy.” But you’ve built an incredible, long-lasting brand. And before I heard of you, I knew the brand. Talk us through what that first 18 months looked like to create a physical product and build the brand.
SM: The name played a huge part. Anybody now coming up with a name for anything, you look, and it’s like taken, taken, taken, taken, taken. You’re trying to come up with something creative that people will remember. And it kind of tied back to when I was auditioning prior to being on a show.
My real name is Shannon. And I remember, even going into audition rooms when I had changed my name to just go by Shay, people would be like, “Wait, Shay, that’s interesting. How do you spell it? S-H-A-E, S-H-A-Y.” And it gave me that couple extra seconds to talk to them in the room that I may not have had if they had just seen Shannon there.
It actually came from J. Lo. I loved Jennifer Lopez [as a kid], so I went to Shay Lo because there was another girl named Shannon in my class. And I just started going by Shay, and it just stuck.
So anyway, learning from that, I wanted a name that people would say was interesting.
“I wanted a name that people would say was interesting.”
I had so many different names. I went back and forth. That took a huge chunk of time, just trying to find something that fit and felt right and wasn’t taken. I had always traveled with this beige bag of mine, and it was like one of my first bags.
I loved it until it couldn’t be used anymore. Then, when I was looking up other ways to say beige, BÉIS came about. And then it had an accent. And I was like, “Huh.” The accent kind of just reminded me of this airplane taking off. And I was like, “BÉIS, hmm.” And I’d ask people how they would pronounce it.
And so many of my friends were saying it a million different ways. And I was like, “That’s funny because it’s not very obvious how you pronounce it.” It’s just kind of tied back to my auditioning days of getting that extra second in the room. It’s something you’d remember.
And I loved that. I love that there was almost a little bit of confusion in how to pronounce it because then you had people saying it a couple of times over.
NC: So you documented a lot of this, which is fascinating, and you went to China to pick out products and samples. How long did it take to get the right sample, and how did you know when it was the one?
SM: The sample process, even to this day, is something that takes a long time. It’s like, it feels like forever. I say it feels like a year. My team’s like, “Oh, it’s actually like three months before we get our first sample.”
We’re designing right now for the summer of 2025, right? Just to get perspective on the amount of lead time you need, but yeah, it was important for me to go and be able to see things and learn about them.
I didn’t go to design school, and I never claimed to be a designer at that point. I was learning as I went. The other great thing about starting BÉIS is that I had such an incredible team. Although we started with just five people, I had such incredible people who had been doing this for so long.
They brought their experience, and I learned from them as I went. I always say to people that you don’t necessarily have to have a long list of education to go into something. I am just somebody who learns better as I go.
I was on a hit show, and that was my first big thing, without as much acting experience as other people had on that show. Was it my best acting? Probably not. But you know what? I learned so much on that show, and I just needed to be thrown into the fire. That’s the type of person I am.
And so I think the same thing with BÉIS.
I wanted to go, see how it was made, see the factory, and see what other people were doing at the factory. Okay, you do these people’s suitcases. Let me break their suitcase down, let me rip it apart. What wheels did they use? Why does it roll better with these ones? Why is this company more expensive? What’s the material that they’re using? This is my option for zippers?
“I wanted to go, see how it was made, see the factory, and see what other people were doing at the factory.”
It was mind-blowing, I had to learn about it because it wasn’t just something that I was like, “Oh, have these designers mock something up, and I sign off on it.”
No, no, no. Even to this day, I pick every single model for our photo shoots, even if it’s ecommerce. It’s just how I’ve always wanted to be, especially with this, because I am so passionate about it. I want to be able to tell you why I put this zipper here and why it wasn’t on the back part. I have to be able to speak about it like that.
From the very beginning, going on those trips myself was extremely important for understanding why we were doing things. But yes, it is a lot more expensive. Getting samples, going back and forth, and having to wait—that’s also expensive.
But I knew what the markups were, and I wanted to be able to create affordable luxury for people because getting a plane ticket traveling, just even stepping out of your house for a coffee, is now so expensive. I didn’t want the bags and the things that you’re using to put your possessions in to break the bank as well. That’s not fair. So, I knew what I wanted to do in terms of price with that.
It can sometimes get a little challenging, but it’s been a great learning process from the beginning. I wanted to document that to your point. I thought it was important and still does to bring people behind the scenes of this whole process.
NC: You saw a white space. How did you see it? Is it because you went so deep in the market, or you went so deep on the customer?
SM: I was a consumer myself. I’m still a consumer. I was out looking to buy my own luggage.
The luggage I had been using on my trips and while I was on the show was, like, hand-me-downs from my parents.
“I was a consumer myself. I’m still a consumer.”
As I started traveling more independently, I wanted to purchase my own luggage, bags, and travel gear. And when I was a consumer out in the world, I was looking. I had this option that was so expensive, more than my plane ticket, and also didn’t meet the function that I needed.
So I couldn’t find anything that checked every box, you know? And I think that’s really where it came from. I’m also a consumer myself. I see what’s out there. I see what isn’t. And I saw a lot of what wasn’t out there at that time.
NC: Can you tell me the origin of your recent pop-up luggage wash in Los Angeles?
SM: Oh, pop-ups are really fun for us because we are mainly direct-to-consumer. They allow us to meet our consumers in person. It was a lot of work for those two days, but it was fun because we went crazy with our design.
The “BÉIS Wash” idea came because we were launching this new color, our Clean Slate Collection. Our campaign, which we actually shot in November, was a car wash cleaning the luggage. It was this cool, icy blue color. And the whole thing was just like fresh bubbles, all of that.
And then I saw some TikToks of people being like, “I got this color, and it got dirty. And my suitcase has a couple of stains on it.”
On one hand, I’m like, “Does Nike feel this way when people get their Air Force Ones dirty? Do people get mad at Nike?” I don’t know. When you got the bag, it was brand new and clean. I can’t control what happens to it when people huck it down the ramp into the airplane. But they still come for me, and at one point, I’m like, “Okay. Let’s just hone in.”
I get really sensitive about it because BÉIS is truly like my first child. It’s my company. I put everything into it. So, of course, I feel it more. I don’t care when people speak about me, but when you speak about the brand and my baby, I’m like, “Urgh.”
So anyway, bringing it back.
I was like, “Okay, people are saying that this and the lighter-color luggage are obviously getting dirtier. Yes. Let’s create this experience where we can do a service for them and clean up their bags. And this is all about a fresh bag, a fresh new year, and a clean slate. You know, let’s have this sort of BÉIS wash, car wash vibe.”
I visited so many car washes and pulled so many references. I knew that I wanted an old coffee machine in there, a water station, buckets everywhere, and sponges. We partnered with Scrub Daddy, and they came out with our own little suitcase scrubbers.
We created our BÉIS logo that then had fans, like when you’re going through that carwash, and it fans off your car. I wanted that for the little photo op. I wanted bubbles and all of this stuff. And it’s just such a fun way to play for us because I’m like, “Ooh, we get to have them come into our experience and create this whole vibe for our consumers.”
The cleaning of their bags was just sort of like our giving back to them for just being awesome. Whether you bought something or not, if you had a BÉIS bag, we would clean it for you.
“The cleaning of their bags was just sort of like our giving back to them for just being awesome.”
Personally, though, I am the complete opposite. I love it when my bags are all batted up, and I love stickers that are taken off of them.
I want it to look traveled, just like I want my passport to be full of stamps. I feel that way about my suitcase, but not everybody does. So, for those people who don’t, we cleaned it.
NC: What advice would you give to people to come up with a name to choose? You can use AI now. There are all sorts of different things that can help you, but what would your advice be just on that one? Because sometimes people do get stuck.
SM: I would say go with your gut, period. I did the same thing when I was coming up with the names of my daughters. I didn’t ask a lot of people what they thought because if you do that, you’re going to be going back and forth.
You’re never going to have a name that everybody loves. You’re just not. Whether it’s the name of your child or your company people are always going to have their own take, their own idea, but you’re the one who has to live with it. You’re the one who has to see it. You have to see it on every document, everything, everywhere.
“Whether it’s the name of your child or your company people are always going to have their own take, their own idea, but you’re the one who has to live with it. You’re the one who has to see it. You have to see it on every document, everything, everywhere.”
You have to feel like it feels right in your gut. And I know that’s maybe not the correct thing, but it was for me. I said it, I heard it, I saw it, I wrote it down, I worked with how I wanted the logo to be, I tried a million different fonts, I asked maybe two people, and it was my partner and I who came up with it, and that’s really it.
I was like, “Boom, don’t care what anybody else thinks.”
You just have to feel like it’s right and go with it. You like it. You like it for a reason. There are other people who are going to like it, too. And if they don’t like it, well, it might still be catchy enough, But they still think about it or they don’t like it enough that they remember it because of that.
NC: If someone is starting a brand and wants to work with talent like yourself, what advice would you give to them?
SM: If you have a deck, send it to agencies.
So, if you are a little bit further along in your steps and want a celebrity to partner with you, decide how they’re involved. Do you want somebody to just be the face? Do you want talent because you think they have expertise in this or because you’re genuinely interested? What is it that you want?
There are a multitude of different reasons why you might want somebody to be your partner. For me personally, I like being involved from the very beginning because I want to be very hands-on. I can’t just be the face of something. I need to have input. I need to be able to bring my opinions and ideas and feel like they are welcomed by whatever it is that I’m working with.
And I think that’s really the first thing: Do you want somebody to kind of just be there for the face, as I said, or do you want this person to help you with your ideas and, specifically, this product because they’re known for that?
Some people don’t want celebrities or talents involved. They think it dilutes the brand or the product. It all depends. I can only speak for myself, and I feel like I would still be interested in partnering or, at least, in investing in companies that I have a genuine interest in. I have to be able to feel passionate about something otherwise.
“Some people don’t want celebrities or talents involved. They think it dilutes the brand or the product. It all depends.”
It doesn’t matter how much the check is. To be able to speak on it, and I think people now know me for being really honest about what it is I’m speaking about, which is why even with BÉIS, I have to do those [product] walkthroughs first. I want people to be able to see exactly why I put this pocket here, why I use it for this, why you can use it on your trip, and how I pack things, it’s just that passion that I have for my businesses is sometimes hard to find if you’re bringing somebody on later on in the game.
NC: Yeah, when you partner with talent or a super-involved celebrity, that comes out. It comes out, and you can see it through the product, the marketing, and everywhere else. And I think that’s the most important thing.
SM: Yes, I agree. I never wanted it to be BÉIS by Shay Mitchell because I love hearing people say that they saw BÉIS and then found out later that I was behind it.
I love it when I walk up to somebody at the airport, and I’m like, “Oh, I love your bag.” And I’m like, “Thanks. Yeah. It’s this company called BÉIS.” I mean to say that we did the amount of sales we did based on my name would be insane. I’m very happy that it has superseded me. I always want that to be the case.
I want people to genuinely love the product, not because of me or anything related to it. But I also think that at this point, people who have seen my growth from the show to this have always felt like there is authenticity behind it and behind anything I do.
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HOT SEAT with Shay Mitchell
Nathan Chan: What have you learned about yourself through being a founder?
Shay Mitchell: Patience.
NC: What daily habit makes you a better founder?
SM: Time alone. I think that’s extremely important. I’m around so many people every day, or I’m talking to so many people every day.
Having that time where I can just sit with myself in silence is extremely important for me. That can happen in a bath, sitting on my bed, working out, or even driving, but that one-on-one time with yourself to just kind of hear silence is extremely important for me.
NC: If you could have dinner with any entrepreneur, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
SM: Sarah Blakely. I think what she has done, and what I’ve heard about her work culture and what she’s done to give back to her team, is exceptional.
NC: What’s your go-to pizza order?
SM: Oh my God. People are going to come for me. I like everything on it and pineapple. I have to have pineapple and ranch. I’m sorry. All my Italian friends hate me for this, but I need pineapple and I need ranch and chili flakes galore.
The post How Shay Mitchell Is Disrupting a $17B Industry appeared first on Foundr.
