Throwing Shade: How Business & Pleasure Co. Became an Umbrella Juggernaut

Business & Pleasure Co. has come a long way from its humble origins as a small Gold Coast market stall stocked with stylishly refurbished beach umbrellas. The decade since has seen the Australian brand explode into an operation that straddles continents, works with luxury fashion houses, and boasts a catalogue of over 300 products, all while maintaining the passion for vintage aesthetics that co-founders Lachlan and Ollie imbued in their venture from day one.

According to Business & Pleasure Co.’s Managing Director, Sam, the firm’s journey to becoming the byword in timeless, durable, and beautiful outdoor products has been fuelled by a passion and determination that could inspire other small and medium businesses to dream big. And thanks to the flexibility that comes with being an American Express® Velocity Business Card member, the ability to seize opportunities when they arise has been a key element to creating that trajectory.

Now, with boutiques in Newport Beach, California, and The Hamptons, New York, Business & Pleasure Co. has further cemented itself as the archetypal Aussie success story, with an impressive footprint that extends from the beaches of Byron Bay to both the east and west coast of the USA.

Own the Beach

Welcoming us to Business & Pleasure Co.’s Byron Bay headquarters, Sam regales us with the tale of how this remarkable business came to life.

“Business & Pleasure Co. was set up by Lachlan, who was a lifelong surfer and had experience making everything from surfboards to fins,” he says. “This served him well when he found a bunch of old umbrellas beneath a house in Coolangatta. They were the kind of amazing colourful ones you’d see dotted all around the beach through the ‘60s and ‘70s. From there, inspiration took hold.”

Recognising a gap in the market, Lachlan was soon returning the umbrellas to their former glory and selling them via the aforementioned stall. It was also around this time that he reconnected with an old friend, Ollie, who would soon become his business partner.

“Lachlan slept on Ollie’s couch during his days touring in the band Roger That,” Sam muses. “Ollie would become the commercial side of the brand, because he understood the sales potential of these stylish beach umbrellas. No one was doing it at that time, so they took that vintage look and feel and started making them with modern materials. That was the start of business.”

Much to Lachlan and Ollie’s delight, their new venture took off like a rocket, and it wasn’t long before they needed to expand operations, bringing Sam on board.

“Right from the start, they dropped everything, quit their old jobs, and just focused on doing this full-time,” Sam says. “It was the classic founder thing of working crazy hours, not taking any pay, and doing every job that had to be done. Within 12 to 24 months, they were employing people like me, and the brand kept growing fast. Early on, it became clear they needed the right partners and financial tools, which is what led them to become American Express Business Card Members.

“Their original mission was to make the world’s best beach umbrella, and it was as simple as that. But it started evolving pretty quickly. We realised that people might start by sitting under a colourful umbrella, but they’d soon want their towels to match. And a beach chair to go with it. As well as a cooler to take their drinks onto the sand. So the business started evolving and saw us really wanting to own the beach.”

Say Yes To Everything

This process of expansion shows no sign of slowing, with Business & Pleasure Co. going from strength to strength as it extends well beyond the sand and surf. Now, 80 per cent of the brand’s revenue comes from outdoor furniture and home umbrellas and its rapidly growing pillar of commercial and trade work. That ambition to own the beach has significantly evolved to owning outdoor living.

“It honestly blows me away each year seeing what we’re working on and how many new products that I never knew someone might need are approaching production,” Sam says, clearly chuffed.

“Our move from the beach to the pool and beyond has been super important for the brand. For example, we’ve developed this top-of-the-range commercial umbrella called the Resort Market Umbrella. It has this beautiful white aluminium pole and a crank handle mechanism to turn it up and down. It’s just so different to anything you see, you know, whether you’re at a hotel sitting by a pool or down at a cafe.”

Product launches of the Resort Market’s calibre have helped Business & Pleasure Co. place its stamp on the industry like no other brand. The result has even seen the world of luxury designer fashion knocking at the company’s Byron Bay door.

“There was an opportunity where we worked with an incredibly iconic designer brand,” Sam says. “They gave us a call out of the blue, wanting umbrellas for the front of all their stores across the globe. We had to get all these umbrellas made and sent around the world. Our product is not the easiest to handle and ship, so getting these umbrellas to Europe in seven days, including some locations we’d never shipped product to, was another challenge in itself.”

For other brands, that might wind up in the too hard basket, but according to Sam, that sort of thinking doesn’t fly at Business & Pleasure Co.: “We have something of an ethos in the company that we say yes to everything and then deal with how we’ll get it done afterwards.”

Empowered to Seize Opportunities

As Sam reveals, the ability to make the most of unexpected opportunities like this is integral to Business & Co’s success, and the American Express Velocity Business Card has been key to capitalising in this way.

“Having financial flexibility with the American Express Velocity Business Card is extremely important to be able to do that,” he says. “Having extra time between when something has to be paid for and when we can recruit the revenue from that particular sale or opportunity is key to us being able to grow.”

In fact, the American Express Velocity Business Card supports Business & Pleasure Co. in a number of ways. As Sam is quick to point out, the 51-day window to pay¹ for purchases allows him to use the card for the business’s paid advertising.

“Maximising awareness prior to the summer months is key to driving sales,” he divulges. We use our Card to pay upfront for our digital advertising, and we have up to 51 days to pay¹ while we wait for that ad spend to result in purchases.”

Further, Sam’s eager to address how the flexible spending power, also known as no preset spending limit², allows for Business & Pleasure Co. to demonstrate a dynamism that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.

“A perfect example was when we landed that major partnership with the luxury global brand that I mentioned earlier,” he says. “Our production saw us go from normal operational costs to putting upwards of AUD$100,000 per month through our accounts. When you’re scaling that fast, you need flexibility and reliable backing. Putting those inventory expenses onto our American Express Velocity Business Card gives us dynamic, flexible spending power that actually adapts to our transaction patterns. It scales right alongside our ambition.”

High-Velocity Benefits

Beyond the added confidence to lean into opportunities, the American Express Velocity Business Card provides useful hacks, including the ability to earn Velocity Points on everyday business spend³ and payments to suppliers and government bodies. This is through the offer of one Velocity Point for every dollar of eligible everyday business spend³, and one Velocity Point for every two dollars of eligible government spend³.

Sam expands on this, saying, “Running a modern brand means your biggest expenses aren’t always physical. We spend heavily on digital media ads every single day to keep our global digital storefronts moving, and then there’s our regular BAS payments. Our ultimate business life hack was realising we could funnel all of those mandatory overheads through the card. Our daily digital marketing, ATO bills and operating expenses were earning us Velocity Points³. We’re literally building our travel budget out of the expenses we have to pay anyway.”

The result is that making payments accrues Velocity Points that can then provide handy relief when it comes to other expenses for Business & Pleasure Co. As the Managing Director, Sam frequently finds himself getting on planes to meet suppliers, maintain relationships with his colleagues, and visit retail locations.

“Because we operate between Australia, California, and our international factories, I’m on planes constantly,” he laughs. “Travel can absolutely wipe you out, and if you land exhausted, you lose a day of productivity. That’s where the Velocity Points strategy completely changes the game for me. For example, I recently flew down to Sydney to catch up with a couple of hospitality groups we’ve been working with, and my number one travel hack for that kind of trip is to redeem my Velocity Points to upgrade to business class on the way home.”

For Sam, the cherry on top comes in the form of two complimentary Virgin Australia lounge passes per Membership year⁴: “When you travel as much as we do, you quickly realise that airports can either drain your energy or be an extension of your office. During those heavy transit days, being able to use our two complimentary passes to the Virgin Australia lounge each membership year⁴ is a real asset. It lets me escape the chaotic noise of the terminal, grab some food, plug in the laptop, and comfortably get to work from the lounge.”

Words of Wisdom

With that, it’s clear that Business & Pleasure Co.’s journey is one many fledgling small businesses would love to replicate. When asked what advice he might share to help them do so, Sam doesn’t hesitate.

“It goes back to saying yes to everything,” he affirms. “I think it’s really important that you’re not making every decision or saying no to potential opportunities purely based on your cash flow position.

“It’s obviously really important to be hyper aware of where you’re at, where you’re going to be in a week, a month, or a year’s time, but it’s important to have the strategies in place that give you the confidence to chase those opportunities without the constant pressure of cash flow looming over you. The American Express Velocity Business Card has played a big part in that for us, buying us time and allowing us to take some important risks along the way.”