Caley Adams Delivers Impactful Design Experiences for Emerging E-Commerce Brands—Here’s How

Caley Adams, Founder of Wildes District, is creating meaningful, authentic connections between aspirational lifestyle, luxury, and e-commerce brands and their audiences.

Caley started her career in design building large, notable brands such as Ralph Lauren, Chanel, and Rolex. Eventually, she decided to make the shift toward focusing on early-stage companies, specifically supporting them in navigating the many challenges that inevitably arise in the brand development process. Thus, in 2017, Wildes District was born. Today, it continues to partner with founders to build visually appealing, scalable brands. 

We asked Caley about the problems Wildes District solves, what she’s learned about building a team, and the underappreciated leadership traits she’s discovered along the way.

Q: What problem does Wildes District solve? 

A: In the luxury sector, there are two common problems people come up against when vetting design partners. Either the design team makes beautiful, visually stunning brands but unexciting, low-converting websites and apps, or your design team produces high-performing, high-functional websites and apps, but the aesthetics are subpar. 

We solve this issue by acting as a bridge between these two problems, and focus on where branding and digital intersect for the luxury world. This means that your digital experiences will not only feel sophisticated and elegant, but they’ll perform and convert.

Q: What makes Wildes District different from other, similar companies?

A: We are a design studio that specifically focuses on luxury and lifestyle brands. Typically, design studios take on a variety of different verticals and projects. However, this approach is much too broad. When you do this, you can never really be an expert in any one given vertical or subject matter. By focusing on a tight subset of clients, we’ve actually gotten more business and more opportunities because clients know that we know the subject matter inside and out.

Q: Have you discovered any underappreciated leadership traits or misconceptions around leadership? 

A: A lot of people talk about “leaders” as people who have all the answers, and are very prescriptive to their team about specifically what needs to get done. In my experience, the true sign of a good leader is actually the ability to find the right people and let them play to their strengths and put their own spin on things. This means finding people who are comfortable taking a direction and running with it, rather than people who will defer to you and your decisions.

Q: What have you learned about building a team and a support network around yourself?

A: I’ve learned that building a support network is incredibly important. After a few years running my business, I realized that most of my closest friends were in traditional 9-to-5 roles. This meant that their work life, experiences, challenges, and skill sets were dramatically different from mine, and often they didn’t understand or relate to my experiences. This felt really isolating and I realized that I needed to add more people to my network who work in similar roles. Since making this a priority, I’ve met hundreds of new people and fellow women entrepreneurs who can relate deeply to the day-in-day-out challenges, and that feels very rewarding.

Q: What would you tell your younger self if you were to start your entrepreneurial journey all over again?

A: The things that you’ll get out of this experience that make you the most proud are not the things you think they’ll be. I thought that scaling, launching brands, and winning clients would be the most rewarding part. But I’ve discovered over time that what I’m most proud of is the resilience and incredibly thick skin I’ve gained. A former client of ours once told me that thick skin is created slowly, layer by layer, but the end result is powerful, and changes you for the better. I couldn’t agree more.

Q: What’s next for you and your company?

A: We are doubling down on women-led and luxury businesses, and continuing to push the envelope for the next generation of category-defining brands. We want to continue to push for new, exciting work that feels fresh, not cookie-cutter. It’s easier said than done. After all, it’s easy to create work that fits into current norms and trends, but it’s much harder to create work that stands out and feels new.

Caley is a member of Dreamers & Doers, a private collective that amplifies the entrepreneurial pursuits of extraordinary women through thought leadership opportunities, authentic connection, and access. Learn more about Dreamers & Doers and subscribe to their monthly The Digest for top entrepreneurial and career resources.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Other Topics

Entrepreneurs