Town and Country Helps Local Business Get on QVC

In the summer of 2017, two of Tami Lange’s daughters lost their cell phones in one week. At a family reunion that weekend, Tami told her sister-in-law all about it. “She said, ‘I never lose mine’ and pulled hers out of her bra. And she had breast cancer!” says this Edwardsville resident and mother of three. Some reports have suggested that people who store their phones in their bra have a higher risk of getting breast cancer.*

Tami went online to find something for her daughters and sister-in-law to store their phones in safely that would give them constant access to their cells, but found zip. “That weekend I went canoeing and bought a waterproof bag for my cell and I could text through it,” Tami says. “I’m like, great! How do we put this on the backside of a purse?”

While still on vacation, Tami designed a prototype of the purse she envisioned. She had worked for a sandwich manufacturer and was familiar with the design process. Although she doesn’t speak any Asian languages, Tami traveled to China alone to interview 16 manufacturers. She chose one that had women in leadership.

Save the Girls is Born

Her company, Save the Girls (named for its efforts to save women from breast cancer), produces many styles of purses with clear pouches on the back so buyers can still use their cells without removing them.

Within four months, sales were $90,000, and the purses got star treatment.

“We gave out purses in the Oscars gift baskets, and we were at Gladys Knight’s birthday party giving her guests our purses,” Tami says.

QVC Hears about Save the Girls

This summer, “I had an opportunity for Lori Grenier, one of the sharks on (the TV show) ‘Shark Tank’ to promote my purses on QVC, but we needed financing to manufacture purses for the show.” While Tami’s family had used their own funds to support the company, they were tapped out. “I wasn’t selling enough to keep up with the increasing demand.”

She talked to her long-time bank, which turned her down because she’d only been in business one and a half years. “Another bank told me I flipped my inventory too fast to invest in me. I almost passed out to that response!”

Then a friend introduced her to Paul Abert, Executive Vice President and Community Bank President with Town and Country Bank in Edwardsville. He met Tami for coffee, and they talked for an hour. “I left that meeting feeling pretty confident,” says Paul. “Tami understood her inventory process, how to deal with the manufacturer, and her sales stream. She not only had passion for the product and the drive to market it, but she really wanted to understand the ins and outs of how we could structure the loan.”

Paul had team member Lara DeGroot, Treasury Management Officer, work with Tami to streamline her cashflow. “We gave Tami a scanning machine so she can make deposits at work and doesn’t have to come to the bank,” Lara says. “And, since she does business overseas, we do electronic wire transfers for her to get the money there. These things make her cash work for her quickly and easily and save her time.”

Growing Faster than Expected

Tami’s purses have sold out three times on QVC. They’re available in stores around the country and Tami’s adding more constantly. Town and Country Bank’s loan “allowed me to grow by 33 percent more than I forecast this year,” she says. “I really appreciate them stepping out in faith and believing in a local company. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

*The verdict is uncertain, according to the American Cancer Society, and more studies are being done on the subject.