Nicole Wegman, founder and CEO of Ring Concierge, drew on her experience as a product developer to launch her business.
What was your day job when you started Ring Concierge?
When I first got the idea to start Ring Concierge, I worked as an associate buyer for Bloomingdales; prior to that, I was a product developer for Macy’s. Throughout my time there, I was exposed to many different facets of the business, including the ins and outs of product development, as well as analyzing trends and consumer behaviors and how to leverage all three to forge a successful business.
When did you start Ring Concierge, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
Twelve years ago, I was about to get engaged to my now husband and thus began the process of looking for my own engagement ring. I quickly learned I didn’t like any of my options, and something in me knew there had to be a better way to buy bridal and fine jewelry. I saw firsthand how men dominate the jewelry industry, which didn’t make sense to me given the main customers were women, so I had the idea to create a company that specifically catered to millennial women, the biggest demographic of people getting married at the time. Taking the expertise I gained from my past roles, I founded Ring Concierge with the goal of providing a trustworthy, elevated way for women to purchase investment pieces.
What were some of the first steps you took to get the business off the ground?
I took $2,000 of my personal savings and used it to file for an LLC on LegalZoom, then purchased a domain name and business cards. I had read The Lean Startup and probably took it a little too seriously, but it truly gave me a foundation to jumpstart the business, and I’m proud to say that Ring Concierge has been profitable since day one.
In addition to starting the business, I had to become a jeweler my clients could trust. So, I got my GIA accreditation and trained under gemologists and bench jewelers — I wanted to make sure I knew exactly what it took to craft high-quality pieces. Once I was ready, I began sharing jewelry and diamonds with my then-small following on Instagram.
At the time, very few people were leveraging social media in this way. I got scrappy and was both the model and the photographer because I couldn’t afford much at this point. Turns out, accidentally and authentically, I was able to grow my following organically and, with time, became the trusted face of Ring Concierge — a strategy we still heavily lean into today.
