Kawaii Lighting's Lan Bui on Why Counterfeits Will Never Stand Up Against High-Quality Products

• How Lan created Kawaii Lighting after a visit to the Huaqiangbei Electronics Market in Shenzhen, how the custom ring lights grew in popularity after make-up artists showcased them on social media, and what the experience of preparing for Shark Tank was like.
• The different scams and counterfeit products Kawaii Lighting has seen appear in the market since they've started.
• How Kawaii Lighting has their factory go after companies that are selling knock-offs directly.
• Why Lan's approach to combating knock-offs is to create the best product available that will attract customers looking for high-quality goods.
• Why Lan decided to avoid Amazon and create Kawaii Lighting’s own ecosystem for direct-to-consumer sales.
• Advice for entrepreneurs and start-ups on what to keep in mind when faced with companies who make counterfeits of your products.

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#1.)  

"I don't take it personally. The market's big enough. If they're going to keep selling, that product is probably inferior to mine. And then once the person buys it, they'll determine whether or not that was worth the money or not."

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#2.) 

"The knockoffs, they're looking for the person that's going to spend much less money. They're not necessarily even my customer. It is a threat, but I don't feel that as a threat to my business."

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#3.) 

"The deal that we have with our factory is, you guys have to go after those people. ... It's a pretty simple process. If I ever find a violation, I send it to them. And then they do their best. And pretty much every listing has been taken down."

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#4.)

"Whatever I make, three months later there's going to be another one. So keeping that in mind, the only option I have is to make the best or the coolest or have the best marketing — something has to be the best to counter the fact."

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#5.)

"I feel like our reputation really carries us. ... The market is still so big. I'm still not reaching enough people. My efforts are much better spent finding new customers than going after the customers that are just, in my eyes, just never were my customer that I cared about."

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