Lea Schilling
Breaking new ground, rethinking sustainability, and being bold:
In this interview, Lea Schilling talks about her journey from marketing manager to founder of her own vegan bedding label, AGA.PIE. She shares valuable insights on how to build visibility—and why networks can be so helpful along the way.
Lea, would you like to briefly introduce yourself and tell us how AGA.PIE came to be?
I’m Lea Schilling, founder of the sustainable label AGA.PIE. I launched my webshop in the summer of 2021. AGA.PIE is a pure e-commerce business. From the very beginning, I’ve sold my products through my own online shop, but also via various marketplaces.
However, when I talk about my founding journey, I actually need to go back a bit further.
After my first parental leave, I initially returned to my old job. I had already started there as a working student during my studies and worked in fashion e-commerce for many years.
After about one and a half years of parental leave, I came back—and quickly realized that I was still frustrated by the same things as before. Nothing had really changed. At some point, I thought: If the situation doesn’t change, I have to change myself.
So I started looking for a new job. That wasn’t easy—I had a small child at home, couldn’t work full-time, and was in my early 30s. The job market doesn’t exactly celebrate that combination.
Eventually, I found a new position—again related to fashion e-commerce, but in a completely different environment, more in the tech space. I worked there for a while before going on my second parental leave.
During this second parental leave, the idea for founding my own business finally emerged.
To be honest, it wasn’t a “perfect time”: I had a baby at home, it was during the COVID lockdown, and life had slowed down anyway. But it was exactly during this time that I came across a material that immediately fascinated me.
What makes AGA.PIE bedding special is the material bamboo lyocell. When I first heard about it, I was instantly hooked. I thought: I have to create something with this.
That’s how AGA.PIE started as a side business during my second parental leave.
Later, my employer at the time unfortunately went bankrupt—also due to the pandemic. I was laid off. Looking back, I believe that was exactly the push I needed to truly take the leap into self-employment.
I’m actually quite a risk-averse person. I probably would have continued running the business “on the side” for a long time. But at some point, you have to decide and set your focus.
Back then, I told myself: In the worst case, it won’t work out—and then I’ll just go back to being employed.
Even today, I sometimes still think that way. But at the same time, I can hardly imagine going back completely.
What were the biggest challenges in building AGA.PIE?
One of the biggest challenges was definitely managing everything at the same time: family, self-employment, and at times even my part-time job.
I founded the business during my second parental leave. After about 14 months, I returned to work and worked around 20 hours per week— with two small children and a growing business on the side.
That meant completely reorganizing everything: When do I work? When do I take care of my family? When can I focus on the business?
On top of that, I founded the company during the COVID period. That meant I couldn’t travel to production sites initially. My production is in China, so I had to have many samples shipped back and forth.
Of course, the question was always: Does the quality really match my expectations?
I had to rely heavily on technical data, certificates, samples, and collaboration with local partners. It worked— but there was always a small element of uncertainty.
That’s why I deliberately traveled to China after the pandemic to see everything in person. It was important for me to see the production with my own eyes and make sure everything was running as I envisioned.
Fortunately, everything turned out to be exactly right— but for my own peace of mind, that step was very important.
You are very active in networking—both online and offline. What role has that played in your success so far?
I actually only really started focusing on visibility last year. Before that, social media was always on my to-do list—but very far down.
Even though I come from marketing and know how important and powerful it can be for building trust and showing expertise, I didn’t really engage with it for a long time.
In 2025, I finally decided: Now is the time to tackle this.
I signed up for a training program—the Baby Got Business Bootcamp—and completely rebuilt my social media strategy from scratch. Before that, I mainly just posted my products on Instagram.
The best moment came at the final bootcamp meeting. All participants met in Munich, and that’s where I met Anne (Kirchhoff), a social media consultant.
We immediately got along well and later scheduled a coffee call. She told me she wanted to become self-employed and support small businesses like mine with visibility.
That’s how our collaboration began.
In July, we organized a content day—with a professional photographer. We spent the whole day taking photos, recording interviews, and shooting reels.
And honestly: we’re still benefiting from that one content day. It’s incredible how much content you can create from it by continuously repurposing it.
How did you gain your first customers?
Very classically through Google Ads. I’ve been using them from the beginning. I also deliberately offered my products on Amazon.
At first glance, that might seem contradictory when selling sustainable products—but Amazon is simply a huge reach booster.
Many people discover products there and then search for them again online—eventually landing in the brand’s own webshop.
I also hid behind my products for a long time. I always thought: The products speak for themselves. But at some point, I realized that’s not enough.
People want to know who is behind a brand. I want to tell my story—because I believe it can encourage other women and mothers. And I want to share my passion for materials like bamboo lyocell and explain why I chose them.
That can’t be communicated through product images alone. Social media and LinkedIn are perfect channels for that.
How has your social media visibility impacted brand awareness, trust, and revenue?
Since last summer, my visibility has increased significantly.
I notice it especially in brand awareness. Suddenly, people can connect AGA.PIE with me as a person.
My engagement rate and overall reach have increased by over 300%. My company was also ranked among the Top 100 most visible startups by a trade magazine.
And sometimes there are small, surprising moments: I recently attended the reopening of a co-working space—and suddenly someone approached me and said, “Oh, you’re Lea from AGA.PIE.”
Before, I always had to explain who I was and what I do.
Influencer moment
A particularly crazy moment was when Dagibee, a major influencer with over six million followers, simply ordered bedding from my shop.
No collaboration, no agreement.
She just featured the product in her story—and within minutes, orders started coming in every five minutes. That was really impressive.
Of course, that was luck. But I also believe it had something to do with my active Instagram presence. Influencers also look at who is behind a brand.
What learnings did you take from formats like the Baby Got Business Bootcamp, the June Minds Mastermind, and the moclue Stammtisch networking event?
When you start a business, there are many resources—like the Chamber of Commerce. That’s where I developed my business plan and explored funding options.
But once you move beyond the startup phase into the growth phase, you suddenly feel quite alone.
As a solopreneur, you make decisions alone every day. That’s why the mastermind concept was so valuable to me.
You have sparring partners with whom you can openly discuss challenges. Smaller groups even formed, and I still exchange ideas with them regularly today.
At the moclue event, I had a real full-circle moment.
I originally studied fashion and textile design but quickly moved into e-commerce and marketing. At the event, I suddenly found myself again among designers, talking about materials, circularity, and textiles.
It felt a bit like coming home.
Is there a topic in sustainable entrepreneurship we don’t talk about enough?
In my opinion, one topic we talk far too little about is balance.
Sustainable entrepreneurship doesn’t just mean sustainable production — it also means managing your own resources sustainably.
For me, it plays a huge role that my parents live nearby and support us. That’s an incredible privilege —and an important factor in building my business.
If I completely overwork myself and constantly feel like I’m not enough — neither as a mother nor as an entrepreneur — that’s not sustainable in the long run.
What are the next steps for AGA.PIE?
In the future, I want to continue growing AGA.PIE—initially in the DACH region, and later across Europe.
I also want to further expand my visibility—for example through podcasts or talks where I can share my story.
Because I believe entrepreneurship is not just about selling products—but also about sharing experiences and inspiring others.
