Grace was driving a forklift in a warehouse when a stranger arrived to hand her a $4,560 Bottega Veneta bag, totally free.
She won it simply by signing up to a new online ‘club’ offering luxury giveaways with no entry fees, all you have to do is put in your email address.
“Everyone seems to think it’s too good to be true, [but] it’s working exceptionally well,” Talia Datt, founder of Pretty Privilege Club, tells 9honey.
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Datt’s already CEO of The Social CliQ and The Content CliQ, two social media businesses she started from scratch, and now she wants to give back with her latest business venture.
The Forbes 30 under 30 entrepreneur envisioned Pretty Privilege Club as an ‘elevated lifestyle club’ that offers everyday Australians the chance to win luxury pieces like a Fendi handbag worth $3,160 without paying a dollar.
“We’re providing privileges normally reserved for the elite,” she explains, “and it’s free for everyone.”
Here’s how it works: Aussies sign up to the Club with an email address, which gives them access to giveaways, exclusive discounts, and special events.
You don’t have to pay a single dollar, just follow the Instagram page to see if you’ve won.
Behind the scenes, brands pay Pretty Privilege to advertise their products or services to the Club’s thousands of members, securing lower advertising rates in exchange for providing a discount code or giveaway which is passed on to Club members.
She’s effectively turned the ever-popular concept of Instagram giveaways (some of which have turned out to be scams in the past) into a business.
“It’s literally a win-win,” Datt says.
Originally the Pretty Privilege Club was going to be a side-hustle to fill a gap in the social media advertising market that Datt noticed over the course of running The Social CliQ and The Content CliQ, but it quickly became her new passion project.
She wants to give everyday Aussies the chance to experience a luxury lifestyle without the outrageous price tag.
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It’s an incredibly appealing idea to many Aussies feeling the crunch of the cost of living crisis; just ask the thousands of people who have already signed up.
Though she’s a CEO and Forbes 30 under 30 luminary today, in 2018 Datt was just another young Aussie trying to make it in the corporate world.
She started The Social CliQ as a freelance gig while living at home and “bootstrapped” the business, relying on her family for accommodation and groceries while she put every dollar made back into the venture.
It was a long time before she rewarded herself for a job well done with a designer bag she’d admired for years.
“I literally saved for two years and just put away $50 a month,” she recalls. “That was my first ‘big girl, CEO’ purchase.”
The bag was a symbol of her success, her hard work and perseverance, and now she wants to share it with everyday Aussies like the girl she was when she started.
Datt claims she’s received “thousands of DMs” from brands wanting to collaborate with the Pretty Privilege Club, and she’s getting popular local influencers on board too.
But they won’t be modelling the luxury goods offered up in the Club’s regular giveaways; they’ll be donating them.
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You read that right, Datt has convinced Aussie influencers to give up their own designer bags, clothes and accessories, like some sort of modern day Robin Hood.
“They really wear it once for a photo, and then that’s it,” she says cheekily.
“We can give these items a second life with people that really would appreciate it […] everyone wants to feel special and part of that sort of privileged elite.”
The idea is to give normal people the chance to indulge in a little bit of luxury without having to rack up 1 million social media followers or start a successful business of their own.
Pretty Privilege Cub is currently giving away a preloved Dior Saddle Bag valued at $4,940, with future prizes set to include an experience with a professional stylist, and exclusive vintage fashion pieces.
The only bump in the road so far has been the Club’s name, which is a nod to the concept of ‘pretty privilege’; the economic, social, and political advantages that come with being conventionally attractive.
It’s been a hot button issue on social media in the last few years and has some negative connotations, but Datt isn’t afraid of a little controversy.
“What we really wanted to do was turn it on its head and say ‘pretty privilege isn’t just for the elite or an influencer, it isn’t just for someone who looks good,” she says.
“We can provide those privileges to everyone.'”
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