Already a Future Women? Sign in Career Mon Purse Founder Lana Hopkins Dishes Out Advice For Female Founders As she prepares for an exciting new venture, Hopkins says "if cult startups have any advantage, it’s a human quality. Soul is key." By Emily J. Brooks Career As she prepares for an exciting new venture, Hopkins says "if cult startups have any advantage, it’s a human quality. Soul is key." By Emily J. Brooks Previous article Monica Nakata: My Favourite Things Next article Future Women With Jamila Rizvi In the age of the internet, if you are not a tech billionaire by 23 something clearly went catastrophically wrong. This notion remains in part responsible for the mid-life crisis hitting at 30, not 40, but it also gives rise to ambition and innovation. It doesn’t discriminate. A good idea executed well becomes a parachute for success. Anyone can build one, and one woman who did was Lana Hopkins. She may not be 23 and she may not be a billionaire, but she is the founder of Mon Purse, a multimillion dollar luxury handbag company re-imagined through the customisation process.Hopkins’ “ah-ha” moment didn’t arrive while working in print and digital ad sales at News Limited, but instead when building a bear for her nephew at Westfield. After enduring an unsuccessful search for a handbag, she decided to buy her nephew a gift and found herself at a Build-a-Bear workshop creating her own plush toy. “That’s when I realised those two activities were not mutually exclusive,” Hopkins recounts. Why search for the perfect handbag when her perfect handbag was completely different to the woman beside her? Why not create her own? Research followed, along with a trip to a Turkish factory, some self-directed coding and MonPurse was born. You’ve hit the glass ceiling. And our paywall. Access member-only features by becoming a Red Member. Join the club Already a member? Sign in Best Of Future Women Leaders How this CEO stamps out passive-aggressive behaviours By FW Leaders The six values guiding this former Premier By FW Leadership New FW partnership to boost number of women in cybersecurity By FW Gender diversity Soft Power By Briana Blackett Gender diversity Be honest. Did you think Bluey was a boy? By Briana Blackett Gender diversity Cyber expert laments “lost generation” in online misogyny panel By Sally Spicer Gender diversity Is this at the bottom of your To-Do list? By Briana Blackett Gender diversity The Confidence Gap By FW Your inbox just got smarter If you’re not a member, sign up to our newsletter to get the best of Future Women in your inbox.