The story of Mi Menina

" We had the good fortune of connecting with Paulina Pagés Yabur and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paulina, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?

Mi Menina is a dream me and my partners envisioned over a year ago. A dream that, even though it seemed challenging, we were excited to pursue.

It all started with the desire to bring the best of Spanish children’s fashion to the United States and potentially the rest of the world, offering the best quality-price products to our consumers.

Our passion for this timeless and classic fashion and the desire for it to be recognized worldwide, started during the quarantine, when we felt the need to start this business and at the same time, support both, artisans and fabrics to sell their products not only in Spain but in every country around the globe. All these factors encouraged us to continue working on the development of the brand.

Of course, fears and doubts appeared during the process, “how should we do this? ¨ ¨where do we start?¨ ¨this is our first start-up; will it be successful?”. These questions began invading our thoughts and playing with our judgment. However, we were so motivated to fulfill this dream that we kept on going.

Now, I can proudly say that this brand was founded by four powerful women that were and still are eager and excited to deliver the royalness of the Spanish children´s clothes, that can only be found in Europe, to all over the world. Mi Menina is nowadays an online store based in Miami, that offers a delicate collection of haute couture garments for babies and children from different Spanish brands, made with the highest quality materials, creating unique products where classic, comfort and versatility meet in each one of the pieces.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I would say that the most challenging part about this business on a personal level, has been starting a new business while studying my career. Mi Menina was founded on 2021 while I was studying the 4th year of a double degree on Digital Communication and Advertising.

Managing the time between my studies and the development of a start-up was quite demanding and it still is today. But I’ve learned something very important from all this; no dream will be too big for you when the desire to achieve it is so immense. With this, I seek to encourage any student who has not yet graduated but who at such a young age wants to start a business, just as it happened to me.

I can assure that the satisfaction of having achieved something that at times you thought impossible, is really gratifying.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’ve been living in Madrid for 4 years now and I keep on falling more in love with this city every day.

The gastronomy here is definitely a must, so first I would invite my best friend to my favorite sushi restaurant in the city ¨ Nakama Sushi Bar ¨. Then, I would go to a rooftop where we could get to see the great views and landscape of the entire city and have some drinks with good music.

The Retiro Park is also a very peaceful and beautiful place to take a long walk and catch up with a friend.

For last, I would unquestionably end the night at ¨Toni2¨, the most emblematic piano bar in Madrid where anyone is a good singer haha!

I believe that the best thing about Spain is how easy it is to travel between incredible cities so easily. For this reason, I would take the rest of the week with my friend to visit my favorite coast in Spain, La Costa Brava. There´ s no better place to be than by the sea and even better when you share it with the people you love.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Sofía Pagés, Arantza Vargas and María Inés Mármol, my business partners in this amazing journey. Who dreamed about this project with me, had the courage to carry it out and now, have turned this business into a family.

My parents, who have supported, advised and guided me at every step of this experience.

My teacher Marta Medina Nuñez, who taught me the most important tools to develop as a professional within my laboral field. "

Interview by Shoutout Miami