How To Turn Creativity Into A Sustainable Business

An Interview with A BETTER FEELING Founder Xander Ghost

Esteban: Been a while, Xander. What have you been up to? You’re the one with the exciting lifestyle.

Xander: Just work, really. Trying to get everything moving and keep things stable. Finding a work-life balance is tricky, but I’m focused on staying grounded.

Esteban: When you say work, what are you mostly focused on now?

Xander: A mix of things. The brand—A Better Feeling—is also a part of my artist persona. I can’t just work on one thing. I usually focus intensely on something for a while, get it running, then move on to the next. I’ve been building the brand for about six years. I’ve always done music, but I’ve started focusing more on that recently—especially in Arabic. I've also been focused on another more streetwear-driven brand with some friends called Barraserb. That’s been exciting.

Esteban: I see. And I wanted to ask—can you tell me more about how everything got started? We’ve talked briefly about it in person, but walk me through it. You were throwing parties, then launched the eyewear company, and were making music too. From the outside, it looks like you’ve been living the dream for six years. But what did that look like day-to-day?

Xander: Honestly, the brand started accidentally. A Better Feeling was just the name of a party I wanted to throw—cool events in London and around the world, with the goal of building a community. I also wanted to do merch, but not T-shirts—everyone does T-shirts. I’ve always been into eyewear, and I wear it all the time. It wasn’t a calculated business move. We had a small office shared with a friend—just me and one other person. We went in daily to plan parties. One day I thought, “Why don’t we make eyewear as merch?” There wasn’t a real strategy. I think I just wanted a way to monetize the community and energy we were building.

Esteban: Exactly. I remember reading an article that socks are fashion’s secret weapon.

Xander: Yeah, I remember that article. It got me thinking—there must be other secret weapons. Eyewear made sense. It’s easier to gift, it’s small, and it’s visible on people. Our team wore it, and we started placing it on others. It just made sense. Everything happened pretty organically. We didn’t have a business plan. We didn’t know anything about backend operations, fulfillment, or accounting. We just learned by doing—firefighting as we went.

Esteban: And now, six years in, what would you say your main skill is? Is it networking? Vision? What is it that makes things happen?

Xander: Honestly, I see myself more as a researcher than anything else. I’ve done a lot of R&D. I go deep into all kinds of subjects—subcultures in Colombia, food in Mexico City—whatever I find inspiring. I read a lot, buy a lot, pay attention to products and trends. That gives me a feel for what’s next. It’s all gut intuition. I also know how to bring the right people together. My technical skills show more in music—I produce and engineer. But fashion is about vision.

Esteban: So how do you balance everything—being so hands-on with music and also managing the brands?

Xander: I actually do music at night. The brands are a day job. I like routine. I know people avoid the nine-to-five model, but I find structure useful. You wake up, people are in the office—it sets the tone. Of course, now things are more remote. We’ve scaled the team up and down over time to make the numbers work. That’s something we had to learn—cash flow, operations, cost control. In fashion, everyone focuses on the hype—the visuals and marketing. But the backend makes it sustainable. Music, for me, is more of a long-term craft. I’ve been doing it for years. I can produce, record, and release a track myself, which keeps things efficient. It started as a hobby but became a skill I rely on. The Arabic music side felt natural—it’s my background, and the market is growing. I wanted to bring a unique edge to it.

Esteban: And when you think about identity—do you see yourself more as Xander or Omar?

Xander: Definitely Xander. Omar is for my parents and personal life. Xander was a nickname I got playing football. There were five Omars on the team, so a guy said I looked like Vin Diesel from “Triple X” and started calling me Xander. It stuck. I liked it. Had a nice ring to it.

Esteban: And when you think about your role—are you an artist? A curator? A researcher? An entrepreneur?

Xander: I’m not sure. Everyone’s everything now. Go on Instagram and everyone’s a creative director. But not everyone has done the work. I just see myself as a doer. If I want to be a chef next year, I’ll do it. I’m not scared of career changes. Music feels essential—it connects with people. It’s part of everything else I do.

Esteban: It also adds a lot to the brands. Having a separate creative entity behind it gives it more depth and identity. Most fashion brand founders aren’t also artists.

Xander: Exactly. Some have done it—Pharrell, Virgil—but they built over decades. They’re in their fifties.

Esteban: How old are you?

Xander: Thirty-two.

Esteban: So still early. They’ve got twenty years on you.

Xander: Right. I look at what they did and think—how did they get the business side right? The creative side either comes naturally or it doesn’t.

Esteban: It’s tough. The math has to support the art. That balance is the challenge. How have you been trying to get the business part right?

Xander: Still figuring it out. Getting the backend sorted is everything. The front end—design, imagery—is easy now. You can hire a teenager in Indonesia to make 20 amazing designs a day. Or use AI. But that’s diluting things. Creativity is accessible now. What’s hard is turning it into a sustainable business. That’s where the challenge is.

Esteban: Can you break that down a bit—what does 'sustainable business' actually mean to you?

Xander: It’s about making something that lasts—not just creatively, but operationally. For me, it means building systems that work even when I’m not involved in every decision. That’s cash flow, fulfillment, team structure, margins. It’s boring stuff, but it’s what lets the creative stuff continue. We used to think, “A big celeb wears the glasses, we’re set.” But no—hype doesn’t equal sales. So I started learning: unit economics, cost of goods, customer acquisition cost, retention rate, all that. We track how many people return to the site, what their average spend is, what the margin on each SKU is. That gives us a foundation.

Esteban: So it’s like applying startup logic to a creative business?

Xander: Exactly. I look at how hospitality and other businesses build operations, and I pull from that. I see how a restaurant does rollout—menu design, location strategy, and all—and I try to apply it to fashion. Even though it’s different, the discipline helps. You’ve got to look outside your field. You can’t just go with vibes. Vibes build community, but numbers build continuity.

Esteban: That’s a gem.

Xander: Yeah man, people think it’s all about being different. But if your backend is broken, it doesn’t matter how good your aesthetic is. And that’s been a big shift in my approach lately.

Esteban: Do you think that mindset is what allows you to diversify across music, fashion, and other ventures?

Xander: Absolutely. Once I got more disciplined with the backend—looking at every project like a system—I could handle more without burning out. The brand doesn’t need me in every meeting now. Ideas are more streamlined. I can spot if a new idea is viable faster. You build, test, iterate. That’s now how I look at everything.

Esteban: So if you had to leave people with one lesson, what would it be?

Xander: I’d say, respect the backend. Creativity is easy to celebrate, but sustainability only comes from systems. Know your numbers. Hire people who understand operations. Build workflows that don't depend on your personal bandwidth. That’s how you scale. And never forget—creativity thrives in constraints. The more solid your operations, the freer your art becomes.

Esteban: Thank you, Xander.

Xander: Pleasure.