Building a Global Vegan Fashion Brand: Desiree Dupuis on Purpose, AI & the Future of Business

In this episode of The People-Driven CEO Podcast, host Shane Jeremy James sits down with Desiree Dupuis, founder of VOES & Co, a premium vegan fashion brand with a vision to become a globally recognized name in conscious fashion.

Desiree shares how she is building VOES & Co around veganism, environmental responsibility and accessible luxury, including the growing innovation happening in plant-based materials and the opportunity she sees to create something much bigger than a footwear company.

She also talks about her upcoming crowd equity campaign and her vision of building a community of people who can actually participate in the growth of the brand.

The conversation then moves into one of the biggest questions facing business owners today: how to actually use AI well. Desiree and Shane discuss the difference between simply using AI tools and transforming the way a company operates. From marketing agents and automation to data security, workflows and human judgment, they explore why businesses need to understand what they are trying to improve before adding more technology. Desiree also shares where she sees the greatest opportunity for AI inside VOES & Co, particularly in building a smarter marketing engine that can help a smaller team operate at a much larger scale. They also talk about what businesses risk losing when efficiency becomes the only goal, why human capability still matters, and the growing importance of real-world connection as more of life becomes digital.

The episode closes with the question Shane asks every guest: What does it mean to be human?

For Desiree, the answer comes down to feeling, being alive, expressing ourselves and, most importantly, connecting with one another.