What 2 of Canada's Female Fashion Changemakers Have to Say at Fashion Talks
The Fashion Zone is excited to host the first of this season’s live recordings of Fashion Talks (external link) podcast with Donna Bishop, and the Canadian Arts and Fashion Awards (external link) .
This week, we welcomed Elle AyoubZadeh, founder of Zvelle (external link) , and Pegah Kargar, founder of clothing brand Repaint History (external link) , for a candid conversation about their entrepreneurial journey.
Interestingly, both of our speakers came from the world of finance. However, they both decided to embark on the entrepreneurial journey, to do something with their passion and talent in order to enact change in ways they wish to seek.
Make sure you stay tuned for the official release of this episode of Fashion Talks (external link) on March 24!
“You have to be so aware of how to sustain your business.”
Both Elle and Pegah, their mission is a fundamental compenent of their businesses.
For Zvelle, it's about sustainability and #globalcitizenry - they create timeless pieces for global citizens enriched by all cultures.
For Repaint History, their mission is to bring recognition for female artists, featuring greats from the past, and supporting the present and future of female artistry.
“You need to have generosity of the soul.”
The people matter the most when it comes to building your business, but it’s not just how you treat people, but also how the people you bring into your business treat people.
Elle talked about one of the early struggles that many entrepreneurs face, and that is hiring your first staff. Your first 5 hires are going to be one of the hardest and most difficult decisions you will make as a founder. When you are starting out, nobody don’t really knows you or your business. As Elle said, “If you have the right people, the ones that don’t fit in will self-select out.”
Pegah shared her strategy when it comes to making decisions and getting advice. As a for-profit social enterprise, Repaint History has to be a self-sustaining business in order to give the company the resources to address their mission. Pegah mentions that for their business, they make decisions internally, and then shares their questions and ideas with their advisors and mentors. Pegah also made the suggestion of getting both for and not-for-profit advisors to help advise on different perspectives.
To close it off, what was apparent in the conversation is that who you surround yourself as entrepreneurs is extremely important, and something that should be treated with care. Just like how your life partner is the biggest decision for your life, your people are going to the biggest decisions for your company.
