What was the impetus behind the creation of ByRotation?

I wanted to create a community of fashionable women who were increasingly conscious of their environmental footprint and practical about their fashion consumption. There has been much success with the resale and secondhand fashion industry—I wanted to bring the sharing economy à la Airbnb and Uber to it too. Thus, By Rotation was born.

What was a turning point in your journey as a founder?

I founded By Rotation as a side hustle, while working full-time in corporate bonds as an investor. It was six months into our journey after which we saw the community and our app grow exponentially across the UK and virtually every media outlet. That was my eureka moment, when I finally felt comfortable enough to make the leap and leave behind my seven-year-long career in finance.

Were there any specific challenges you faced as a woman or specifically a woman of colour along the way?

Fundraising is particularly challenging for women, and women of colour in particular. In 2022, the year that we raised our seed round from various funds and family offices, less than 1.9 percent of institutional and VC funding went to women. As an immigrant and third culture kid, it was even more difficult to get into the networks within which these investors often operate; the concept of a “warm intro” has never been more real!

I was also given unsolicited advice from a male founder to found an ethnic fashion rental platform because of “my background”. I couldn’t see why an Asian and Indian woman can’t create a global fashion service and brand that is useful to people of all walks of life. I refuse to be pigeon-holed on the basis of my gender, ethnicity and my appearance.

See also: Anissa Kermiche on the loneliness of entrepreneurship and the life-changing magic of scheduling