“The world is moving towards pay per use model.”
Entrepreneurship is a form of art that cannot be taught or learned in the classrooms. It develops as you constantly work on your goals. LibeRent owner Sahyujyah Shrinivas is a fine example of this.
Sahyujyah, a metallurgical engineer turned entrepreneur, proves that it doesn’t matter how young you are. If you have the desire to change the world, you can do it.
Society created this preconception that entrepreneurship relates to men only. But women of this generation have broken the odds and proved that they too can do what men can do.
Sahyujyah is one such woman who dared to follow her heart. She went on to build an online fashion rental store at just 22 years of age.
Sahyujyah’s inspiring journey as a young entrepreneur harks back to a quote by Chinese philosopher Confucius. He said: “He who says he can and he who says he can’t, both are usually right.”
A Tough Start
The LibeRent owner says everyone around her seemed displeased when she decided to quit her nine to five job with a reputable company.
A girl from a conservative middle-class family, she endured a tough time in convincing her parents when she came up with the idea of starting her own business – LibeRent.
After working for one year at Tata Steel Ltd, she decided to quit her job and pursue her dream project.
The idea she had on her mind didn’t leave her alone. Even while working, she started getting in touch with freelance designers and dry cleaners needed for running her start-up.
After having met a lot of women online and offline seeking their opinions, she received a few pieces of advice from well-wishers. She finally made a move and founded LibeRent in 2014.
When your vision is significant, it doesn’t matter how small you start.
She created a Facebook page and started renting her own outfits to her friends. She took their pictures and created listings.
Gradually she started receiving many enquiries from all over the country. But she was single-handedly doing everything. Based in Chennai, she managed to rent outfits for women only in Chennai back then.
Creating an Innovative Concept
Renting dresses online is totally a new concept in a country like India. Yet, Sahyujyah has been managing to take the concept to people as efficaciously as possible.
Sahyujyah says: “The world is moving pay per model.”
She reveals that the idea of starting an online fashion rental store was sparked while watching a Hollywood movie.
She believes that freedom in what you do is what helps you in getting the desired result. The name of her company is also a combination of two such words. LibeRent – Liberation and rent.
Even their customer service chat is named as “Liri” – meaning “freedom” in Hebrew.
Being a woman, she got the logic right because women really don’t like to be in the same outfit time and again.
When you have the freedom to emerge in a different outfit every time you attend a party, then what is the need of buying new clothes?
LibeRent offers exactly the same. Women can rent their outfit at 10-15% of the retail price of the dress.
In this way, with the amount you spend on a single dress, you can actually wear 10-20 outfits at different occasions.
How does the Business Work?
The noteworthy factor about LibeRent is it makes the renting process more user-friendly. You don’t have to give any deposits to rent a dress.
Just log onto their website and click on Home Trail. Drop your contact number or use their WhatsApp number provided on the same screen. You can send a message with the event date and the kind of outfits you would like to try.
They will come to your doorstep with the outfits you select and wait for you to try. You let them know which one you like and they custom fit your dress with no complications involved with the size variants.
LibeRent delivers the outfit a day prior to the event date and collects after the event. Their services cover all the major cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi. The delivery time depends on the city you live in.
Though her idea may not be promising in the beginning, the stout-hearted Sahyujyah ensured it got riveting along the way.
Now with her co-founder Abhishek More, who heads the technology department, LibeRent seems close to ruling the fashion world. Their next future project will be a new monthly subscription model. Women will be able to add accessories to their collection.
Like every other entrepreneur who started from scratch, the difficulties Sahyujyah faced while building her fashion rental empire tells another breathtaking tale.
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