Dressing Up for Success – MIDAS Entrepreneurs

MIDAS Entrepreneur Riya Jain’s niche clothing brand Le Reve is all set to become the first urban workwear fashion brand for the contemporary woman. The brand aims at creating premium quality workwear with intricate designs, perfect cuts and petite fits, suitable for every occasion for the working woman.

Riya shares with us her brand’s inspiration, “All our products and designs are a work-of-art, translated into clothing because we truly understand that a woman’s first love is to dress fabulous!”  Going back in time, Riya recollects her journey when she decided to pursue the entrepreneurial course at MIDAS, Pune. “I always knew I wanted to start my own venture, but was unclear about how to make a perfect choice. After writing down about 200 business ideas, several brainstorming sessions with the coaches and scoping each idea, I identified that there is no particular apparel brand focused towards the working women. Consequently, Le Reve was born.”

Riya’s business idea got validated after she spoke at length with around 500 working women in Mumbai’s humid climate. She knew it then that success doesn’t come so easily. It takes a lot of hard work and perseverance. Once the idea was established, the next step was to come up with a name. Riya says, “It was the most cumbersome task as someone has rightly said, naam mein sab likha hai. Le Reve stands for “The Dream” as every woman in the world has some dream to achieve and Le Reve wants to be a part of that dream through the customized apparels.”

For the first time ever Riya realized the importance of laying stress on details when she actually started working on every aspect of her business. “MIDAS helped me understand the nitty-gritty of starting a business. There were several stages like Idea Generation, Idea Validation, Entrepreneurial Fitment, Incubation and Pitch to Investors, where we were coached to adopt with an analytical and practical approach to make business decisions,” affirms Riya.

Moreover, there are many events at the campus which expose the students and their business ideas to the outside world which help them evaluate their scope and relevance in accordance with different sectors. The biggest opportunity was MIDAS Bazaar, where the students present their business ideas in an exhibition format to their families and friends. A panel of chief guests and industry experts also evaluate the business ideas, complete with detailed plans and prototypes, giving the cohort an idea of what to expect when they go to market.

“There was a lot to take back home from the MIDAS Bazaar experience. While some believed in my idea, others had some critical opinions, and different perspectives, which further helped me, mold the idea and refurbish it accordingly,” said Riya.

With MIDAS’s outstanding coaches and curriculum, today, Le Reve is confident to hit the market next month. A determined Riya expressed, “There is a lot of work to do, many hurdles to cross, but I’m excited and well prepared for the road ahead!” Riya and her success story speaks volume about her dream, do you wish to create your own?

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