I’ve been a little absent recently, and for this I apologize, but to make it up to you I have something extra special!! A year ago, I had the honor of interning for two incredible, inspiring women…let me introduce to you Shradha and Anisha the founders of Dress for the Day!
Dress for the Day is the “Ultimate Fashion Calculator”, a site focused on helping YOU find an outfit for every season, occasion, body type, and budget! Anisha and Shradha graciously took time to talk with me so I could get the inside scoop for you; I know many of you also have entrepreneurial goals, and these ladies have some wonderful advice!
How long have you two known each other and how did you meet?
We’ve known each other for a decade at this point. We met through a common friend who was attending NYU with Anisha and was a childhood friend of Shradha’s. Crazy how time flies – we always kept in touch and cannot believe we’re running a business together now!
Anisha and Shradha came up with the concept for DFTD as they were catching up over drinks after work. They both had their own careers. Shradha had attended Parsons and was working for the Luxottica group handling companies like Brooks Brothers and Tory Burch, and Anisha was a lawyer who worked with a music publishing company. What they both had in common though, was their love for fashion, and busy lives that made hunting for the perfect outfit something they didn’t have time for. So, they began to discus the perfect solution for the daily struggle, and on May 8th, 2013, they launched Dressfortheday.com!
After you originally developed the idea of DFTD, what was the first major step you took to develop it?
Finding the right tech partners and adding functionality to our vision. Whenever you come up with an idea, along with the excitement, comes the reality check of being able to turn that idea into a prototype and a functioning business. We met with numerous companies and wanted to make sure whoever was going to be a part of DFTD shared our vision and helped push it to the next level. We took our time and waited for the right fit; we would pass on this advice to any infant-stage startups!
When starting such a massive undertaking, what advice would you give to someone looking to follow in your entrepreneurial footsteps? Timelines and milestones are necessary to keep you on track and focused, however, sometimes you need to follow your gut and trust that you and your team are putting the best product out there. Even if you are launching a new version, know it will never be 100% perfect but getting it launched is crucial. No matter how perfect a product, you will want to edit and change and update the second it’s live. That’s why the term “2.0” exists!
If you could go back and warn/advise yourselves of one major thing, what would that be?
Timelines need some cushioning…In any business, things come up and turn into priority number one. We’re lucky to love what we do everyday where even the not so exciting stuff is a learning experience! Now keeping yourself organized with timelines is great, but learning how to make things work when things aren’t so black and white is a skill learnt very quickly in the entrepreneurial world.
Who has been your biggest source of motivation and inspiration as you work so hard to develop your own company?
Honestly, our users. We wake up every morning pumped to work on DFTD because our users are just the best. Our entire model revolves around everyday women being the source of inspiration. With our new App roll out we’re seeing even more user uploads come in, and with their streetstyles – boy, do our users continue to inspire us!
That’s right…Dress for the Day now has an app!! You can have the convenience of DFTD anywhere you go! Make sure to check it out in the app store; it’s free, just search DFTD or click HERE!
You can even upload your own looks, and Onethirdginger recently had the honor of being featured on their site, you may recognize the look on the far right from THIS post!
You two recently launched the DFTD app; how excited were you when it first released?
We were thrilled and literally over the moon! Like any release of a product whether it be a new launch or version 2.0, the excitement is unreal. Countless hours, days, months have been put into the overall interface all the way down to the nitty gritty of the DFTD app. When launch day comes along, all you want to do is show the world how awesome it is. We’ve been blessed to have a successful app launch and response and our viewers are using it for inspiration and interaction!
You two are such an inspiration to me; when I first interviewed with you, two years ago, not only did you make me feel comfortable, but you truly inspired me to believe in my own dreams. I know I am not the only person you have inspired; how does it feel to know that you are motivating women across the country to believe in their own dreams?
Kerri, you are one in a million and were a true asset to the DFTD family during your internship. Dreams are only dreams if you don’t explore the chance of making them a reality. We hope we’re inspiring others into taking a chance when it comes to their dreams. (Oh and obviously, we hope our sense of style is inspiring as well!) 🙂
I always like to ask one fun question. Y’all have such beautiful hair; what is your favorite hair product, the one you cannot live without?
Shradha swears by having 3-4 different shampoos and alternates every now and then to achieve that “new shampoo voluminous hair” look when you need to have your hair game on point!
Anisha loves Morrocan Argan Oil, straight from Morocco. The oil is 100% natural and replenishes your hair like nothing else out there!
A big thank you to Anisha and Shradha for taking the time to answer these questions! I gained so much knowledge from them regarding business. I’m already obsessed with their new app, and of course I’m dying to try the beauty tips…readers, you can be expecting a post on those soon!
onethirdginger.com 