Laura Bryce and Kelly Pigeon are the co-founders of dresst.
Tell us about dresst – what is it?
Dresst is a monthly clothing rental subscription for women in Ontario. We rent everyday clothes that you can wear as your own for 30 days. When you send them back, we take care of all shipping, dry cleaning, and insurance. Laura
How did you come up with the idea for dresst?
There is a huge market for rental clothing in the US but there was nothing like it here in Canada. From a cost perspective, we saw a real opportunity to do it in a smarter way. When we learned more about the fashion industry, we found there is an incredible amount of waste to the environment. The opportunity to reduce the environmental impact and the financial impact of buying clothes is huge! Kelly.
What’s changed since you started the business?
At the core, we are very clear about what our concept is. What we needed to let go of was the idea of perfection and getting it just right on day one. By iterating and listening to our customers every step of the way, we were able to make incremental adjustments as we went, while keeping that core concept intact. Kelly.
What’s the biggest lesson so far in growing your business?
My biggest lesson so far is: don’t let not knowing something or not knowing how to do something stop you. You certainly need to have a little ‘smarts’ behind you, but there are a lot of amazing resources and helpful people out there. Don’t let the fear of not knowing something be your barrier. Laura
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is how to take no’s in stride. Because it’s no a hundred times, and then it’s a yes, and then it’s a huge breakthrough. All those no’s are worth it when you get the yes. Kelly
What next for dresst?
We are planning to win over the Ontario market. We are testing for market fit and then we’ll roll out nationally within the next 16 months.
