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DAI is on mission to empower ladies by means of comfort-driven efficiency, type and group. They’re a efficiency womenswear attire model utilizing revolutionary sportswear materials and sustainable supplies to ship versatile, useful design.
DAI’s story began at 30,000ft when the founder Joanna Dai labored in funding banking. After lengthy hours, her workwear turned uncomfortable, she requested herself – “Can I make this really feel like yoga, and appear to be an influence swimsuit?” Quickly after DAI was born!
Now elevating on Seedrs, we sat down with Joanna Dai get to achieve insights on her path to creating DAI and her plans for DAI sooner or later.
We’d like to learn about your profession earlier than DAI and the place you first discovered that entrepreneurial spark.
I labored in funding banking at J.P.Morgan for eight 12 months previous to beginning DAI, however I feel my entrepreneurial spark began in major college once I ran for Publicity Officer. Within the US, we had an elected scholar physique authorities to plan enjoyable occasions for all college students, and I did that all over to being President of the Class of 2008 at Cornell College. The primary trace into vogue was once I sourced 5 completely different black glitter night clothes with tailoring for the 5 homecoming princesses to swimsuit their completely different physique shapes.
What motivated you to start out DAI and what drawback are you fixing?
I began my profession in funding banking, working actually lengthy hours, 12-16 hours a day, working across the buying and selling flooring or working to conferences. And I at all times felt that garments had been extremely uncomfortable and restrictive.
It hit me someday. I had a 4am cab pick-up, a day of conferences working round Stockholm, and on the 8pm flight coming again, my waistband was digging in and all may take into consideration was how uncomfortable I felt. I needed I had been in my yoga leggings, and that’s once I thought to myself, “may this really feel like yoga, and appear to be an influence swimsuit? Why was it so onerous to search out manufacturers designing snug workwear for ladies?”
I imagined a world the place garments didn’t limit us, however somewhat empowered us, the place efficiency of our garments empowered the efficiency of the girl.
What are you able to inform us concerning the market and the way DAI is positioning itself for fulfillment?
We’re not a vogue enterprise. In a $292bn international ladies’s wear-to-work attire market, we’re a digitally native, ecommerce-first disruptor model delivering comfort-empowered efficiency utilizing a tech-enabled, data-driven strategy, together with our proprietary on-line Trouser Match Finder Software, coupled with real-time buyer suggestions to ship the proper product expertise for each physique form. Past our digital development technique, we’ve confirmed our diversified omnichannel strategy by means of retail, group, print advertising and press. We’re main with authenticity and function, as a result of at our core, we would like ladies to succeed. We’re additionally a Licensed B Corp with one of many highest scores within the international attire trade, and we’re main by instance of what’s higher, extra accountable.
What does your aggressive panorama appear to be and the way does DAI differentiate itself?
It’s a giant market and there are lots of choices, worth factors, design aesthetics, materials. Our imaginative and prescient for our merchandise and consumer expertise is “looks like yoga, appears to be like like enterprise”. We’re taking revolutionary efficiency supplies developed by the sportswear trade, and designing them for the on a regular basis, the sustainable method. Our key metrics paint the image of our sticky differentiation and success thus far: a single class of trousers drives 55% of our income, an astoundingly sturdy metric displaying a transparent gateway into our model and robust buyer loyalty: repeat prospects make up 50% of our income, which means they love our merchandise and are coming again.
Might you inform us about a few of your largest achievements so far?
Inside two months of our gentle launch, The Instances featured us as “the proper trousers”. Our Energy Transfer™ Trousers took off and we reordered 300 items the subsequent week.
Holly Willoughby, Trinny Woodall and an entire host of high-profile trailblazing ladies sporting Dai.
We’re backed by Redrice Ventures, Closed Loop Companions, and Rianta Capital with an unbelievable board and advisors round us.
We not solely survived however thrived for the reason that pandemic; Q1 gross sales are +151% vs final 12 months*.
Opening shops in Seven Dials, Marylebone Excessive Avenue, King’s Highway and Spitalfields.
*Based mostly on unaudited administration accounts.
What are some objectives you hope to see DAI accomplish within the subsequent few years?
Scale within the UK figuring out our profitable traction and channels, broaden into the USA, launch our B2B division, develop our workforce, proceed to innovate on sustainable supplies and proceed to empower ladies around the globe.
How do you propose to create a scalable and worthwhile enterprise mannequin?
The dry reply is on a spreadsheet. We all know our channels, they’re able to scale and we count on to realize profitability within the subsequent few years. However the true secret sauce is model function, mission, authenticity. We would like ladies to succeed and we wish to do higher for our planet.
Why do you suppose proper now could be the very best time for DAI to develop?
The time is now. After two years of pandemic, it’s again to life however consolation is right here to remain. Private model and feeling assured will eternally be vital for ladies. And sustainability is now not elective however the necessary method of the longer term for all of us. We’re a forward-thinking, trailblazing model that represents the way forward for our trade, and our time is now.
What do you propose to do with the cash you increase?
Scale our confirmed channels of development, together with v2.zero tech and data-driven dev and customisation of Trouser Match Finder, develop our workforce and operations (a a lot wanted increase ASAP given our tempo of development now) and broaden internationally, beginning with the USA.
What do you like to do in your free time?
Working, biking, not too long ago rising our personal produce in our backyard by means of composting our meals scraps in a worm farm.
For those who weren’t constructing DAI, what do you suppose you’d be doing?
Becoming a member of a physique on the UN or the subsequent local weather tech startup to combat local weather change, or constructing my very own absolutely regenerative farm.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learnt thus far constructing DAI?
You’re extra resilient than you possibly can ever think about, if you already know your function and that function is larger than you.
What recommendation do you want somebody instructed you earlier than beginning DAI?
They did inform me to not do it, that womenswear was extremely difficult (“make a Submit-It as a substitute”), however I went forward and began DAI anyway.
DAI is a B Corp licensed model, empowering ladies by means of comfort-driven efficiency, type and group. They’ve raised over £1.5m and are closing to funding quickly. For those who’d prefer to get the total story, try their marketing campaign right here.
