Rax

My company:

Rax is a peer-to-peer wardrobe rental platform where you can lend out clothes from your closet and borrow from others.

Why I started it:

Rax emerged from a personal frustration that I knew many could relate to — buying expensive clothes, wearing them once, and then leaving them to gather dust in the closet. Recognizing the potential in these underutilized items, I envisioned a platform where individuals across Canada could monetize their closets.

What niche I’m filling:

With the fashion landscape increasingly embracing circular practices, rax fills a crucial void, providing a space where users can contribute to sustainability while simultaneously capitalizing on the opportunity to be their own entrepreneur or affordably access the latest trends.

Most exciting moment so far:

Securing $65,000 in non-dilutive grant funding. This marks a pivotal moment for rax, providing the necessary resources to scale our operations and amplify our impact. It also symbolizes the endorsement of our vision and the collective belief in rax’s capacity to bring positive change to the world of fashion.

My best advice for new entrepreneurs:

Embrace the fun side of the hustle. Shifting my mindset from “Ugh, I have to do this” to “I get to do this” has been a game-changer. It turns the entrepreneurial journey into a thrilling adventure rather than a daunting challenge.

Something that didn’t work:

I experimented with launching rax using a no-code tool to test the idea and get customer feedback. The tool turned out to be slow and laggy. This experience taught me the importance of selecting the right tools for the job, even in the initial phases. The right technology can significantly impact the user experience and overall success of a platform.