The leap from engineer to entrepreneur was a logical one for Karen Tsoi (BASc 2009,
Electrical; MMSc 2014, Management of Technology), owner of Pasteldress.com, an online custom bridal party outfitting business. “Entrepreneurs, like engineers, are all about solving problems,” says Tsoi. “Every day I wake up and think about each business problem with an analytical mind, just like the engineer I am. It’s the same approach.”
An accomplished engineer, Tsoi made the switch from technology consultant at Deloitte, where she had a successful career helping global customers implement and optimize technology, to e-commerce entrepreneur when she succumbed to the gnawing feeling that she should be running her own show. As a daughter of a serial entrepreneur, Tsoi says that entrepreneurship is in her blood, so it was a natural move to go from employee to employer. What was the surprise was the type of company she co-founded and now runs as CEO. Pastel Dress, is one-stop online shopping for brides and bridesmaids who need custom, affordable dresses but don’t have the time or geographical closeness to shop together. It’s modernizing a process that is ripe for disruption, says Tsoi.
Sought after speaker
“Men have many options for ordering custom clothing online, but there is not much available for women that is affordable,” says Tsoi, who, after intensive research, identified this gender imbalance as an industry-wide problem she could help solve.
Already possessing a strong interest in fashion, Tsoi sought out a co-founder with legitimate fashion bona fides in the glamorous Janny Lam, a graduate of fashion marketing and merchandising. Together Tsoi and Lam launched Pasteldress.com in 2012, which now has six employees and has seen 1000% growth in the last year firmly putting the company into profitable territory. Tsoi’s expertise has been noticed: she has given talks in Toronto at Startup Fashion Week, addressed a University of Toronto audience about fashion and business in Canada and shared her insight about supply chain and business models at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.
Fashion is fickle
Yet the fashion business is fickle. Tsoi says those brides who like to exert minute control over their wedding preparations are wary of online ordering, fearing a dress fiasco that could derail the big day. To overcome this, Tsoi and her team of six work closely with nervous brides to ensure everyone is happy, including offering free shipping and a $20 credit to use anywhere if extra tailoring is required. Eventually, as online custom dress ordering becomes the norm, Tsoi says she will be able to increase the automation of her platform, which will drive business growth. Like any good entrepreneur, she has got in on the ground floor of a burgeoning niche.
But there are always surprises. Tsoi admits that even with her master’s degree in management science, she was surprised with the amount of quality assurance issues that she has had to contend with the offshore manufacturing. “Something would happen, and I would say ‘oh wow, I didn’t even think of that’ and then I would have to figure it out,” she laughs, an engineer through and through.
