With the spotlight on an increasing number of social enterprise startups in the UK, we spoke to co-founder of former Pitch contestant and ethical sportswear brand Bella Kinesis Roshni Assomull.
The company's supporting women in both the UK and India means they're also one of our inspirations for International Womens' Day.
We felt intimidated by the activewear available. To us, it seemed to be marketed for people who already had abs, toned arms and sculpted bums. We decided we wanted to create a friendlier, more approachable fitness brand with which women could identify more easily.
As Indian women, it's so upsetting to read the continual cases of sexual violence that occur in India. In certain regions, there's such an archaic view of the female role in society. We found an amazing foundation called Mann Deshi, which works to give women financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills so that they can become financially independent.
We were so inspired by their work and knew we wanted to support them. We felt their cause fit so well with what we wanted to achieve here in the UK - helping women to feel more confident and empowered.
Through fitness, we've discovered that although we might not be the fastest, strongest or most flexible, we can still run that 10k, hold that yoga pose and handle any crazy workout that comes our way.
We want to spread this message and hope our brand encourages women to get/stay active and makes them look great while they're doing it.
In India, we want to do our bit to raise the profile of women. From female infanticide figures to school drop out rates for girls, it's clear that women are seen as lesser to men in the country.
We believe that that giving women a business education will not only provide them with financial independence but also self-confidence and will earn them the respect of men around them. We hope that projects like this have a domino effect; these courageous women can inspire other women resulting in a real change in attitude in villages, then cities and finally on a national level.
We knew we needed to find a way to help but didn't know how. At this point, we only had the beginnings of a business plan for a women's sportswear brand. When we finally decided that we were going to go ahead with the business, we realised that we could combine our passions and merge the ideas.
I was reading 'Start Something that Matters' by Blake Mycoskie, the creator of TOMS shoes, which really gave me the final push to make the business happen. Following the TOMS shoe model, we created our own version of 'one for one' which we call 'strength for strength'. As we were becoming stronger, we wanted to help other women find their strength (in whatever form) too.
In fact I think we receive more support because of our social enterprise status. The governing body SEUK has been so useful in helping us gain visitors to our site and we had a huge boost in pre-Christmas sales from their 'Buy Social at Christmas' campaign.
We aim to be as transparent as possible in how much of our sales go to the charity and for what purpose our funds are used.
We've also received so many heartwarming messages of support and encouragement for our business, which have touched us so much.
Neither myself nor my business partner had prior marketing experience so it's been a lot of trial and error. We're both fairly introverted so we've really had to come out of our comfort zone.
We received a loan from the Startup Loans provider, Fashion Angel, through which we were assigned a mentor with experience in the retail industry.
We're also part of the PwC Social Entrepreneurs Club, which pairs you with PwC employees from a range of departments to offer advice and insight. It's always great to gain some outside perspective on your business.
We want Bella Kinesis to be more than just a clothing brand, so we're constantly planning events and gatherings based on women and fitness. We really want to create a community of inspired women who work together to achieve greater goals.
Are you a social enterprise? What problem do you aim to solve? Comment below (login or sign up first!)
The company's supporting women in both the UK and India means they're also one of our inspirations for International Womens' Day.
Why start up Bella Kinesis?
We started Bella Kinesis because we felt that a lot of the existing sportswear on the market was designed by fit people, for fit people. At school we hated sport and only took up exercise again in our twenties, after suffering from differing weight issues.We felt intimidated by the activewear available. To us, it seemed to be marketed for people who already had abs, toned arms and sculpted bums. We decided we wanted to create a friendlier, more approachable fitness brand with which women could identify more easily.
As Indian women, it's so upsetting to read the continual cases of sexual violence that occur in India. In certain regions, there's such an archaic view of the female role in society. We found an amazing foundation called Mann Deshi, which works to give women financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills so that they can become financially independent.
We were so inspired by their work and knew we wanted to support them. We felt their cause fit so well with what we wanted to achieve here in the UK - helping women to feel more confident and empowered.
What problem is it aiming to solve?
We want to address two issues. In the UK, we're working to help women who may have had negative experiences with sport in their youth, to give fitness another try. We're doing this through our #BKGiveItAnotherGo campaign, through which we share women's stories and organise accessible workout events so that women can try new forms of fitness in a fun, friendly environment.Through fitness, we've discovered that although we might not be the fastest, strongest or most flexible, we can still run that 10k, hold that yoga pose and handle any crazy workout that comes our way.
We want to spread this message and hope our brand encourages women to get/stay active and makes them look great while they're doing it.
In India, we want to do our bit to raise the profile of women. From female infanticide figures to school drop out rates for girls, it's clear that women are seen as lesser to men in the country.
We believe that that giving women a business education will not only provide them with financial independence but also self-confidence and will earn them the respect of men around them. We hope that projects like this have a domino effect; these courageous women can inspire other women resulting in a real change in attitude in villages, then cities and finally on a national level.
When did you decide to become a social enterprise?
Initially, the ideas for the business and wanting to help Indian women were separate. My business partner and I were spending a lot of time in India and were fed up of reading the constant stories of sexual assaults on women that would appear in the news on a daily basis.We knew we needed to find a way to help but didn't know how. At this point, we only had the beginnings of a business plan for a women's sportswear brand. When we finally decided that we were going to go ahead with the business, we realised that we could combine our passions and merge the ideas.
I was reading 'Start Something that Matters' by Blake Mycoskie, the creator of TOMS shoes, which really gave me the final push to make the business happen. Following the TOMS shoe model, we created our own version of 'one for one' which we call 'strength for strength'. As we were becoming stronger, we wanted to help other women find their strength (in whatever form) too.
What challenges have you faced?
We're constantly facing challenges as a startup but I don't think any of them are specific to being a social enterprise.In fact I think we receive more support because of our social enterprise status. The governing body SEUK has been so useful in helping us gain visitors to our site and we had a huge boost in pre-Christmas sales from their 'Buy Social at Christmas' campaign.
We aim to be as transparent as possible in how much of our sales go to the charity and for what purpose our funds are used.
What's the best bit about running your business?
Seeing our ideas come to life. It's amazing to see our designs, event ideas and campaigns take shape. We've put so much of ourselves into the business so we feel really proud when we see the final results.We've also received so many heartwarming messages of support and encouragement for our business, which have touched us so much.
What kind of team and mentor do you have?
We're just a tiny team of two! We've had to pick up all kinds of new skills along our startup journey.Neither myself nor my business partner had prior marketing experience so it's been a lot of trial and error. We're both fairly introverted so we've really had to come out of our comfort zone.
We received a loan from the Startup Loans provider, Fashion Angel, through which we were assigned a mentor with experience in the retail industry.
We're also part of the PwC Social Entrepreneurs Club, which pairs you with PwC employees from a range of departments to offer advice and insight. It's always great to gain some outside perspective on your business.
What are your future plans?
We're working on expanding our collection and have some great ideas for brand collaborations. We've just moved into our first office so we can now start to think about growing our team.We want Bella Kinesis to be more than just a clothing brand, so we're constantly planning events and gatherings based on women and fitness. We really want to create a community of inspired women who work together to achieve greater goals.
Are you a social enterprise? What problem do you aim to solve? Comment below (login or sign up first!)
