Redefining and disrupting the fashion industry with Masoom Minawala

Today, her name needs no formal introduction. It is a brand that paved the way for the influencer ecosystem and creator economy even before Instagram. Lifestyle influencer, entrepreneur and investor Masoom Minawala reflected on her journey from a young hobbyist to a brand name in her conversation with HerStory at Women on a Mission Summit. 

“At that age of 19, you don’t have that many fears. You feel that there is nothing that can bring you down. In all honesty, I didn’t pursue my career at 19. I was just following my passion and hobby. It was like making an online scrapbook. I consider it as my absolute luck and privilege that I could convert what I loved to do as a job,” said Masoom.

The lesser-known entrepreneurship

Proving people wrong has always been a fun part of Masoom’s career. But before she became one of India’s top influencers, Masoom was an entrepreneur who was doing quite well as the founder of a D2C commerce website. But when she went looking for investors, she faced the first instance of bias as a female entrepreneur.

“I met so many investors who said that my business would be so much more promising and would have a lot more value if I had a male co-founder. I would go home and cry in front of my family that this is so unfair. Despite having an idea and a vision to do something in the fashion industry, they (investors) didn’t believe that I could do it, and my gender played a big role in it. Today as an extension to my business, I have turned into an investor myself to help startups and entrepreneurs and to judge them for the business they are creating, their resilience and determination versus who they are, where they come from or what their gender is,”  said Masoom.

Finding a balance

Masoom described that her journey had been both a challenge and a reward for her. She loved proving people wrong who questioned her about her career choice.

“In the beginning, I was listening way too much to what people had to say. People were very intrigued by this creators’ industry. They didn’t understand why this girl was clicking pictures and posting on the internet all day. At a time when you are so young and inhaling so much external energy, you tend to make decisions based on other people’s opinions. I did that,” said Masoom. 

She pointed out that to drown out voices that affect one, it was important to keep her personal and professional life separate. The realisation came two years back when she felt a sense of responsibility towards those who looked up to her and were part of her community.

“Everyday I show up to work as ‘Masoom Minawala - the brand’.  But how do I distinguish that from ‘Masoom - the human being’? They both are so important and have the right to live in their separate ways. I need to handle criticisms professionally and not take everything personally. I realised that if I needed to continue doing what I loved to do, then I need to find my mental peace, a balance,” said Masoom.

Working with brands

Today, Masoom juggles the many roles of an influencer, entrepreneur and investor with an unmatchable flair. She considers them to be more than just jobs that need to be done.

“Waking up every day and showing up in all these roles is not a job but is my passion,” Masoom said.

Today, Masoom’s clientele includes some of the biggest names such as  Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Bvlgari, Samsung, BMW, and Airbnb. But she was only 19 when she started out. She began journaling regularly about fashion tips to daily outfits and everything that came along with them in her blog and later e-commerce portal, Style Fiesta. This was the pre-Instagram era when long-format content was the only way an influencer could become so.

Masoom added that it was more than sheer luck that made her one of the pioneers in the creator economy.

“Luck plays an important role, but it’s your actions that decide your trajectory,” said Masoom.

The ever-changing world of fashion

As the influencer market becomes the new it-thing, Masoom reflected upon the changing landscape which requires constant adaptation. Recently, she made a series on YouTube called ‘Masoom Takes Fashion Week’ that aimed to make people understand what fashion week truly is.

“It is more than just week-long glitz and glamour. There is so much stress and hard work. I wanted to tell the most authentic and true story of the fashion week,” said Masoom.

She added, “Initially when I had pitched the idea, my team said that it would not work. There was no data to prove that something like that series would work because it was never done before. They said that it had too many intricacies and people today only want short-form content- something that they can watch and just move on,” recalled Masoom.

But that did not deter Masoom. She created the content as her aim was to give the most authentic view of the fashion week. 

Commenting on the success of the series, Masoom said, “When you set out to do something with your head and heart, 

Leading the way

Masoom stated that the influencer ecosystem is very new despite being in place for more than a decade. With changes happening constantly, she added that it was necessary for her to not lose sight of her larger vision about how she wants the creator economy and the influencer marketing industry to be perceived. 

“The industry is so new, just like everything else around us. We have metaverse, NFTs and so many more changes happening on a daily basis. In our industry, only recently did we get our own legislation. But this novelty also means that in our creators’ industry, we have no mentors. So, I and my peers are the ones paving the way forward. The things that I say and show have a big impact on the industry because not much has been said about it,” said Masoom. 

Advice for the future

Masoom stated that one of the main ways women can get out of generational bias was by taking up the reigns of their own lives.

“It’s time we take our lives into our hands. Whether you are asking for a raise or learning how to drive or even starting a business, you owe this to nobody except yourself. You deserve to have your own mission and purpose. I used to be dependent on a man for my finances. It took a lot of time and effort to become more conscious about my finances. But I did,” concluded Masoom.

A shout out to the sponsors of Women on a Mission Summit 2022, an Initiative by HerStory, by YourStory - BYJU’S, the presenting partner, and other sponsors - Kyndryl, Sequoia Spark, Zilingo, Atlassian, Akamai, Freshworks for Startups, and Netapp Excellerator.