00:00:00 – 00:00:08 Nitin Bajaj

Hey everyone, welcome to the industry show. I’m your host, Nitin Bajaj, and joining me today is Aashumi Mody. Aashumi, welcome on the show.

00:00:08 – 00:00:10 Aashumi Mody

Thanks, Nitin. Nice—nice to see you again.

00:00:11 – 00:00:15 Nitin Bajaj

Likewise, great to have you here. Let’s start with: who is Aashumi?

00:00:18 – 00:00:42 Aashumi Mody

Sure. That’s a very fully loaded question, but I would say Aashumi is curious. I am somebody who doesn’t take myself very seriously. I’ve always been a daydreamer, a big daydreamer in high school, and now an actual life dreamer as I get to build my company, Aayka, and now I’m scaling it. It’s my—truly, it’s amazing to be able to close my eyes, think of something, and then execute.

00:00:43 – 00:00:58 Nitin Bajaj

That is amazing. And I’m looking forward to getting our audience to know a little more of you. Tell us, what is Milni, why you started it, and what’s the mission and the vision behind it?

00:00:59 – 00:01:21 Aashumi Mody

Yeah, for sure. So my original company, Aayka, which is more of just a South Asian fashion label, I started that 5 years ago just to bring Indian fashion to the West as more of a passion project. And then we iterated and iterated to get that product-market fit right. And in spring of 2024, we launched Rental as a Concept, and it absolutely just, like, popped off.

00:01:21 – 00:01:28 Aashumi Mody

It makes sense, right, for South Asian weddings? Like, rental just is an obvious category. And we started off by just renting our clothes.

00:01:28 – 00:01:44 Aashumi Mody

And then, especially in New York City, as it became more of a household name, people were calling and texting me to ask if I can rent or sell their clothes on their behalf. So that entire idea of a marketplace was like, okay, this is the way to scale. There’s an obvious supply and demand here, and that’s how Milni was born.

00:01:45 – 00:01:58 Nitin Bajaj

That’s amazing. So you’ve just getting started with Milni. Give us a sense of the vision. Where do you see this going the next 6, maybe 12 months from here?

00:02:00 – 00:02:16 Aashumi Mody

Yeah, sure. So the biggest thing is that I want to make this very technology-focused. Like, it’s a marketplace, and the way that I’ve built Aayka has been very much, like, in-person, in New York City, and there’s obviously been a huge advantage to that.

00:02:16 – 00:02:38 Aashumi Mody

I think what Milni is trying to solve is a very obvious problem. And within the next 6 to 12 months, my main goal is to have the technology that is essentially mimicking an in-person experience, so really optimizing fit and styling and personalization across the entire platform, end to end.

00:02:38 – 00:02:56 Aashumi Mody

Like, my really—my goal with this is for it to not just be a dumping ground of a marketplace, like, actually have successful transactions. So that’s my main focus: building up the team, starting distribution channels primarily in New York City. We’re doing a proper launch event for Diwali this year, and then growing, learning, iterating, and scaling.

00:02:57 – 00:03:15 Nitin Bajaj

That’s super exciting. Now, I’m sure with a lot of moving parts, people involved, technology, there are quite a few things that you have to kind of bring together. But if you had to call out the biggest challenge, what would that be?

00:03:17 – 00:03:31 Aashumi Mody

Yeah, I think trust, right? Like, very honestly, for this category, from every single perspective. So if you’re a supplier putting your outfit up to rent or sell, like, the number one question we’ll get is, like, what if it gets damaged, right? Like, what if someone doesn’t return my outfit for me?

00:03:31 – 00:03:46 Aashumi Mody

And then on the flip side, as somebody who is going to be renting an outfit, it’s, hey, will this fit me? Is this appropriate for the event? Like, what do I do? So there’s so much uncertainty, and there’s such a high value for these clothes because a lot of them are event wear, right?

00:03:46 – 00:03:55 Aashumi Mody

So, and we’ve been able to perfect that experience because I can control everything, right? It’s my inventory. They’re coming to my store. A lot of the fittings are in person.

00:03:55 – 00:04:23 Aashumi Mody

So I think the biggest challenge is going to be, and that’s why I want to do it, like, really step-by-step and really think about it, and just ensure that, like, that online experience, which will always have some kind of in-person touchpoint, whether that be, like, a virtual call or, you know, your local Milni showroom in the largest cities in the US, like, there will always have to be a balance for that. But it’s, like, being really thoughtfully built, because I think otherwise you really can—it just—it won’t succeed.

00:04:24 – 00:04:32 Nitin Bajaj

So true. Now, on the flip side of challenges come opportunities. What’s the one you’re most excited about?

00:04:32 – 00:04:50 Aashumi Mody

I truly feel that I am the best person suited to do this. You know, like, I’m so excited about this because I’ve—we’ve done 2,500 rentals so far, right? Like, I’ve been in it. I’ve done 1,000 appointments myself, really, like, understanding exactly how the client thinks, like, how these garments work.

00:04:50 – 00:05:02 Aashumi Mody

And for me, it’s just, like, such an obvious business, like, duh. Like, renting Indian clothes and then, like, scaling that to be a marketplace. Like, I don’t think that’s, like, the billion-dollar idea, but the actual execution for it, I feel like, is.

00:05:03 – 00:05:12 Aashumi Mody

And I just think that I have the experience, and, like, I don’t—I’m just really excited to kind of do it because I have the confidence that I’m not starting from scratch.

00:05:13 – 00:05:45 Nitin Bajaj

And you are the best person for it, so I’m really excited about this. Now, as we look into the future, I’d like to pause and reflect, and I’d love to invite you to share two moments from your past life, one where things did not work out as you had expected. There was disappointment, failure, lessons, and another instance where things exceeded your expectations and became a success beyond your imagination.

00:05:47 – 00:06:05 Aashumi Mody

Yeah, for sure. So on the first, there are many, many, many failures, many things that didn’t go right. But I think the biggest one was—so when I first started the business, like I said, I just started it off as, like, a fun kind of creative outlet. Like, not really know what’s going to happen. We got some traction, and then I wanted to design a collection.

00:06:05 – 00:06:22 Aashumi Mody

I went to India. It was a 3-day, like, photo shoot in Jaipur. It was beautiful. Like, it was truly, like, a work of art. I came back to the US. We did a 3-week pop-up in Soho. I worked with every influencer under the sun, like, on paper, from end to end. It was, like, a success, right? Like, it was a beautiful thing to have done.

00:06:22 – 00:06:46 Aashumi Mody

But I basically pushed a product out there that I wanted to, like, build. Like, it wasn’t about what does the customer actually want or need, right? Like, does it make sense for a customer to buy a $600 lenga, right? Like, that’s only just guest wear. And I—and I was trying to consistently push that, push customization for a lenga that would be a difficult process to really communicate because production is happening in India.

00:06:46 – 00:07:05 Aashumi Mody

So I really started to think, like, look, I can’t just be putting out there what I want to be doing. Like, that’s just not how business works. And I really started to learn that, like, to be successful and to find that product-market fit, like, you have to consistently listen to your customer and iterate. And that’s how I discovered Rental. So it was, like, a big failure, for sure, but, like, it was how I made the best discovery.

00:07:06 – 00:07:30 Aashumi Mody

And then on the—yeah, and that’s how I’m also building Milni. And I think it was, like, the best lesson because that’s—even with Milni, I’m building in a way that’s very much, like, customer feedback, then build the next thing. Get customer feedback. Like, you may have to pivot. Like, I just think you have to keep an open mind because you really don’t know what the customer wants until you put it out there, and you just have to listen. So I think that was, like, a really important lesson.

00:07:30 – 00:07:48 Aashumi Mody

And then on the win side, it was recent. It was last Diwali. We decided to do a pre-launch party for Milni, like, even when there was just an idea of it. And I remember it was, like, 6 weeks before the event. We put the invite out. I was like, no one’s going to buy a ticket. Like, this is going to be an epic sale. I was, like, freaking out.

00:07:49 – 00:08:22 Aashumi Mody

And then 2 weeks before the event, we were completely sold. I had 150-ticket capacity. We sold—we oversold to 175 tickets. I walked into that room and I remember being, like, I don’t even know anyone here, which was the most amazing thing. It’s like, I think I’d just been so much in the weeds of, like, building my business that, like, I didn’t realize, like, along the way, we built such a sticky, engaged community that really, like, like, really connects with what we’re building. And they show up. And we’re doing another Milni launch party as well, so hopefully everybody who came last year will come again and then also bring a plus-one.

00:08:24 – 00:08:45 Nitin Bajaj

That is amazing. Super exciting, and I’m looking forward to that. Now, switching gears, when you’re not thinking fashion, when you’re not thinking of dressing people up in the most beautiful, what do you do to step off the treadmill, to relax, to de-stress?

00:08:48 – 00:08:57 Aashumi Mody

Yeah, that’s a good question. I think my husband would say that the answer is nothing. I just work all day. But really, I actually believe in a very well-balanced life.

00:08:57 – 00:09:12 Aashumi Mody

Like, I think a well-balanced—like, if I’m happier in all of my other, you know, like, family, friend, health, mental health, everything, like, I just believe that I’ll be, honestly, a better leader and a better person. So I really value my family and friends and my relationship.

00:09:12 – 00:09:16 Aashumi Mody

I’m not the founder who’s going to be, like, skip the wedding. It’s fine. Like, no, I’m going to go to the wedding.

00:09:17 – 00:09:29 Aashumi Mody

And then my husband and I also just bought a house, interior decoration. Like, I do—I still have a huge appreciation for art and design, and I love it. So interior decorating has become a little bit of a hobby of mine.

00:09:30 – 00:09:38 Nitin Bajaj

That’s amazing. Now, is there a book or a podcast that is a favorite and you’d like to share with us?

00:09:41 – 00:09:55 Aashumi Mody

So this is a non-traditional answer. I have gotten into reading the classics. Like, I read Dracula last year. I just finished Gentlemen in Moscow. I’m now reading Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, which is obviously gigantic.

00:09:56 – 00:10:17 Aashumi Mody

And I think that there is something as a founder—you just read these books where excellence was there when creating these, like, epic stories, characters, and they’ve been able to withstand, like, centuries of relevance. And it’s obviously, like, just an accomplishment to be able to read it.

00:10:17 – 00:10:27 Aashumi Mody

But it’s just, there’s so much—like, I just, like, respect it and value so much that somebody could create something like that, that it does, like, shift your brain chemistry a bit. So I—it’s my answer: read a classic.

00:10:28 – 00:10:39 Nitin Bajaj

So true. And I 100% agree with that. Now, on to my favorite part of the show. We call this the one-line life lessons. And Aashumi, I would love for you to share your life lessons with us.

00:10:41 – 00:10:55 Aashumi Mody

Yeah, sure. So I go to therapy, and my therapist is a gem. So I’m going—I wrote some of them down because I literally keep them in my notes section when I’m, like, going through things and I need somebody—I need to just, like, re-connect with myself.

00:10:55 – 00:11:11 Aashumi Mody

But the first one is procrastination is a form of fear. Like, always strive for excellence. Always lead with kindness and empathy. Don’t be so hard on yourself. And then if I can mind my French, but fuck it. You got to just do something sometimes.

00:11:12 – 00:11:21 Nitin Bajaj

Love that. Thank you so much, Aashumi, for making the time to be with us, to share your journey, your story, and your life lessons.

00:11:21 – 00:11:37 Nitin Bajaj

I’m super excited for what you’re building. You, as I said, are the best person to be doing what you’re doing. You are extremely passionate about this. You have a lot of experience doing this thing, and you certainly have an eye for fashion.

00:11:37 – 00:11:44 Nitin Bajaj

And I couldn’t be more excited for you. And I’m looking forward to bringing you back on because I know you’re just getting started.

00:11:45 – 00:11:47 Aashumi Mody

Thank you. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.