Eshita Kabra-Davies: Building By Rotation, the Instagram for Fashion Rental saving textile waste from landfill

“I have more than 70% of equity in the business. Unfortunately, female Founders are actually encouraged to give up more equity in the early stages, which I would have never agreed with…” The fashion industry is the third most polluting industry in the world. Today’s 40 Minute Mentor is on a mission to change that. We are joined by Eshita Kabra, Forbes 30 Under 30 and Founder and CEO of By Rotation. Often dubbed as the Instagram for fashion rental, By Rotation has achieved amazing milestones to date, including building a community of over half a million like-minded Rotators, saving over 100k meters of textile waste from going to landfill in 2023, and raising £2.55 million in seed funding. We cover all the highs and lows along the way and Eshita’s exciting plans for the future. Episode Chapters: ➡️ Growing up as a third culture kid [03:40] ➡️ Why the leap into entrepreneurship [09:00] ➡️ Finding the right people & navigating Covid [12:45] ➡️ More about how By Rotation works [18:00] ➡️ Learn more about today’s sponsor [20:00] ➡️ Purpose vs Profit & By Rotation’s environmental impact [21:30] ➡️ Prioritising equity over huge fundraises [22:55] ➡️ Fundraising advice [28:00] ➡️ Landing big partnerships & famous ambassadors [33:00] ➡️ Hiring traps to avoid [35:45] ➡️ Expanding into the US market [38:20] ➡️ A podcast recommendation [41:45] ⛳ Helpful links: ➡️ Connect with Eshita: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eshitakabra ➡️ Find out more about By Rotation: https://byrotation.com/ 🔔Find out more about today’s sponsors Today’s episode is sponsored by Foundation Partners, an Amplified People Group business. Growing technology companies don’t have the financial resources, capacity or experience to tackle the challenges of scaling a business and driving performance. A world-class People, Culture & HR operation is instrumental for this. Foundation Partners have built a blended service, so companies get the experience and support - both strategically and day-to-day - they need to build an exceptional business. Find out more: https://www.foundationpartners.co.uk/ ⭐Enjoyed this episode?⭐️ Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review at https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices