5 Minutes with Our Founder: Hasna Kourda

How did you feel when you saw Save Your Wardrobe had won the LVMH Innovation Award? 

I felt like it wasn’t real, it was completely unexpected so I was so excited, happy and grateful! It was a great mix of positive emotions and then I realised I needed to get up and actually make my acceptance speech!

The award is incredible validation for us, we have been working so hard to revolutionise the care and repair industry for the last six years and it was so exciting to receive the prize on the 6 year anniversary of Mehdi, my co-founder, and I starting the business. 

What advice would you give to an aspiring founder looking to begin their entrepreneurship journey? 

Having a strong and clear vision is extremely important, but I would say the absolute most important thing is to be resilient. Entrepreneurship is a path filled with many obstacles and challenges and the most important thing is to be able to get up after falling, time and time again!

It is also important that you can go after your objectives with a laser focus, don’t get me wrong, the money you raise and your network are important as well, but from an entrepreneurial perspective, getting up again after each fall is the biggest strength you will need!

What has been the highlight of your SYW journey? 

There are so many! Every time something happens I think wow I am so grateful for everything we have achieved with Save Your Wardrobe. I was actually thinking about when we received our first investment cheque this morning. It was £160K and I was the happiest person on earth, it is crazy to think we have raised more than £3 million since. 

Meeting people has been another great highlight, meeting people who align with your vision is really when the magic happens!

What makes you most excited about winning the LVMH Innovation Award?

Sometimes startup life can feel a little like going through the desert, and the LVMH Innovation Award is an amazing oasis for us. The Innovation Award is incredible in two ways, the first one is from a business point of view, we have access to all the prestigious Maisons of the group, they are such an influential group and this incredible for us to have been recognised by them. I was thrilled to hear Mr Bernard Arnault personally say how aligned he felt Save Your Wardrobe is with the groups’ ambition in creative circularity!

The other aspect we are really excited about is LVMH’s recognition of the power of technology within the aftercare sphere. They understand that they cannot do everything alone and they need startups like us to support them in achieving their goals. This feels incredible as it not only opens the way to a lot of partnerships but it also means huge things for our growth as a company. After all these years of pitching care and repair and the importance of the post-purchase experience, it is amazing to see LVMH say clothes care should be a priority for brands!

What is next for Save Your Wardrobe? 

I am super excited about the introduction of the Repair Fund in France, I think France is again showing that they are leaders in circularity and sustainability. The fund is driving all brands to contribute and subsidise repairs for their customers. It is also aligned with the Right to Repair, a European regulation that has been proposed with a view of saving costs for consumers and facilitating the development of a circular economy. I am personally very excited to see a framework and a regulatory structure going towards efforts for circularity. 

I am also so excited for us to start at La Maison des Startups, which is the LVMH group’s incubator. We cannot wait to meet all other startups accelerated at Station F and start new conversations with the Maisons on a global scale!