Stylish CEO Finds a Home at Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone (DMZ);DMZ Launches Campaign to Appeal to the Every-Preneur
Newswise — Ryerson University Fashion Communications alumna Monica Mei is smart, savvy, stylish and... an entrepreneur. In fact, she’s one of Toronto’s hottest young entrepreneurs, according to the Globe and Mail. While she was an undergraduate, it never occurred to Monica that a fashion student couldn’t launch her own business. She just did it. Her first venture, a clothing line, was an instant success for the fresh fashion graduate and now four years later, with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a second venture in her pocket, this fashion-preneur has found a home at Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone, a space for the every-preneur.
While studying at Ryerson, Monica went beyond the parameters of her fashion education and competed in the campus-wide Standard Broadcasting Business Plan Competition. She was awarded the $25,000 first prize for her designer label, Aime Luxury. This collection of eco-chic designs is now in boutiques across the United States and Canada, and Flare Magazine named her one Canada's best new designers. Monica’s new venture, WhatImWear.in is another departure, marrying fashion with technology. The free mobile style-sharing app helps users build their style story from snapping a pic, to tagging their clothing, to narrating the background behind the look. Then they can share that story instantaneously with friends, family and international trendsetters through the social style app and the WhatImWear.in website.
“Being an entrepreneur is really a spirit or a state of mind,” said Monica. “It’s not only about your educational background or your area of expertise. It’s about having a good idea and the passion, drive, work ethic and faith to see it through. It’s also about surrounding yourself with the right people – your team, your mentors and your collaborators – and that’s where the DMZ can really help people who wouldn’t necessarily see themselves as ‘entrepreneurs’.”
The DMZ has launched an internal marketing campaign for the back-to-school season targeted to entrepreneurs, like Monica, who are outside traditional business programs. Using the tagline “for the every-preneur,” the campaign targets specific programs, inviting students to “unleash your fashion-preneur, archi-preneur, edu-preneur, social-preneur, photogra-preneur, or designer-preneur.” The ‘every-preneur’ campaign will be rolled out across campus through the Ryerson and DMZ websites, strategically placed floor advertising, the internal broadcast system, print pieces and a street team promotion during Orientation Week and the Week of Welcome.
“Our goal this year with the every-preneur campaign is to challenge incoming and returning students to find their inner entrepreneur – regardless of their program of study,” said Valerie Fox, DMZ Director. “We want to cultivate in them an entrepreneurial mindset, so that as they go through their classes and group projects, they are always thinking of how they can turn their ideas into business opportunities. Then when they’re ready, when they’ve developed an idea in theory, they can come to the Digital Media Zone and actually execute it. That way they get an invaluable experiential learning opportunity plus the possibility of a viable career.”
For Monica, being a fashion-preneur is exactly what she wants to be. “I became an entrepreneur because I love the organic process – from conception to execution to actualization – that I experience as an entrepreneur. It can be exhausting, but it’s always gratifying.” The WhatImWear.in app is available for download starting August 25 in the Apple App Store, Android Market, and next month, in the Blackberry App World.
Opened in April 2010, Ryerson University’s Digital Media Zone (DMZ) is a multidisciplinary workspace for young entrepreneurs infused with the energy and resources of downtown Toronto. Set atop Yonge-Dundas Square, this hub of digital media innovation, collaboration and commercialization is home to both entrepreneurial startups and industry solution-providers. With access to overhead and business services, students and alumni can fast-track their product launches, stimulating Canada’s emerging digital economy through spending and job creation. Since its launch the DMZ has helped more than 170 innovators to incubate and accelerate 29 startups and to launch 57 projects. For more information on the DMZ, visit www.ryerson.ca/dmz.
Ryerson University is Canada's leader in innovative, career-oriented education and a university clearly on the move. With a mission to serve societal need, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community, Ryerson offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs. Distinctly urban, culturally diverse and inclusive, the university is home to 28,000 students, including 2,000 master's and PhD students, nearly 2,700 faculty and staff, and more than 140,000 alumni worldwide. Research at Ryerson is on a trajectory of success and growth: externally funded research has doubled in the past four years. The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education is Canada's leading provider of university-based adult education. For more information, visit www.ryerson.ca
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