The company’s official launch three months ago marked a major turning point for Lesley Zhang, a Henley Business School MBA whom linked up with the SME after getting onto the Sirius accelerator last summer.
Lesley moved to London from China for an MBA in the UK after becoming inspired by the city’s thriving creative culture. Rentez-Vous, which allows women to swap clothing by “renting” items to fashonistas nearby, would be a fitting conclusion to her tale.
But there is more. And it couldn’t be further from where she started. Lesley first worked in finance for communications leader Motorola in the Asia-Pacific region. After almost eight years with the company, she decided enough was enough.
“I did always have thoughts of becoming an entrepreneur in the back of my mind,” says Lesley. “For me, it was time to make a change.”
She had always been interested in British culture – especially the music scene – and Henley, one of the highest MBA Ranking universities in the UK, is one of the few schools to offer an MBA specializing in the music and creative industries, developed with an international team of industry executives.
“It was the main reason why I chose Henley,” Lesley says. “It was a great opportunity to build a network in the creative sector and I was lucky enough to be mentored by the head of the programme, Helen Gammons.”
She knew she wanted to become an entrepreneur, specializing in entrepreneurship for her final business project, but her path was not clear-cut. “We had a module called Personal Development,” she says, “where we set out our goals and made a plan of action to achieve them. At the beginning I said I wanted to make a change, but I didn’t have the confidence to do it.”
Yet that is not the picture etched out by Lesley’s CV. Years as a financial analyst in Asia and now the CFO of a fast-growing start-up; she is clearly clever, if a little modest. But what separates those with a good idea and those with a successful business is the desire to take risks and make change happen.
Her entry onto the Sirius Programme – a renowned UK Government-backed accelerator – is reward for her risk. When Lesley left China, all she had was the ambition to do something more creative. Sirius has given her much more than that.
Successful applicants get £12,000 for each team member in the business, a graduate entrepreneurs’ visa, a place on one of the world’s best business accelerators and a network of support (among other perks). In short, it provides MBAs with a fighting chance of start-up success.
Rentez-Vous has been in business for less than three months but Lesley has ever confidence it will thrive. She joined the company after attending the UKTI Graduate Entrepreneurs festival in Manchester and meeting the SME's founder. This month Rentez-Vous moved their base to Tech-City in London, which is supported by the Sirius Programme.
The team describe it as “the Airbnb of fashion”, a fashion rental marketplace that allows women to never wear the same thing twice while making profit from their wardrobe.
Users can essentially rent out their clothing and accessories to others nearby, with Rentez-Vous taking a small profit. “There are a lot of unknowns, but we all share the same vision so we are quite happy to take the risks,” Lesley says.
If this was a story about a successful transition from a finance career in China to a creative fashion career in Britain, this would be an interesting tale to tell. Winning entry onto a prominent entrepreneurship scheme would make it even more so. But Lesley’s appetite for change is great. There is another twist in the tail.
After begining an MBA in 2012, she enrolled on a master’s in Music Business at Berklee College soon after. “Some of my tutors thought I was crazy,” she says of balancing two postgrad degrees. “But I knew it was the right way to build a knowledge base and build my profile up, to gain credibility for myself.
“Music has always been attractive to me. The UK is famous for its’ creative sectors and there is the musical talent to satisfy demand. I’m constantly travelling to London for concerts; I’ve been 31 times in the past year. This course is the first step on my next journey.”
And oh what a journey it promises to be. She has no plans to leave Rentez-Vous, yet she has plans to launch her own music business further down the line. MBA entrepreneurs cannot be constrained to one project.
“I would like to create a business related to the music industry,” she says. “The knowledge and the network I have built up is the first step.”
She is not sure what that business will be yet, but one thing is clear: an MBA from Henley has given her the tools to break the mould. “It’s about the mind-set and also the reputation Henley has,” she says. “It’s often all about the name of the school and the network of alumni.
“Henley has guided me through the journey and provided useful advice, and I’m very grateful for that. We still get regular alumni meetings and I’m still seeking lots of advice.”
It seems an MBA network never stops helping you. And it is not unthinkable to see Lesley making herself a success in the music business.
She has taken a great many risks; reward is surely due.
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