Umaimah Mendhro: The Voice of Empowerment and Inclusive Fashion

An increasing number of people are switching to mindful living, which goes beyond yoga, meditation, a healthy diet, and stress-free life. Besides the fad, mindfulness can be an invaluable life philosophy that is all-encompassing in life, including shopping and style. We have all been guilty of giving in to aimless shopping, which needs to end as it does nothing to aid mindful living. This change is more important than ever now, and sustainability has become critical in all aspects of life. Fashion as a means of self-expression without destroying the planet is the aim, and working towards that cause is Umaimah Mendhro, CEO and founder of VIDA, who is rooting for responsible fashion.

Weaving her Own Path

The daughter of a physician, Umaimah grew up in rural Pakistan and dreamt of being an artist and designer despite belonging to a middle-class family. But growing up in exile in the Middle East (for almost a decade), without proper schooling, she understood the importance of education and went on to obtain her BSc from Cornell University in Human Development with coursework in Computer Science and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar. She worked for many years in the tech and business industries. She was a Director at West, where she led product strategy for some of the most promising IPO tech startups, spearheaded the company’s early-stage business unit, and served as the loaned VP of Product for a consumer wearable initiative. Umaimah was also the Director of Products in Microsoft’s Startup Business Group, where she led the division’s efforts around incubation on Xbox Kinect.

Global Partnership of Co-creators

Umaimah might not have been exposed to formal schooling from where she hailed, but she had access to incredible local craftsmanship, which inspired her to create and put her heart out in the form of sewing, painting, and sculpting. Very early on, she knew what she wanted to do – build a company that impacts the world in a positive and meaningful way. Consumers these days do not have access to creative and sustainable products from different parts of the world, and Umaimah intended to fix that gap between supply and demand by leveraging her vast experience in technology and passion for art and design. After toiling for many years in tech, she finally took the leap of faith and started VIDA, a company that connects customers to creatives through an on-demand manufacturing supply chain. Formerly backed by Google Ventures and Y Combinator, VIDA is currently a multi-million-dollar public benefit corporation, working towards making the fashion industry more accessible as well as responsible.

What helped Umaimah tackle the challenges that entrepreneurship threw her way were the experiences that she gathered during her career in corporate America. She knew how difficult and awkward it was to be thrown into a position of leadership and how she had to show courage in the face of it all, along with making mistakes and learning from them. It was not easy creating a fashion company that transcended boundaries to make it more responsible, accessible, and innovative. But Umaimah took the challenge head-on, as she wanted to empower lesser-known artists with the help of technology and innovation. Her e-commerce company instills a sense of taste in fashion aficionados across the globe through carefully selected artistic partnerships and sustainably sourced products that connect designers, producers, and consumers.

Facilitating World-Class Education for the Underprivileged

From not having access to education to studying in the most prestigious institutions in the world, Umaimah knew that education could really make or break one’s future, and it spurred her to wish to create that space for the less privileged. This led her to start “One League” in collaboration with Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and global industry leaders, to connect the world's highest potential change-makers to world-class education and opportunities to create global impact. Her team consists of highly dedicated, action-oriented idealists fighting to democratize access to power, promise, and global impact. “There is so much more talent that we want to tap into that can help us solve some of the biggest problems that we are facing today as a global society,” says Umaimah.

Along with giving the students the best of faculties with rich education and teaching backgrounds, One League also pairs them with mentors (alumni of Harvard, Stanford, and MIT) to recreate a network and champion the success of these students. This is aimed at fostering the creation of a new kind of leadership around the world. In short, this helps students stay connected with their communities and work through education, exposure, and empowerment to give back. The most interesting part of One League is that it offers 100% scholarships for students. This is facilitated by VIDA, as Umaimah took a grant from her other successful e-commerce venture to start the global scholarship fund to facilitate education for incredible talent from across the world. As the services offered are virtual, there is no extra cost incurred in terms of infrastructure, which brings down the expenses, and that is a crucial part of the business model.

Dare to Dream

Umaimah’s non-profit initiative – Dreamfly – was established over 15 years ago with a mission to bring communities in conflict around common causes through education, exposure, and empowerment. Umaimah started by raising money in the US to create a connection between the people here and those in other countries. She began by building a school in her home village and has since expanded into Afghanistan, Rwanda, India, and Colombia. Dreamfly’s core focus now is to fund scholarships for One League, as their vision is the same – education and empowerment.

Umaimah believes that some stories are more visible than others as she draws inspiration from her own experiences. The fact that she did not have access to proper schooling made her realize how important education is and now, she wants to ensure access to those in need. “As humans, we are all giving back in some way or the other. But I would encourage everyone to go a step further and help solve problems plaguing the world right now. We might sometimes get overwhelmed by our challenges, but they have some lessons for us to learn. Thinking about what you can do to help others in similar situations gives you internal strength,” said Umaimah.