This summer, I created and tested a new brand for ALTRD focusing on inclusivity and accessibility in terms of tailoring services. This 10 week task involved going out into the field and talking to local dry cleaning and tailoring businesses, as well as ALTRD’s previous customers, to inform company expansion strategy. I also lead the company’s very first competitor’s analysis that examined 5 nationwide companies’ social purpose and marketing strategy on Instagram: the ultimate goal was to define ALTRD’s social purpose of introducing tailoring as a sustainable practice. All these components allowed me to deliver ALTRD’s brand and test it on the Instagram community along with the approval from the co-founders and our marketing advisor: appealing to two stakeholders, the company and the customers. With all the necessary steps in research and trial and error, I confidently launched ALTRD’s Instagram posts and stories that would appeal to customers living in small towns along with revamping the company’s purpose in a customer’s life.

Social media and marketing presence was a top priority but due to lack of support, resources, and time it had been pushed back, where I was more than happy to be a valuable asset to the team to assist in that area. Establishing the brand based on conducted research and AB testing, co-founders can now lead the future social media campaigns with the tools and resources I created for them. This allows for the company to use creative outlets such as social media to promote and spread the important message of tailoring still being practiced and used.

As a Psychology major and Economics minor, my research abilities due to extensive psychology research in the classroom setting aided me to create high quality marketing material that resonates with individuals. I ensured that the content created was and continues to be original and explores new gaps of outreach to increase usage of ALTRD’s services.Having taken Psychology of Stereotyping and Prejudice with Professor Strossener and Neuroscience of Trauma with Professor E’mett McCaskill gave me the opportunity to write research proposals on gaps of research in respect to affirmative action and post-abortion trauma. My ability to find gaps in research and write up innovative and time-efficient methods and procedures that could potentially expand on the field of research had an enormous benefit on conducting ALTRD’s first social media compeitior’s analysis and what tailoring looks like in the 21st century. My major is constantly making me question and envision potential solutions to psychological and economical issues, allowing me pilot these solutions to small sample communities.

This internship was my first time working for a start-up and did not have experience or insight to start-up work culture and environments. Thus, I found myself having to adjust to the always changing environment and how there are new developments every week or even every day. However, I was able to communicate this with my supervisors and advisor, leading to weekly meetings and weekly deliverables that would all lead to the end of the internship deliverables. In addition, my passion for research sometimes led to overinvestment in one area of the project but then with the help of co-founders and marketing advisor, Deepti, I was able to find a balance between research and creativity and incorporate them into the content creation process. Being able to use my creative skills that I acquired on my own, allowed myself to take ownership of original content. Any challenges that did present themselves were immediately solved through transparent communication and trust between the co-founders and myself.

I gained a deeper understanding and respect for founders of a company, especially Stephanie Estey and Saara Hafeez, who do it both: develop and maintain ALTRD and life priorities. This balance does not come easily and I aspire to do it all being an individual who identifies herself as a visionary and go-getter, and creating my own company. As I am entering my last semester at Barnard, being part of the Athena Center for Leadership Studies gives me access to a course where I will be creating and launching my own social action project. I hope to target for first-generation and/or low-income students and access to mental health resources or fitness and physical education access. My experience at ALTRD has given me the creative and structural skills that I need to embark this semester-long project: understanding failure is part of the creative process. In addition, by working along side Deepti Shrivastava, I have gained and learned marketing skills to identify core themes and social purposes across different businesses. I cannot wait to see ALTRD grow through the power of social media and see an increase in more conversations including tailoring as a current practice.