Vintage Kye (VTG.KYE)
by Kye Sim
Inspired by Fear of God, Kye started experimenting with the idea of creating his own clothing brand as a way to express his journey with God through fashion. However, after the beginning stages of sampling designs and clothing, he came to a realization that he needed a larger amount of capital in order to experiment and reach the level of excellence that he envisioned for his brand. Hence he created VTG.KYE as a start-up to raise money for his future plans.
Describe your business.
“VTG.KYE sells vintage, branded and thrifted clothes. Most of these clothes are second-hand items, enabling shoppers (who are mainly teenagers) to be fashionable while saving the environment from the harmful effects of fast fashion.”
What are the challenges you faced in the process?
“The biggest hurdles I had to overcome were whenever I had to try something new, like getting the business up and running or setting up my first pop-up stall. Even after long hours of thinking and preparation, there were always self-doubt and a fear of failure, which were difficult to overcome initially.
But luckily, I had friends around me, and of course people in The Evolution who kept pushing me and supporting my decisions to take the leap, to be brave and try out new things!”
What has been your biggest takeaway from doing VTG.KYE?
“The setting up of this business has been an enjoyable process for me! I’ve managed to step out of my comfort zone, learn more about clothing history and design. Plus making new friends & connections along the way!”
What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring entrepreneurs out there?
“You do not need a huge sum of money to begin with! Many people might think that they need at least a few hundred or thousand dollars to start, but the truth is, you can start with whatever amount you have. You must be patient and work hard to turn $1 into $2, and into $5 so on and so forth, then you start to look at bigger numbers from there.”