ENTREPRENEUR feature: Autumn Adeigbo of Autumn Adeigbo
Autumn Adeigbo started her namesake company composed of colorful, ethically sourced, female-focused, fashion brand with the vision of positively impacting the lives of women in Africa and the United States. As a child, she watched her Nigerian mother sew her clothing. Those garments inspired Autumn to design clothing for women who love to stand out from the crowd and have strong fashion sense.
Supporting her passion is a strong educational background and industry training. Autumn graduated from Spelman College and studied fashion at Parsons. After graduation, she worked her way up from intern to associate with some of fashion’s A-list stylists and designers, including Betsy Johnson.
Autumn incorporated her business in 2016 and last year launched a collection of seven African inspired dresses. Her fashions were well received and are now sold through pop up stores, trunk shows, select retail stores and on her website. Beginning May 2019, a selection of Autumn’s hottest styles made their debut with online retailer Rent the Runway.
Autumn’s dynamic personality and talents include her ability to communicate effectively about her business and on being an entrepreneur. She writes a column for Forbes online, is a contributor to Fast Company and has been a featured speaker at a number of forums including, The World Bank, Capital One, The New York Public Library and FIT.
Her fashions have been recognized in Essence magazine, Marie Claire and Uptown magazine and her collection has been featured in over 50 publications including Vogue, EBONY, ESSENCE, Glamour, and Nylon and seen on MTV, BET, VH1, and the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Autumn has won prestigious awards including the New York Public Library and Citibank annual business plan competition and is a Global Good Fund fellow. In 2019 Autumn won the “BCNA MADE IN NEW YORK Immigrant Heritage Award” and was named a Tory Burch fellow.
WEALF met Autumn at an entrepreneur’s event at the New York Public Library. Impressed with her talents and drive, WEALF provided a first loan in 2016. Based on her meeting target goals she received a second loan from WEALF in 2018. In 2019, Autumn gained momentum and needed additional funds to fuel her growth. WEALF provided her another loan and introduced her to our partner Business Center for New Americans who has the resources to provide larger loans.
In addition to financial support, WEALF’s mentoring has helped Autumn grow her brand by organizing focus groups, for her new line, and co-sponsoring a trunk show. On an ongoing basis, WEALF mentors assist in preparing for investor presentations and on general business issues.
HEr words:
“WEALF has been an invaluable resource as I strategize and grow my business. WEALF loaned me money when no other bank would, and helped me grow my business to the point of being viable for more traditional funding including loans and angel investors. The WEALF network is also largely comprised of my target customer- so I lean on their expertise regarding how the collection is received and brought to market. I count Vicki and the women of WEALF as close advisors and investors in my vision to create a fashion brand created with culture, color, and conscience. I continue to return to WEALF as my business grows in order to strategize and be creative in my fundraising efforts.”