Famous Fridays | Sonya Gill

Sony Gill - Founder, Take My Sari

From being a Social Media Consultant, former ad agency owner, author and a fitness model,  Sonya Gill claims a lot of titles under her belt. She truly defines woman entrepreneurship to its essence. Today, we are here to throw some light on her newest venture - Take My Sari

I first met the very energetic Sonya at the launch party of Take My Sari. The event was hosted by Neerja Public Relations, couple of days back in NYC.

Take My Sari - an app designed for the South Asian market that allows us to sell our "closet treasures" we no longer wish to wear, but are too good to be discarded. 

Bravo Sonya! I think you hit the bull's eye with a concept like that. Lets hear all about it from the mastermind herself.

Tell us all about the conceptualization of Take My Sari

I came up with the idea almost 2 and a half years ago alongside my first business when I went back home to Vancouver for my sisters wedding. My mother who was fed up with the amount of clothes, jewelry and shoes we already had asked if she could just give it all away to Goodwill or The Salvation Army. And that is when the idea conceptualized.


What sets this fashion app apart, from its counterparts?

The user friendliness of it and that there is an entire e-commerce platform built in for individual vendors so they can treat it like their own shop. There is also an option to make money on top of the sales you make monthly. So for example, if you sell up to $1000 a month, we will give you back a percentage of Take My Sari sales. It is called the Profit Sharing Program.


Where do you see Take My Sari in future?

I see a lot of vendors and exclusive designers using this app and I see it revolutionizing the way that South Asians shop. Renting is not something that was always done so openly, but I feel our community is finally ready for it.


Share you fitness mantra with us.

I’ve been working out since I was 15 and fitness for me now has just become a regular part of my day. I simply cannot start my day without getting a workout in first thing in the morning. I started competing in fitness shows last year as a way to challenge myself and I absolutely fell in love with it. I have learned so much about my body and what it is capable of and how much of what and HOW we feel has to do with food!

My next competition is in April of next year, but leading up to that, I typically keep a high protein diet, and start my mornings off with fasted cardio mixed with heavy weight lifting sessions.  My biggest fear is getting soft. So the minute I start to feel soft, I know that I’m enjoying myself too much or not lifting enough. It’s enough to get my a** into gear.


Your favorite Indian ethnic wear?

I love saris. They are just so beautiful. Always reminds me of a classic 50’s hindi movie.


A piece of advice you'd like to share about Startups.

Startups are not for the faint of heart. They are a LOT of hard work and if you don’t have thick skin and the drive to persevere, I wouldn’t recommend it. However, they are also a lot of fun. Knowing you can build something from scratch to execution and in some cases, IPO’s and acquisitions is exhilarating to say the least. You can look back on something and say, not only did I survive, I thrived.

Thank you Sonya for gracing my FF page today! Wishing you lots of success in your new endeavor.

With Sonya at the launch party of Take My Sari