Fashion Marketing | DEC

Founder and CEO, Viita

As a Fashion Marketing graduate from LaSalle College, Raquel is founder and CEO of Viita, a company specialized in underwear for urinary incontinence.

Everything started with an idea developed in a class project. Raquel and her teammates created a concept, which they presented to a jury comprised of prestigious leaders in Canadian fashion, at the annual Enterprise event. They won the best team project of the year, which was accompanied by a $2,000 prize.

Afterwards, Raquel worked part-time while attending university and, at the same time, she devoted countless hours to developing her company. She succeeded in raising $70,000 in loans and subsidies. She appealed to textile labs, where she had fabrics produced and tested free of charge.

Fortune smiled on her thanks to the TV show Dans l’œil du dragon (Dragon's Den), where new entrepreneurs seek potential investors. She showed up to record the show with just one sample, without any capital and without any sales. For the most part, she used the same sales pitch that led her to winning first prize at the Enterprise event.