Who is Airyco? When we speak of international brands selling in Malaysia, there’s a handful immediately comes into mind. However, when we talk of local brands, we as Malaysians spare no effort to show love and support! This article narrates an inspiring story about a student hustling to make his dreams come true.
Azri Shafian, a Malaysian student shares on Twitter about his journey starting a streetwear fashion brand while pursuing his accountancy in college. His brand, none other than Airyco, @theairyco (Twitter account), shares how this brand begins.
How Airyco Started?
A Tweet dated 17th October 2020 details how he gathered funds and started Airyco while in INTEC Education College. Despite hearing comments on the possibility of him wasting his 4 years of his life juggling between study and Airyco, Azri continued to fight on.
In the early days, Azri took on a project collaborating with MRSM, a Junior Science College, to earn money. He would design, print, and take orders for school-spirit shirts from students. The motivation behind this phase in his life is not to rely on his parent’s finances to kickstart his lifelong business dream.
The Big Break for Airyco
After kicking off Airyco, 1,500 pre-orders came demanding a piece of his work in just a month! Hence, Azri had to oversee the entire process from Quality Control, packing and shipping all by himself.
With limited time left, Azri often works through the night to ensure Airyco’s orders go smoothly. Keep in mind that he has classes to attend every day. Despite that, he had to commute to Shah Alam at 7 AM and for tuition classes in Kuala Lumpur that would often last until 10PM at night. Mostly Azri would work on his side hustle at night until 4AM.
Ultimately his hard work paid off after 5 days of grinding at night as the 1,500 orders were ready to be shipped out on time. This marks the first successful project under the Airyco brand!
On a side note, he had final exams to focus on after 8 days upon fulfilling Airyco’s order. Fortunately, he ended up passing both exams.
Future of the Company?
Azri later shared that he has the capital to fund further growth in his streetwear brand. The end results of Airyco’s first streetwear collection named “Alpha” can be seen on Instagram. His story definitely gained a lot of attention from Malaysians. Many of which applauded Azri’s dedication and grit in staying focused on his dreams and putting in the effort necessary for success. Hopefully, this story further inspires others to pursue their dreams. No matter how small, it is possible.
Thirsty for more interesting story about Malaysia and its’ students? Check this page out!
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