Zoe Antell and Jessica Kaplan, both Vanderbilt, do this by increasing the comfort and accessibility of stylish professional attire. The two discovered there is a significant gap in the retail market of business attire for college-aged women that is appropriate for networking, interviewing, and working while also being stylish and highlighting the uniqueness of each individual.

Along with their shop, Zoe and Jessica offer a newsletter and forum they call “Join the Boardroom” which keeps clients engaged and promotes their professional growth even after individual purchase their merchandise. 

“The Owen School of Management doesn't have an undergraduate program, so we had no idea what it was like being a business professional. After joining Delta Sigma Pi, we started going to networking and professional development events where we had to dress professionally. We had no idea what that meant or where to begin,” said Antell. 

Seniors Antell and Kaplan joined Omicron Chapter at Vanderbilt as freshman, describing the chapter as strongly community-oriented and a strong breeding ground for positive, forward-thinking ideas. Their first semester was their initial foray into the study of entrepreneurship, a less traditional career path for young people interested in business. In the early stages of ready dress go, they were able to collaborate with other Deltasigs and with constructive feedback, began laying the framework for what would become their business model. 

"I remember one of our first business meetings as pledges. We spoke with a brother who had started a business and asked him what he thought of our plan. Then when we moved into customer discovery, half of the women we spoke to were in Delta Sigma Pi as well. So a lot of our potential customer base were women going through the same experiences we were,” said Kaplan.

Antell and Kaplan’s advice to younger Deltasigs interested in entrepreneurship is if there is a pain point, a struggle or a gap in a market to not be afraid to explore it. They believe there’s no greater regret than missing a potentially great opportunity.

“Starting a business is scary. There are big steps, big risks and big time commitments that you have to take. But seeing an opportunity and taking advantage of it is an incredible thing. You’re in Delta Sigma Pi and you have so many resources in front of you, don’t be afraid to take that step,” said Antell.

Along with the online retail platform, and the “Join the Boardroom” campaign, ready dress go also has a philanthropic side called the Blazer Fund. The Blazer Fund partners with a nonprofit organization called Girls Inc. to work with young underprivileged women to help them gain affordable access to business professional attire.

“We care a lot about supporting women as they go in their first jobs and as they develop themselves professionally. We also understand it’s not possible for everyone to be able to afford the clothing we sell currently. To support all women, we have to go the extra mile to increase accessibility. Women who support our mission can choose to donate and sponsor an outfit on our site. We then use those funds to produce and donate brand new clothing to young women as they try to find themselves and their career paths,” says Antell.

In the next five years, Antell and Kaplan have plans to add more products to their inventory. Currently, they offer a full outfit including a blazer, pants and a top, but they would like to include options such as dresses, skirts and additional styles of tops so women can get their full professional wardrobe in one place. They also want to see their “Join the Boardroom” campaign growing in scale and impact.

“In the future, we want to see ready dress go conferences where women can participate in our brand, see what it means in person and use the events as a networking platform,” said Kaplan.

Learn more about ready dress go and their powerful journey at shopreadydressgo.com.