Abirami

After completing my MBA at Surrey...

I founded Neonewear Ltd, a London-based fashion consultancy that redefines how brands approach sourcing and product development. What started as an idea during one of my MBA modules has now evolved into a growing consultancy that connects UK and European brands with trusted manufacturers across the world.

At Neonewear, we work closely with brands at every stage of their journey, from concept to final product helping them transform creative visions into commercially viable collections. We’re not just manufacturers or sourcing agents; we act as product consultants. Our focus is on bringing clarity to the often-chaotic process of fashion production, guiding founders through business modelling, customer analysis, and product positioning before a single sample is made.

As the Founder and Senior Consultant, I lead a small but passionate team of three. Together, we manage supplier relationships, negotiate pricing and production capacity, and ensure each sourcing strategy aligns with our clients’ ethical and sustainability goals.

Our mission is simple but powerful to help brands build smarter, stronger, and more sustainable. Despite being a young company, Neonewear has already built partnerships across the UK, Europe, and Asia, becoming a trusted sourcing partner for emerging labels seeking responsible, transparent, and high-quality manufacturing solutions.

Success post-MBA

One of the moments I’m most proud of at Neonewear came very early on. A first-time founder reached out to me with an idea for a women’s activewear line, just with a spark of inspiration and a mood board filled with hope and ambition.

Instead of diving straight into fabric sourcing or sampling, I took a step back and guided her through the same frameworks I had learnt during my MBA. We spent time understanding her customer, refining her vision, and aligning her product idea with a clear market position.

Those sessions were transformative. Within weeks, what began as a rough concept turned into a structured business model with defined pricing, supply chain clarity, and a strategy for scaling. Today, her brand continues to grow, and she remains one of our loyal clients. Seeing her concept turn into something tangible made me rethink my own approach to business. It shifted my perspective from viewing Neonewear as a traditional manufacturing company to building it as a strategic consultancy one that helps founders think with structure, not just style. That experience became the spark for how our consultancy services began, and it continues to shape how we guide every new brand that walks through our doors.

Watching my clients brand come to life reminded me exactly why I started Neonewear: to help entrepreneurs build smarter, stronger, and more sustainable businesses while making their creative dreams tangible.

Transformative

My MBA at Surrey completely changed the way I approach business and decision-making. Before the programme, I saw fashion mostly through a creative lens. After Surrey, I began to see it as a connected ecosystem one that brings together strategy, operations, leadership, and ethics.

Many of the frameworks I learnt like the Business Model Canvas, Porter’s Five Forces, and Value Proposition Mapping are now built directly into the consulting structure we use at Neonewear. What used to be instinctive decisions are now guided by data, structure, and strategic reasoning.

I still remember the Change Management module led by Prof Thomas Saller; his approach taught me how to navigate uncertainty and lead teams through transitions a skill that’s vital in an industry as unpredictable as fashion. Business Ethics and Strategy, under Prof Tazeeb S Rajwani, helped me embed transparency and long-term value creation into every sourcing relationship we form.

But beyond the modules, what made Surrey special was the culture. The MBA wasn’t just about case studies; it was about developing leadership grounded in purpose. 

Every part of the Surrey MBA still lives in my daily work. It gave me the confidence to turn creative intuition into strategic action, and to build a company that reflects both business acumen and ethical intent.

Much of what I’ve built with Neonewear was inspired by what I learnt at Surrey, but it was the people behind the programme who made that knowledge come alive.

Prof Tazeeb S Rajwani’s sessions pushed me to think beyond short-term gains and instead see the world of sourcing and manufacturing as an interconnected ecosystem. That global mindset now forms the foundation of how I manage cross-border supplier relationships.

Dr Chris Mahon had a unique way of turning theory into something tangible. His guidance helped me test real business ideas through structured frameworks and strategic simulations.

Profs Colin Fu and Ali Emrouznejad completely reshaped the way I approach scalability and innovation. They taught me to see data not as numbers but as stories that drive better decision-making, something I now apply in product costing, pricing, and forecasting.

Janice Chalmers, my Career and Development Coach, went beyond the usual career advice. She helped us MBA students understand the UK market, the value of networking, and how to present ideas effectively lessons that became invaluable when I began pitching to brands and suppliers.

And I have to mention my cohort especially Riza and Priyanka, who trusted my vision and supported my early ideas when they were still just forming. That peer collaboration and shared energy played a huge part in turning my plans into something real.

To the academics here at Surrey...

If I could say one thing, it would be a sincere thank you, not only for the knowledge you shared, but for shaping the kind of entrepreneur I’ve become. The Surrey MBA taught me that leadership isn’t about titles or metrics; it’s about clarity, purpose, and the courage to build something meaningful.

The programme didn’t just teach me how to run a company, it taught me how to build one from the ground up, rooted in values and vision. To every professor who pushed us to think deeper, thank you .

But my gratitude also extends to my cohort. Working alongside people from such diverse industries, backgrounds, and countries gave me a broader perspective it taught me how different ways of thinking can solve the same problem in entirely new ways. Those classroom debates, group projects, and discussions changed how I see teamwork and leadership forever.

I came into the Surrey MBA as one person and left as another: more confident, more grounded, and more connected to my purpose. There’s still so much I’m learning and exploring every day, but the MBA at the University of Surrey will always be the starting point of this journey. Every decision I make now carries a trace of what I learned at Surrey, and I’m genuinely excited for all that lies ahead.