Ep 330 - The Hustle Behind Basically Borrowed

EPISODE INTRODUCTION

Jessie Jiang, founder and CEO of Basically Borrowed, joins us to share her fascinating journey from chemistry student to journalist to impact-driven entrepreneur. From her early days navigating the intense academic world of Peking University to reporting for The New York Times and Time Magazine, Jessie’s career took an unexpected turn when she moved to Manila and identified a gap in sustainable fashion. This led her to create Basically Borrowed, a community-driven platform promoting circular fashion through resale, rentals, and conscious consumption. She opens up about the challenges of pivoting careers, launching a business as a solo founder, and balancing entrepreneurship with motherhood. If you're an aspiring founder, a sustainability advocate, or simply someone who loves a great hustle story, this episode is packed with insights you won’t want to miss!

Episode Timeline: 

[00:03:23] Traditional upbringing in Shanghai

[00:08:30] Studying chemistry at Peking University

[00:11:12] Journalism journey: NYU & The New York Times

[00:26:03] Covering China’s startup boom at Time Magazine

[00:35:54] Shifting to business development in Singapore

[00:44:45] Moving to Manila: A fresh start

[00:52:22] The inspiration behind Basically Borrowed

[01:03:00] Solo founder struggles & growth

[01:14:33] Growing a community through content

[01:19:47] Advice for mompreneurs: Balance & choices

“And I think as a mompreneur, every mompreneur, we need a lot of support. You know, it takes a village to, you know, raise a child. It takes a village to create, grow a startup, for sure. So yeah, get, I think don't be embarrassed to get help, to accept help.”

Links: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessiejiang/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/basicallyborrowed/?hl=en 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisisbasicallyborrowed

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