School of Self-Worth

117: Developing Confidence, Strength and Grit with Armoire CEO Ambika Singh

• Nicole Tsong • Episode 117

Share episode

When Armoire CEO Ambika Singh founded her clothing rental company, she had no idea how much grit she was gonna need to source.

It turns out it was a lot.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Ambika and talk about how much Armoire has grown in the nine years since she had the idea to reduce fashion waste with a rental company.

In this episode, Ambika shares openly about the challenges she had getting funding for Armoire, and the key thing that helped her source confidence and grit along the way, especially as a woman of color in a male-dominated industry.

She also shares about how parenthood changed her perspective on work and creating more balance in her life. And that while she has had to be super tenacious to get here, she still is working on not being so hard on herself. 

The top learnings from this episode:  

  • Embracing intentionality and early influences on entrepreneurship [00:06:05]
  • Building a business with mission at the core [00:09:50]
  • Learning to balance ambition, parenthood, and leadership [00:17:05]
  • Grit, self-worth, and the challenges of entrepreneurship [00:14:10]
  • Fundraising as a woman of color in a male-dominated space [00:27:16]
  • Experiencing fulfillment through impact and community [00:35:52]

Ambika Singh is the founder and CEO of Armoire, and is on the journey of a lifetime, helping to revolutionize the way women dress. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School,  she works to make women’s lives a bit easier with Seattle-based startup- high-tech, high-touch company, Armoire, which offers a true “wardrobe as service” experience. Ambika has worked across diverse contexts in organizations both small and large, with roles in marketing, business development, product management, SEO and social media. She has been featured on the Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list, in The Seattle Times, and was invited to speak at Amazon, Microsoft, American Express, Harvard Business School, MIT, and the UW Foster School of Business.

If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram stories, and tag @nicoletsong @armoire.style and @ambikasi  so we can give you a shout-out and thank you for your support! 

ASIAN VISIBILITY SYSTEM: Want to permanently reverse cultural conditioning and step into a life where you feel purposeful and thrive? Grab the Asian Visibility System: go.nicoletsong.com/visible.

Do you struggle with boundaries? Discover the blind spots holding you back and take the Boundary Tendencies Quiz: nicoletsong.com/quiz

Have a question or topic you’d like Nicole to touch on in a future episode? Email podcast@nicoletsong.com to share any thoughts or feedback. 

Learn More About Ambika Singh: 

Catch up with Nicole: 

People on this episode

Head Shot

Nicole Tsong

Host