Founder, Tarsian & Blinkley
www.tarsian.com/catalog/home.php

Few entrepreneurs list kidnapping and getting robbed by the police as casualties of launching, but Sarah Takesh, who calls Kabul, Afghanistan, home and company headquarters, has mastered the art of risky business.

Sarah is the founder of Tarsian & Blinkley, a socially conscious, organic clothing and accessory company that has transformed the lives of hundreds of Afghan women. What started out in 2002 as a small embroidery boutique has grown to a full-scale manufacturing facility that has provided over 300 women with incomes that usually dwarf those of their husbands.’ She has created an economy of her own in the male-dominated, economically depressed city, and given women a livelihood they could not have imagined otherwise.

Read on to hear how this fearless pioneer, along with her partner, Nasrullah Rahmati, brought laughter, hope, fashion and new life to the women of Kabul.

Follow Your Heart

“I’d worked in fashion for years, but by age 27, after traveling to Pakistan and Western China, what seemed important to me about the business radically shifted. The local populations in these countries desperately needed outside help to survive in their harsh conditions, but where that help came from determined whether they become somewhat forward thinking and liberal or inward-looking and isolated. As an Iranian whose own country was ravaged by religious zealots, these topics were of utmost interest to me. After witnessing the plight of the refugees who’d fled Taliban-ruled Afghanistan for Pakistan, I vowed to set up a fashion-related business that would give jobs to these people.”

Ideas into Action

“In my first week of classes at UC Berkeley School of Business, I submitted a speech topic which was: ‘The Afghans are a forgotten people being brutalized by the Taliban and we must do something to help them.’ The very next day class was cancelled because it was 9/11. That summer, I blindly made a few phone calls and tracked down a small non-profit that put me up and had me work with their tailoring project in Kabul. While there I created a small test collection of my own and took the goods back to California.”

“No” - I Never Heard of It.

“Finding financing was nearly impossible - who on earth would invest in a fashion venture, with a 95% failure rate in a hyper-volatile country that’s still in the heated state of conflict? Still, after much persevering, I found several investors.”

Cold, Hard Obstacles

“Organized crime in the form of robberies and kidnappings has soared to unbelievable levels, which is quite understandable considering that major elements within the government of Afghanistan are part of these organized crime activities. We have so many other problems, like lack of power, or the extreme costs of having to run generators, inhospitable winters with no central heating, etc. But we’ve all learned to live with that stuff and still make it.”

An Open Mind Allows Ideas to Shift

“I wanted to have a standard ’boutique’ apparel brand, selling in wholesale fashion and specialty stores. At least that’s what I thought I wanted. We became a website and direct-to-customer business instead. And we became a manufacturer for other people’s goods, which is a much easier business to grow, and which ended up allowing us to achieve our employment targets. This is why it’s so important to remain flexible with your vision. If you can do that, it’s easier to capture opportunities and make the most of them.”

Empower Your Employees

“Seeing that our business has lasted as long as it has and is actually growing has really made a difference to the community of people that have served it. Despite tolerating unusual circumstances and challenges, we’ve made it work and now we see these women that have worked for us for literally 4 years owning cell phones, being out and about, laughing - basically having a certain level of confidence that comes with financial peace of mind and independence.”

Melt Downs… and Getting up.

“After our business got robbed (by the Afghan police), our income for the past year was wiped out. It was a huge challenge recovering from the robbery without having a total meltdown and shutting the business down. Not doing that was a good thing - we are totally okay now.”

Keep it Fun

“I stay sane by having a laugh with my crazy friends while going over the maddening details of the day. The company we keep in Kabul is amazing. It’s made up of so many gorgeous, clever, talented and stylish women from all over the globe who’ve happened to assemble in that wacky country.”

Advice From the Trenches

“Sheer perseverance, and a decent idea that your gut really believes in, will yield results. Just stay flexible with what you expect.”

The Future

“We’ve got an alliance with the Turquoise Mountain Foundation in Afghanistan now, run by some great friends there, and we expect it to really give Afghan products a brand and place in the global marketplace.”

This featured lady was profiled by Los Angeles based author and columnist Jen Sincero.