Entrepreneurs by passion, friends Rayka and Ingrid set up a collaborative store to help small entrepreneurs to promote their businesses and have income own.
Ingrid Barbosa de Mendonça, 25, is one of the owners of the collaborative store Maurício Brasil/Rede Amazônica Acre. So the passion for undertaking and helping others made friends and entrepreneurs Raryka Souza Lima, 26, and Ingrid Barbosa de Mendonça, 25, set up the first collaborative virtual and physical store in Acre, “Universo 68” .
Entrepreneurs
In this type of store, several people come together and expose their products in the same place. The entrepreneurs, who already own two stores, Raryka, who sells different and modern clothes, and Ingrid, who sells ornamental plants. Although with exclusive brands and own production. They say that the purpose of the project was to join forces and help women and men to run their businesses. Thus, they manage to enter the labor market to consolidate their brands.
Raryka, who has a degree in public management, is studying journalism and fashion design, says that it all started when she participated in a junior company project and fell in love with the collaborative segment.
From then on, in 2016, she and another friend decided to venture out and set up a virtual clothing store with their own and exclusive manufacture.
The business worked and, then, she says that she realized that she could help other people to consolidate their brands and decided to hold an event and gather all the virtual stores of entrepreneurs in Rio Branco that did not have physical stores for a chat.
The idea was to show other women that they all had the power to sell and succeed by creating and showing their own products. “We created an event in 2018 called “Universo 68”, which brought together collaborative stores.
The event went super well, we brought together several entrepreneurs, a total of 16, and, since 2018, we have already held nine editions, with the largest number of participants.
In the last one, 35 people participated
In total, in the group, we have 65 collaborators, because it rotates and, sometimes, not everyone can attend the meetings.” Terrariums. Plants in general and even macrame work can be found at the Personal Archive store.
Thus, the partner, Ingrid, who is a civil engineering student, says that the passion for ornamental plants comes from childhood and that. While still in college, the dream of having an ornamental plant shop has always been a reality.
“I only did it as a hobby, by order, over time I saw the need to receive my customers and have a space to be able to have several pieces available. Although not only me but the other participants in the group, however, not everyone has the financial conditions to open a store.
Over time, from the first fair, I saw that it was what I wanted and I was saving money, I already knew what I wanted to do in a space”, he says.
That's when she and Raryka got together and saw that they had a common dream, which was to set up a store and help other small local entrepreneurs.
We saw that we had the same ideals, she said that she also wanted a space and we got together and started researching on the internet and we saw models of collaborative stores. Since they had it out there, we decided to create a goal of opening this store.
Local professional brands
In the store, you can find plants, clothes, decorative items, among others Maurício Brasil/Rede Amazônica Acre Ajudar. Although undertake and connect.
It was then that the idea of setting up the store with various brands from local professionals came up. Therefore, most of them have their own production to enhance the local market. “This is very cool, this is our focus, helping people to have a larger audience and a space to receive friendly customers.
The young entrepreneur also says that since the beginning the event has already started with the footprint of connecting people and encouraging local entrepreneurship.
“Our focus is not just selling, it's helping others to consolidate themselves not only by selling a product, but building loyalty to a brand, making dreams come true.
