Yesha Patel was in the University of Melbourne’s Master of Entrepreneurship program without a business idea – until she tackled her cluttered closet. It was the catalyst for Australia’s first textile recycling pick-up service, that rewards sustainability with every collection.

Once a recreational shopper, Yesha Patel was a serious fan of fast fashion. Just a few years ago, her closet was heaving with clothes, but the quality was so shabby, they weren’t even worthy of an op shop when it came time to cull.

‘I’d just consume, consume, consume to the point where a lot of the clothes in my wardrobe were quite unwearable, and then I wouldn’t know what to do with them,’ says Yesha. ‘It felt wrong to throw them in the bin.’

Yesha was stuck with a whole lot of ‘unwearables’, but also a winning business idea. And so was born After, Australia’s first textile recycling service that rewards sustainability with every pick-up. The idea was so good, Yesha graduated from the Master of Entrepreneurship program in 2021 as the Best Pitch winner – and the People’s Choice, too. 

It’s notable that Yesha started the University of Melbourne program, co-delivered with Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship, without a firm direction. Growing up in New Zealand and studying Commerce at the University of Auckland, she knew a coveted job at the Big Four wasn’t her dream – she wanted to work in social impact – but she didn’t have a concrete business concept.

Armed with her bachelors degree, she moved to Melbourne to immerse herself in the start-up community. ‘I was still figuring myself out and what I’m passionate about,’ says Yesha, but she reasoned that the Master of Entrepreneurship would give her the business foundations she was after. ‘It was really practical, which was important to me,’ says Yesha. ‘I didn’t want to do an MBA-type masters. I don’t think you can learn just by theory. We got to start our own businesses – to learn and fail and get back up.’

‘I learned the steps around starting a business, marketing, finance. And there are teachers from the masters that I can still go back to for advice. That door is always open.’

As a first-timer, Yesha felt she had a supportive springboard and a ready-made network through Wade Institute: ‘It started me off strong because I got to start in a safe space. Every step was theory-backed, and I got to talk to customers and validate the problem: who is this a problem for? Would they pay for it to be solved? I think that’s why we had a lot of success and continue to: because we’re actually solving a problem.’

Not only that, her classmates were all developing together, whether they were founders or budding intrapreneurs, learning to innovate and commercialise ideas.

‘We were all in the same boat, and we were learning from each other’s challenges and wins,’ she says. ‘Being open to learning and educating yourself is really important to be a good founder.’

As she researched textile disposal, Yesha was shocked by how much was dumped in landfill. In the first three years of business, After has diverted more than 11 tonnes of textile waste and served more than 800 households and businesses, operating out of Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland. For as little as $22 for 5kg, customers can box up old clothes, bedding or towels for collection from their doorsteps. In exchange, they get discounts from one of the ethical brands that partner with After, and the worn-out items are either shredded and used for upholstery here, or sent to India for yarn-recycling. When Yesha shared the business concept at the end-of-year Pitch Night for the Master of Entrepreneurship’s graduating class, it was voted the best among the judges and audience members alike. 

Yesha says there’s a Hindi word, jugaad, that sums up her business approach. It loosely translates to resourcefulness. Like her migrant parents who made do with limited resources, Yesha and her co-founder Nehal Jain are bootstrapping. ‘We do a lot of DIY because we’re keeping money and the environment in mind,’ she says.

Working in the sustainability space is not for the thin-skinned, though. There will always be critics who want to poke holes in your environmental credentials:

‘I’ve always just stuck to my true intentions,’ says Yesha. ‘I’m solving a problem that I care about and working to make this world a better place. That’s what I’m driven by.’

This article originally appeared on the University of Melbourne.