This year has been one for the books when it comes to female entrepreneurs. Today we interview the creators of Vast Swimwear, Fi Alvarado and Alejandra Nunez, who are also full-time students at Colegio. Vast has grown rapidly the past few weeks and they’ve sold batches of their first product, the long sleeve tees with the logo! In about a few weeks, they will launch their first swimsuits, which we are all longingly waiting for, as the tropi-babes that we all are.
The name of the start up shop comes from thinking beyond Fi and Alejandra’s roots and their comfort zones because it’s “always more exciting.” Fi explains how it’s about all the “open doors and opportunities that are out there that will further help to expand ourselves. Vast means ‘an immense space’, its synonyms are ‘boundless’, ‘immeasurable’, and ‘limitless,’ and I think that’s exactly what we are. We’ve got the whole world to conquer.”
Alejandra recounts how she and Fi discovered just how hard it is to find budget-friendly swimsuits that also fit well. “In the well-known surf shops, swimsuit prices are extravagant. This is why we decided to start our own line. With Vast our gals and guys will be happy with the pricing and quality of our products. It’s not necessary to pay too much to be stylish and comfortable at the same time.” Afterwards, they decided and as Fi tells, “We just thought, ‘Well, what the hell? Let’s just find a way to sell them ourselves.’ We are super aware that as students, our budgets are super limited, but I’m also very aware that sometimes it’s just healthy to splurge and ‘treat yourself!’”
The Vast owners opened up a GoFundMe to help with the funding of the start up shop. However, they also performed other fundraising tactics such as selling coquito and shirts to “peak people’s interest.” Zig-zagging through the tough post-hurricane Maria times, the twosome truly reached beyond! By selling things that people would be more likely to buy, they have created a sense of community, where their shirts have been a total success. The twosome says how they “were completely flabbergasted when [they] realized [their] first batch sold out in just 3 days.” Even though they haven’t quite reached their financial goal, they are almost ready to “kick the business up a notch.”
In the midst of the current socio-economic situation in Puerto Rico, the young entrepreneurs remain hopeful. They explain that it’s all about vision, since they gave their business a concrete and genuine purpose, they have created a community that is ever-growing. Fi explains this in a way that “you guarantee [customers] quality product and customer service without them ever having to feel like it’s a privilege. We just want to be that local, friendly and easily accessible tropical shop. The simplicity of it is what I think will be our strength.”
“We really, really want to promote the importance of shopping local, creating a community, and of course, increase our customers’ passion for the Tropical Life,” Fi expresses.
“We want Vast to be accessible to every person, every body type and every type of economy. Puerto Rico needs more young people to throw their ideas out there and actually make them reality,” Alejandra explains.
Products available:
Right now, Vast is exclusively selling their black or pink long sleeves with their logo. Very soon the first swimsuits will be available and for sale. Here are some of them!
If you’re interested in finding out more aboutVast, contributing any type of help or simply to stay tuned til the swimsuits are out, be sure to follow them on Instagram and Facebook! You can also visit their site vastswimwear.bigcartel.com