Originally published in the inaugural edition of Carroll Capital, the print publication of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Read the full issue here.
A good pair of pants are hard to find. When Manyaqi Wang, MCAS ’20, MBA ’23, noticed that shopping for quality workwear was a struggle among the women in her life, she went looking for answers. Her solution was founding fashion brand Phoebe Jon.
Manyaqi Wang, MCAS ’20, MBA ’23
The idea for Phoebe Jon came to Wang while she was completing her bachelor’s in philosophy and was partly inspired by her own personal fashion ethos. “I love looking good, but I don’t like putting a ton of time into it,” she says. “For me, that means investing in classic pieces that I know can last.”
After workshopping her idea in the Edmund H. Shea Jr. Center for Entrepreneurship’s accelerator program, Wang went on to place second in the 2020 Strakosch Venture Competition. With newfound confidence in her business concept—and $5,000 in prize money—she headed to New York after graduation to scope out manufacturers.
Phoebe Jon takes what Wang calls a “menswear approach” to women’s fashion. Rather than cater to what’s simply trendy, she puts a modern twist on classic silhouettes. The designs often repeat the same elements her customers already love in different fabrics and colors to make getting dressed easy.
Wang launched the brand as an e-commerce site in 2020, but she knew she wanted to open a physical store. The first brick-and-mortar location, a quaint storefront in Beacon Hill, opened while Wang was in the final year of her full-time MBA program. She hopes the degree will address credibility issues she faces as a young female entrepreneur, but she’s also grateful for the invaluable advice she sought from the classmates in her program.
As for what’s next, Wang hopes to continue opening small stores across major cities. “This is the very beginning of what Phoebe Jon could be,” she says, “but I’m not in a rush. Hanging out with my customers—that’s what brings me the most joy.”
