Recently, AWE sat down with Adetoun (Abby) Aiyeleye, a longtime innovator, entrepreneur and Co-founder of Clavis Studio, an online design platform that simplifies the home design experience for professionals and design enthusiasts using immersive 3D technology. Through their interactive, immersive experience, the company is expanding market access for small businesses and creating opportunities for people who want simple, integrated and highly-effective tools to get their work done.
While Clavis Studio was founded quite recently, Abby’s entrepreneurial spirit was sparked much earlier in time.
“My introduction to entrepreneurship started 18 years ago on eBay. I was in University and I figured out that re-selling popular items was actually quite lucrative.
From then on, I narrowed my focus on niche markets and one of them was an online lingerie store for well-endowed women, who would ordinarily struggle to find their sizes in the stores. With Clavis Studio, my co-founder and I got very interested in exploring and changing the design narrative based on shared experiences, and the rest is history!”
While Clavis serves as a medium through which designers can turn their concepts into reality, the same is true for Abby who gets to live out her creative vision and passion for interior decorating through the development of a cutting edge technological solution.
But, she also attributes her success to the presence of those consistently championing her and her business.
“I have a great support system including my family, friends and mentors. My friends are always putting word out and referring people to Clavis and I approach my mentors for different types of support; Sandra Woitas always makes warm introductions, Ralph Young provides industry support, Victor Tanti has a wealth of knowledge and domain expertise to share and Ashif Mawji helps with strategic thinking and planning.”
In fact, one word in particular comes to mind when reflecting on her community. She describes “Wahkohtowin. It's a Cree word which denotes the interconnected nature of relationships, communities and natural systems. It resonates with me because I love to meet and connect people based on common interests, and I believe there's strength in interconnectedness.”
It’s also through community that Abby connected with AWE. First, through a referral from Business Link years ago. And more recently, she was reconnected again in 2021 when Allie Knull of ResumeFree mentioned AWE at an Accelerator event she attended. “Clavis Studio has raised seed financing from AWE,” she explains, “which is key to us achieving more market traction and expanded market access.”
In a few weeks, Clavis Studio will open up their platform to other professionals and aspiring designers to create their own beautiful spaces and collaborate with their clients all through a web app. “This will create a huge job impact and is quite timely as we all focus on economic recovery from the pandemic,” Abby adds.
When asked, “Who inspires you?” Abby replied,
“Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She inspires me because there is a conviction, drive and purpose to everything she does that I find very admirable.”
We would add that the same can be said about Abby. With her conviction, hunger for innovation and dedication to doing what she loves with fun and flair, she is an inspiration to women entrepreneurs everywhere.
