A business start up by two childhood friends, Mc’lelore is an online store that caters to the men of Calicut city. The studentpreneurs, Ibshar and Basil, are ambitious and hardworking, finding time after classes to pursue their passion in business and fashion. An interview with co-founder Ibshar to know more about the business and its future goals.
Give a brief info about startup?
Our startup is aimed at creating customized clothing for men. To begin with we planned our venture in an online format, mostly Instagram based. We design clothing from collar to cuff according to the requirement of the customer. We also have our own ready made products under the brand name. We take measurements of our customers and make clothes for them to perfect fit.
Mc’lelore Collections 
What is the story behind the name Mclelore? What does it mean to you?
For us Mclelore isn’t just a name now, it is an emotion. We worked with different letters and various combinations, making sure there isn’t any other firm with the same name and ended choosing ‘MCLELORE’.
What inspired you to start Mclelore and what is your speciality?
When you look around the city, there aren’t many options for men to tailor their style. We have to go to a lot of shops to find clothing which we really like. In the end, we might not even get it because it is either too costly or they don’t have the right size. That made us start this new venture so that men can get the clothes they want at an affordable rate. The pricing and quality of our product is what makes Mclelore appealing to its customers.
Tell us about yourself and your partner? How did you meet each other?
Myself Ibshar Ifthikar K and my partner Basil Mushthaq are childhood friends. We studied in the same school and we’ve remained friends ever since. I am currently pursuing my engineering degree at NIT Calicut while Basil is studying for his Bachelors Degree in Business Adminstration.
As a startup founder, what are you paranoid about? What keeps you awake at night?
We keep thinking on how to improve our business. Day and night we think of improving our ideas and taking it to the next level where everyone can access clothes of their wish at affordable rate.
Being students, is it tough to balance both studies and work?
To be honest, yes, but since we are in different streams of studies, we do not get busy with our college work at the same time. Even if that happens, we find one way or the other for the smooth running of Mclelore. The support from our family and friends is also a crucial part to the successful running of the business. They have been extremely helpful and encouraging.
What were the biggest problems you had to tackle while setting up Mclelore?
Since we aim at customized clothing we need skilled tailors capable of stitching any requested model in the right fit. So to find out such a tailors was a big task.
Where is your startup based out of? Why do you think that is the best place for you?
We are based out of Calicut. The specialty of the people of Calicut is that they dress extremely well for any occasion. Calicut is our hometown and hence it made sense to start off here. I’ve actually seen many people (men in this case) in Calicut search for clothes to fit their body type by trying out different stores and tailors which made me think of creating a business like Mclelore. So in that sense Calicut is the best place for us. But my dream is to broaden Mclelore reach.
What are the future plans for Mclelore?
Future plans for Mclelore are mainly to spread our work to different areas. To get maximum reach in and out of Calicut and to bring in more varieties in patterns and styles. We also wish to set up an outlet in the heart of Calicut city soon.
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