Marjorie Soria (SKEMA 2013): zero-waste products in Hong Kong

It was after her studies at SKEMA that Marjorie Soria, a graduate of the Class of 2013, decided to move to Hong Kong. After a few years in the city-state, she decided to combine her passion for sustainable development and her desire to start own her own business, by founding Bareaya, a brand of zero-waste products. She talks to us about her time at SKEMA and her entrepreneurial adventure in Asia.

Can you tell us about your educational background and your experience at SKEMA?

I followed a pretty conventional path, first with a preparatory course out of high school and then I enrolled at SKEMA, where I completed a specialised master’s in entrepreneurship and sustainable development. At SKEMA, I really liked the fact that I could choose my own path and, more importantly, focus on gaining work experience. Each year we had the choice between going overseas on an academic exchange, changing campuses, or doing an internship. I always chose the internship and that enabled me to accumulate 21 months of work experience over the three years of my degree programme. I am rather adaptable and doing different internships, meeting people from a variety of walks of life, and working within companies with varied environments and management styles was really valuable to me. I took advantage of these internships to discover other countries, like the Philippines, Canada and China. I really fell in love with Hong Kong and decided to move there after graduating, about seven years ago.

How did your move to Hong Kong go after leaving SKEMA?

With the self-confidence gained through all of the experiences I’d had at SKEMA, I arrived in Hong Kong firmly believing that anything was possible.

I found a job opportunity there rather easily and I worked for a few years at a local company before launching my own business, Bareaya, which was motivated by two things: I had always wanted to start my own business, and I felt a deep concern for the environment. I have always wanted to have a positive impact and to contribute to changing things through an entrepreneurial venture.

Can you tell us a little about starting your business, Bareaya, in Hong Kong?

Bareaya was launched two years ago now. After graduating from my master’s in entrepreneurship and sustainable development at SKEMA, I wanted to start a business in the zero-waste arena and I started to think about what I could bring to the market.

Among the products that deserved to gain more traction were reusable razors. So I decided to make a rather masculine accessory into something more unisex that would also appeal to women. I developed Bareaya based on that vision.

Today, our brand is still very much focused on shaving products, but we plan to develop a larger range of zero-waste items.

Have you maintained ties with SKEMA or with any former classmates?

I am currently an ambassador of the SKEMA Alumni network in Hong Kong, a contact point for newcomers and for anyone wanting to connect and socialise with others in the network. We also organise events to maintain ties with the alumni, but also with interns and anyone coming through Hong Kong and wanting to discover SKEMA.

SKEMA has brought me so much, on both a personal and a professional level. It is where I met my closest friends, and when the opportunity came up to take in some interns to help me with Bareaya, to me there was no question about it, they had to be from SKEMA. I am very proud to be a part of the SKEMA network, which is very dynamic and supportive. To me, it’s not just a degree; more importantly it is about belonging to a real community.

Contact: Marjorie Soria (SKEMA 2013), founder and owner/operator of Bareaya

Interview by lepetitjournal.com for SKEMA Alumni