Élizabeth Stefanka: “Being an entrepreneur means having an economic and social impact”.

Article originally published in 2017

Élizabeth Stefanka is a seasoned entrepreneur who, in between contracts, is conquering the American market, publishing feminist-educational videos and rethinking the online purchase of clothing.

She considers herself a “geekette”. She attended Expo Science, Génie en Herbe. She’s passionate about innovation. In her office, there are no clothes or sewing machines, just computers and lots of techno-babbles. “I’m a nerd,” she tells me.

Élizabeth Stefanka is the founder and CEO of Stefanka, a software company offering interactive solutions to clothing retailers. Consumers can easily identify in-store items best suited to their unique morphology. The company’s mission is to put the consumer back at the center of the clothing purchasing process. Instead of forcing the buyer into a mold, the Stefanka team builds a mold that fits. And that’s thanks to technology! Everyone has different morphologies, every body is unique. For the moment, Stefanka’s customers are all Canadian, but I understand between the lines that the American market is opening the door.

When Elizabeth Stefanka became an entrepreneur, she realized it also meant having an economic and social impact around her. “I’m supporting whole families now!” The social impact is not only with her employees, but also her potential employees: she once taught a young woman who had just arrived in Quebec, whom she was interviewing for a job, that she had to negotiate her salary. “As an entrepreneur, I see this as one of my duties.”

Élizabeth makes videos lasting a few minutes that she posts on social media, like one on pay equity broadcast on Women’s Day. She wants to raise awareness and help others realize the differences between genders.

“We need to include men so that they become aware, so that they realize certain things that they too have accepted as status quo.”

The CEO is questioned by her friends about the need to say these things out loud when parity has been achieved. She suggests a little exercise, which she explains to me: “At your next team meeting, try to notice if women take the floor, how many times it’s cut off, and look for those who want to participate but don’t. Subtly, try to encourage women to contribute to the conversation. Subtly, try to encourage women to contribute to the conversation. A friend did it and realized that there is indeed a difference in speaking time depending on their gender.”

Since becoming an entrepreneur, she has noticed these differences. She sometimes goes to events where there are four women for every hundred men. Admittedly, there are fewer women in absolute numbers, but not that many! “I too thought that the differences between women and men were settled, that they belonged to my mother’s generation.”

If Élizabeth had been a man, it wouldn’t necessarily have been easier to set up her business, it would have been different. “I’m aware that being a woman brings me attention. Right now, there’s a pro-entrepreneur wave. I’m not fooled by it. It gives me a certain aura. But in other situations, like getting a loan, it would have been easier for a man. It’s different!”

“Innovators, trailblazers are people who aren’t taken seriously until it’s approved by the masses.” – Elizabeth Stefanka

The entrepreneur is an agent of change on many fronts, including environmental protection and responsible purchasing. Élizabeth explains the process involved in buying a garment online: “You buy a garment online that has been produced somewhere in Asia, for example. A boat takes it to North America, then it’s brought to the distribution centers by vehicle. That’s pollution. Then it arrives at the buyer’s home. Since the garment doesn’t fit, the buyer sends it back. It goes back the other way. The garment is sent to Asia to be shredded. All because the garment didn’t fit!”

The entrepreneur hopes that in 20 or 30 years’ time, it will be just in time. The consumer decides to make a purchase, the order is sent to the manufacturing country, it’s made to order, and sent to the consumer without any back-and-forth. Of course, there would be a delay, but that’s where consumer education comes in. Another option would be for retailers to be aware of the fact that Montreal’s population has a wide variety of bodies and morphologies. For example, clothing that would mold more to the buttocks of black women. “I come from the Beauce where there’s less diversity so there’s no need to have such diverse sizes. Volumes are different in different places.”

Élizabeth tells me that a study is underway to determine the sizes of North Americans. It took place in Montreal in 2014, during the Festival Mode & Design, where volunteers entered a body scanner and the data was recorded.

In Montreal, we need to embrace technology to stand out from the crowd and ensure future quality jobs. Stand out internationally, because competition is everywhere. In the fashion industry, we’re 2 years behind in the integration of new technologies. That’s a huge gap! If a manufacturer wants to survive and succeed in standing out and attracting skilled labor, it’s going to have to update itself and offer conditions that respect people. We have the talent and the means to implement what’s needed, instead of losing our companies like Jacob or Parasuco. The government is quite receptive, but it needs decision-makers like company CEOs.