After struggling for years to find a pair of jeans that fit, Daniela Rodriguez founded Neems. Never expecting to go into business, the trained opera singer left the stage, and later an office job, for the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship, creating a custom denim brand that uses artificial intelligence and custom-fit tools to make jeans to fit bodies of all shapes and sizes.
Daniela is among 20 impressive tech founders awarded funding through the AccelerateHER Fund, a grant program sponsored by Tiger Global and administered through GEN’s Small Business Grants Program in partnership with Hello Alice. The program provides up to $50,000 to women entrepreneurs building breakthrough technologies or tech-enabled companies.
GEN spoke with Daniela on her unexpected journey to entrepreneurship, how sustainability has shaped her business, and how searching for the perfect pair of jeans led her to create her own.
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
GEN: What inspired you to create Neems?
Daniela Rodriguez: I always struggled with finding jeans that fit. As a kid, that experience gave me a bad body image. It was such an uncomfortable experience, I stopped shopping for them altogether. Then I started doing research and learned I wasn’t alone. I interviewed others who said, “No, jeans don’t fit me,” or “I never feel confident in my jeans.” That’s when the seed was planted.
GEN: Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur?
Daniela Rodriguez: I never, ever thought I would be an entrepreneur. Ever.
My background is in voice and opera performance. Ever since I was little, my entire life was music. I went to Northwestern University to get a degree in music, and in my final year, I knew I didn’t want to become a professional singer. I interviewed and got into a consulting firm, working at Deloitte out of college for two and a half years.
Consulting was a complete 180 from everything in my music life. It was learning about businesses, revenues, and traveling every week, and I think that experience was extremely important and foundational for my becoming an entrepreneur.
I was in my second year at Deloitte when I started to think about building Neems, but it was about solving a problem — not about becoming an entrepreneur.
I love being an entrepreneur, but I never imagined myself being here.
GEN: What is the biggest lesson you have learned as an entrepreneur?
Daniela Rodriguez: The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that in the early days of being an entrepreneur, especially when you’re a solopreneur like myself, you must wear all the hats and know how to do everything. For example, I had no experience in pattern making for jeans or doing PR, and I have since had to learn how.
On a more personal level, I never thought I had what it takes to become an entrepreneur. And what I’ve learned is that it’s not about your education or your level of smartness; it’s all about your discipline and your passion for something.
GEN: What is your favorite part of being an entrepreneur?
Daniela Rodriguez: My favorite part is knowing that we impact people’s lives. We get emails from customers that say, “I’ve never had a pair of jeans that me so perfectly.” That’s the best feeling in the world, and it makes all the hard work worth it — to know that people feel confident in their bodies and in their jeans for the first time ever.
GEN: What has been the most challenging part of the experience?
Daniela Rodriguez: The biggest challenge would probably be self-doubt because I have those days when I’m like, “I don’t think I can do all this.”
I remind myself that it’s not easy. All entrepreneurs face this, and I’m not alone. And to take it little by little. In my mind, I categorize — “okay, I’ll answer this first and then I’ll do this, and then this.” This strategy helps me de-stress and feel like I have things under control.
GEN: What separates your company from other retailers? How does the technology behind Neems work?
Daniela Rodriguez: The difference with our denim brand is that we design jeans made to people’s bodies, not the other way around. Everything is custom-made to your unique body, using your measurements for the perfect fit. The denim industry is extremely size-exclusive, most denim sites and brands only go up to a size 32 or 34 max, and we have literally no size limits.
Customers go on our website, design their jeans, and are measured using a body scanner, or they can submit their measurements if they don’t feel comfortable using that technology. From there, we design the jeans to fit the customer perfectly. And if the jeans don’t fit perfectly, we remake them for free until they do.
GEN: I noticed that Neem uses deadstock denim. Tell me more about your environmental values and why you made that decision.
Daniela Rodriguez: Our jeans are all made of deadstock denim, denim left over from mills. We work with a denim supplier here in LA for our fabric and nothing is overproduced. Even our packaging is sustainable, recycled, and recyclable. Every single element was very thought out.
The made-to-order model is very sustainable in that we don’t have a large production, so we don’t risk some of it being discarded because it’s out of season or anything like that.
GEN: What’s next for Neems? Do you have any upcoming projects in the works?
Daniela Rodriguez: I have so many things in the works right now. Most of it is operational — improving our buttons, washes, and stuff like that.
But I would say one of the most exciting things we have planned at the end of the year is to open our own retail space here in LA. I want it to be an experience where people can come in, get measured, and see the process of making the jeans. I think that’s the direction where e-commerce is going — it’s about becoming more than just a store to shop in. It’s an experience.
We are also launching an ambassador program. One of my most important goals for the year is to feature our jeans on all different body shapes and sizes, I want to partner with various influencers through a social media campaign.
GEN: What are your long-term goals for the company?
Daniela Rodriguez: One of my dreams is to have a Neems station or booth in different retailers around the country. For example, in Nordstrom, you could go to the Neems booth and get measured for your jeans and choose from different samples of the fabrics and washes we have. And from there, they’re delivered to your door in two weeks.
I believe that custom-made clothing is the future for many reasons: improved fit and sustainability. My ultimate goal is for Neems to be at the front of this and become a household brand name, and I know we’ll get there one day.
GEN: What impact will the AccelerateHER grant have on you and your company? Do you have any plans for how you will use the funding?
Daniela Rodriguez: One of our biggest goals is to use a good chunk of that money to improve our website experience. Many people come on our website and are confused about how the overall process works, we’re trying to make the website a more friendly experience that guides people on how to purchase and ensures people that they can trust us.
Another way that we’ll be using the funds is to build out the space. There’s so much that goes into that, the moving costs of the machine, the installation of the electricity, the fabric racks, all of that really adds up, and the funds will be super helpful to achieve that vision.