JCU Welcomes Camicia on Demand Co-Founder and CEO Alessandro Ghezzi

There is no big idea without a big execution. Alessandro Ghezzi

Alessandro Ghezzi Co-Founder and CEO of Camicia on Demand

Professors Antonella Salvatore and Riccardo Maiolini welcomed Alessandro Ghezzi, co-founder and CEO of Camicia On Demand, to their online classes BUS 410 “Strategic Decisions in Entrepreneurship” and BUS/ITS 260 “Made in Italy,” on February 11. Camicia on Demand is an online long-term rental shirt service, currently available in Milan, Como, Monza, Brescia and Rome.

After working in the human resources and mobile communication fields, Ghezzi decided to leave his job to develop his own entrepreneurial idea. His plan was to provide his customers with less stress, more free time and a cheaper and more eco-friendly alternative for anyone in need of a shirt. Through Camicia on Demand, customers can customize eleven different shirts and have them produced and shipped home. Each week, the Camicia on Demand team collects, cleans and irons the shirts, and finally returns them to their customers.

In the beginning, Ghezzi had no money to invest in Camicia on Demand, no technical background and he was “unsure about the road to take.” Nonetheless, he believed in his idea. “All I had to do was take the first step,” he said. He contacted the shirt producers and the laundry shops, calculated the costs of the services, launched a WordPress website, and advertised his idea on Facebook. Two hundred euros and a few days later, Camicia on Demand was born.

After contacting more than three thousand possible investors on LinkedIn, Ghezzi narrowed the search down to one investor and one accelerator. “While looking for funds, it is very important that you don’t stop at the fist opportunity offered. Evaluate what the investor can do for you,” he said. Ghezzi also highlighted the important role that the accelerator played in the development of Camicia on Demand. The accelerator did not simply supply the company with money, but also provided its members with mentorship.

According to Ghezzi, the key to success is to efficiently communicate with your customers, in order to cater to their needs. Ghezzi explained that his next step is to consolidate the company’s position within the Italian market, in order to later export Camicia on Demand in the rest of Europe and the United States. “Hopefully,” he added “we will have one thousand customers by the end of 2021.”