Small Biz

Polina Raygorodskaya, 21

Polina Fashion
Boston

Before Russian native Polina Raygorodskaya started her fashion production services business Polina Fashion, she worked as a model for Major Models in New York. Convinced she could create a successful business herself, she decided to put her modeling career on hold to learn more about business. She enrolled at Babson College, where she is now a senior studying entrepreneurship and marketing.

Raygorodskaya says her business, which she started in April, 2006, after being approached to produce an event from a contact from her modeling days, is profitable and makes the bulk of its profits producing fashion events. She says she has already produced about 50 events, with price tags of $2,000 to $15,000 per event. Despite taking six classes and running the company by herself, Raygorodskaya is planning a major event for February, 2009, that she says could shake up the fashion industry and bring in about $2 million in revenues. If the event is successful, she plans to roll out a monthly series in major cities across the U.S.