Brightstar Kasyoka: Entrepreneur Who Rose To Run A Successful Fashion Empire Despite Being Abandoned At 3 Months

Brightstar Kasyoka is the founder of Star Tailor Designs.

Her fashion company that has specialized in making official suits, casual wear, African wear and hoodie branding among others.

Through her company, the 24-year-old has also created job opportunities having employed a staff of over ten people.

Here is her story as told by WoK.

Kasyoka was born as a result of a teenage pregnancy that saw her mother abandon her while she was three months old.

As such, she was taken in and raised by her grandmother who was a gardener and her grandfather who worked as a watchman.

She joined school at only two years of age, and always topped her class thus the nickname Brightstar.

Despite facing challenges in her childhood days, her grandfather was supportive of her despite earning Ksh 3,000 per month.

Thanks to her brilliant academic performance, people from her community were amazed and she would receive donations and financial aid.

She performed well in primary school and proceeded to high school and later Maseno University where she pursued a degree in political science.

Kasyoka was also part of the student leadership in Maseno, and started her foundation, Brightstar Rose Foundation, to help needy students pay school fees.

The establishment of the foundation saw her win various awards including Zuri Awards, University Student Leader Awards and Princess Diana Awards in the UK.

Following her graduation from university, Kasyoka learned about fashion design from her friend and after getting two clients, she decided to focus on it fully.

It was then when she launched Star Tailor Designs with the help of her friend, and she has worked with prominent people including business people, politicians and media personalities.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think of myself as an entrepreneur but I really enjoy what I do and I hope to open more branches soon,” she said.

Her employees are tailors with different specializations; while others make men’s coats, others make shirts and women’s apparel.

The price of their suits start from Ksh 10,000.

During the business peak, she would make at least 10 suits every day each costing between Ksh 8,000 and Ksh 10,000.

“What makes our Shop unique is our quality, our customer service, and timely delivery. What I have learnt in the business is that customers don’t just go for the quality of products. It also depends on who is selling and how you interact with them,” Kasyoka said.