On today’s show, we talk to entrepreneur Ajay Bouri, owner of streetwear shop Feature. First generation Indian, Ajay grew up in Northern California. The child of a traditional arranged marriage that didn’t last, his mother divorced his father, but that didn’t stop her from building a life for Ajay and his brother. 

After, Ajay’s mom joined the Air Force, they moved from low income housing in California to the small town of Marquette, Michigan. As soon as they got to the midwest, Ajay began to rebel and got into a bit of trouble. His mother would move a couple of times to keep Ajay safe, even moving them to Tokyo to finish high school. 

While attending college in Reno, and he started bartending and working at an insurance company. Feeling trapped by his day job, he would dive head first into night life and decided to move to Vegas. Despite the hustle and demands of the club scene, he’d return to Reno and help out friends with their business ventures, even opening a boutique turned personal shopping service “the attic” and then transitioned into sneakers. Feature. A venture he pitched to three other partners and opened in the middle of the 2010 recession. 

About Claima Stories with Bimma:

Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now.

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