Abirami Gunasekar is the Founder and Senior Consultant of a fashion consultancy that connects UK and European brands with global manufacturers. After completing her MBA at the University of Surrey, she channelled her studies in business strategy, ethics, and operations into building a consultancy that guides founders from concept to commercially viable collection.

I came into the Surrey MBA as one person and left as another: more confident, more grounded, and more connected to my purpose.

After completing my MBA at Surrey...

I founded Neone Wear Ltd, a London-based fashion consultancy that redefines how brands approach sourcing and product development. What started as an idea during one of my MBA modules has now evolved into a growing consultancy that connects UK and European brands with trusted manufacturers across the world.

Our focus is on bringing clarity to the often-chaotic process of fashion production, guiding founders through business modelling, customer analysis, and product positioning before a single sample is made.

As the Founder and Senior Consultant, I lead a small but passionate team of three.

Putting the MBA into practice

One of the moments I’m most proud of at Neone Wear came very early on. A first-time founder reached out to me with an idea for a women’s activewear line, just with a spark of inspiration and a mood board filled with hope and ambition.

Instead of diving straight into fabric sourcing or sampling, I took a step back and guided her through the same frameworks I had learnt during my MBA. We spent time understanding her customer, refining her vision, and aligning her product idea with a clear market position.

Those sessions were transformative. Within weeks, what began as a rough concept turned into a structured business model with defined pricing, supply chain clarity, and a strategy for scaling. Today, her brand continues to grow, and she remains one of our loyal clients. Seeing her concept turn into something tangible made me rethink my own approach to business. It shifted my perspective from viewing Neone Wear as a traditional manufacturing company to building it as a strategic consultancy one that helps founders think with structure, not just style.

How Surrey reshaped my approach

My MBA at Surrey completely changed the way I approach business and decision-making. Before the programme, I saw fashion mostly through a creative lens. After Surrey, I began to see it as a connected ecosystem – one that brings together strategy, operations, leadership, and ethics.

Many of the frameworks I learnt like the Business Model Canvas, Porter’s Five Forces, and Value Proposition Mapping are now built directly into the consulting structure we use at Neone Wear. What used to be instinctive decisions are now guided by data, structure, and strategic reasoning.

I still remember the Change Management module led by Prof Thomas Saller; his approach taught me how to navigate uncertainty and lead teams through transitions a skill that’s vital in an industry as unpredictable as fashion. Business Ethics and Strategy, under Prof Tazeeb S Rajwani, helped me embed transparency and long-term value creation into every sourcing relationship we form.

But beyond the modules, what made Surrey special was the culture. The MBA wasn’t just about case studies; it was about developing leadership grounded in purpose. 

Much of what I’ve built with Neone Wear was inspired by what I learnt at Surrey, but it was the people behind the programme who made that knowledge come alive.

Janice Chalmers, my Career and Development Coach, went beyond the usual career advice. She helped us MBA students understand the UK market, the value of networking, and how to present ideas effectively lessons that became invaluable when I began pitching to brands and suppliers.

More than a degree

If I could say one thing, it would be a sincere thank you, not only for the knowledge you shared, but for shaping the kind of entrepreneur I’ve become. The Surrey MBA taught me that leadership isn’t about titles or metrics; it’s about clarity, purpose, and the courage to build something meaningful.

But my gratitude also extends to my cohort. Working alongside people from such diverse industries, backgrounds, and countries gave me a broader perspective it taught me how different ways of thinking can solve the same problem in entirely new ways. Those classroom debates, group projects, and discussions changed how I see teamwork and leadership forever.

There’s still so much I’m learning and exploring every day, but the MBA at the University of Surrey will always be the starting point of this journey. Every decision I make now carries a trace of what I learned at Surrey, and I’m genuinely excited for all that lies ahead.