Interview Series: Building Beyond Borders

In August 2025, we sat down with Ömer Faruk Erdoğan, Co-founder and CEO of Glorvia, to discuss his entrepreneurial journey, from building a personalized fashion platform in Turkey to expanding into the Canadian market through the Startup Visa Program. Dive into the conversation below to learn how Glorvia is transforming the custom-fashion experience with 3D and AI innovation.

An interview by Frank Mahdavan, CI Ventures

Frank: Hi Omer, thank you for making the time today. We’re here with Omer, the co-founder and CEO of Glorvia, a personalized fashion startup based in Turkey. This interview is part of CI Ventures’ effort to highlight the journeys of our startups and founders. Omer, are you ready to dive in and introduce yourself?

Ömer: For sure, for sure. My name is Ömer Faruk Erdoğan. I’m from Turkey, and I’m the founder of Glorvia. Glorvia enables customers to design their own dresses. Right now, we are focusing on dresses, but in the future, we plan to expand so that every customizable product can be designed in our system.

Frank: That’s great. To start, can you tell me how it is going with you and Glorvia?

Ömer: We’ve been established and operating for about two years, and we are growing. This year, we’re aiming to quadruple our revenue compared to last year, and it looks like we may even go further, maybe five times. 

Frank: Wow, that’s amazing.

Ömer: Thank you so much.

Frank: I’m curious: what was the moment Glorvia really clicked for you? How did the idea come about?

Ömer: To be honest, I was planning to create a platform for customizable items in 3D. I was into 3D technology, and with my wife’s expertise, she’s a fashion designer, so we thought it would be easier to start with dresses. It’s a big market both in Turkey and in Canada. So we created a platform where people could design dresses and see them in 3D.

Frank: That’s an inspiring journey. So you found synergy with your partner. And Turkey itself is such a hub for textiles and fashion.

Ömer: Yes, it’s a manufacturing hub for both Europe and Asia. We’re trying to benefit from that as well.

Frank: That sounds like good strategic positioning as well. Could you tell our readers what the beginnings of Glorvia looked like compared to today?

Ömer: (laughs) It was a tough time for me at first. There was nothing to work with. We had to figure out the business model ourselves. But for me, it was also a very creative time. Now things are more established, with processes and rules, and that makes it a bit less creative. Still, I believe that with more capital in the future, we can bring back what I call “creative destruction”. 

Frank: Let’s talk about customers. What problems were you determined to fix from day one?

Ömer: In Turkey, getting a custom dress is a long, tedious process: finding someone, explaining your idea, waiting at least two weeks. We wanted to make it simple. With Glorvia, it’s three steps: choose the top, bottom, and fabric, and you can preview your design in 3D. It’s similar to what TikTok did for media. Before, you needed education and equipment. Now you just click and create. That’s the effect we want in fashion.

Frank: That makes sense. Shopping for a dress has always been a lengthy process, with lots of trust involved. How does Glorvia make that process different and more engaging?

Ömer: As I mentioned, customers design their own dress in three steps, then see it as a 3D model. That visualization is the key. But we’re also adding AI tools. Customers will be able to generate unique fabric patterns by giving a prompt, uploading a photo to see themselves in the dress, and using an AI body measurement tool to capture exact sizes with just a phone camera.

Frank: That’s really innovative. Out of those, which capability do you prioritize first?

Ömer: Body measurement. People gain and lose weight all the time. Wrong measurements are the number one issue we face. Having accurate, AI-driven measurements will be the most impactful improvement.

Frank: Considering your innovation progress we’ve already discussed, what has been the biggest product improvement so far?

Ömer: We improved our 3D models. Before, they looked cartoonish, so customers weren’t confident. Now they look much closer to real life. That change made it easier for people to order, because they no longer had doubts.

Frank: And what feedback from customers has been most useful?

Ömer: (laughs) Some customers gave us old or wrong measurements. We’d create the perfect dress, but for their body from months ago. It taught me that customers can make errors, and we need to be ahead of them. So now every dress is adjustable. Making a dress smaller is easy, but making it bigger is difficult. With expandable designs, we can still adjust for them.

Frank: I can actually relate to that. I once used Glorvia to design a dress for my partner, and we got the measurements wrong at first. You came back and checked with me, and we fixed that.

Ömer: Yes, I remember. You gave me such a small number (laughing), we were shocked when we saw it.

Frank: Let’s talk results. What metrics capture your growth right now?

Ömer: Revenue. We’ve tripled in 2025, reaching 1.5 million Turkish lira so far. A big driver has been wedding dresses. Honestly, our system wasn’t even ready for them, but demand from customers on social media was overwhelming. Even without deploying the full feature, it turned into significant revenue.

Frank: That’s fantastic! It shows your business is customer-pulled rather than business-pushed. A good problem to have.

Ömer: Yeah! (laughing). We couldn’t match the speed of demand, but the revenue still came because customers wanted it so badly.

Frank: Amazing, amazing. That is really fantastic, Omer! Let’s turn to Canada. Why was it the right next step?

Ömer: The Canadian market is what we are trying to penetrate next with customers of Turkish and similar origin, and the Startup Visa program became the main factor. It gave us both investment and market exposure. It was the perfect combination, stability for our personal life and growth for the business. Expansion into Canada also provides us with a potential for growth and an easier pathway to Western markets, with fewer barriers in the future. Right now, we are focusing on developing the fabrics and designs that suit the Canadian market. The challenge is the timeline. Right now, it’s about 51 months. For startups, even three months is a long time. Four years is really difficult.

Frank: That makes sense. Startups move fast; three months can change everything, let alone four years.

Ömer: Exactly. Technology changes, customer behavior changes. Waiting so long creates real problems.

Frank: What advice would you give other entrepreneurs applying to Canada?

Ömer: Be patient. Adjust your expectations. And be selective with your investors. If I had known earlier, I would have applied sooner.

Frank: And how has your experience been with CI Ventures’ program?

Ömer: Frank, working with you was great. (laughs) The one-to-one sessions, the webinars, the guidance, the support, and the feedback all pushed us to improve. Everyone has been helpful. I didn’t face major issues. The only challenge is the visa waiting time.

Frank: And what has been the hardest call you’ve had to make so far on this journey?

Ömer: (pauses) Meeting timelines while knowing the visa delays makes my team uncertain. I really want to commit, but four years is very long. That’s been the hardest part.

Frank: Omer, I believe this concludes our conversation. Thank you so much! We’re cheering you on as you bring Glorvia’s personalized fashion experience to Canada. We can’t wait. And all the best!

Ömer: Thank you, Frank. It was a pleasure talking with you. I’m excited for what’s ahead.