Scarlette: Brand management project

Schulich School of Business | Team project

For my Brand Management course, my team developed Scarlette, a concept for a premium heel-comfort brand. We started with a familiar problem: wanting to feel confident in a pair of heels while dealing with the discomfort that can come with wearing them.

We developed Scarlette’s target audience, positioning and visual identity around the idea of “red carpet confidence, behind-the-scenes support.” Our goal was to create a brand that felt connected to fashion while addressing a practical customer need.

Our team brought the concept to life through a website. It featured a Signature Fit quiz based on foot shape, heel type and pressure points, along with a Precision Fit Studio concept where customers could see how an insert might fit their shoes. We also included our “Heel Confessions” and “Walk the Scarlette Walk” campaign ideas to connect the brand experience across the website and social media.

This project helped me understand how a customer insight can guide a brand’s positioning, appearance and customer experience. It also gave me the opportunity to work with my team on turning a brand idea into something people could explore visually.

Investment challenge: ART Investments

Schulich School of Business | FINE 3200 team project

For our Investments course, my team managed a simulated portfolio through the StockTrak Investment Challenge. We followed a 130–30 strategy, taking long positions in companies we expected to perform well and short positions in companies we expected to underperform. We compared our results with QQQ, an ETF tracking the Nasdaq-100.

I contributed to researching investments, supporting trading decisions and tracking portfolio performance in Excel. Our team completed more than 40 trades while monitoring market conditions and considering the risks associated with our positions.

At the end of the simulation, we evaluated more than our overall return. We used measures such as beta and the Sharpe ratio to understand how our portfolio performed in relation to the market and the risk we took. Our portfolio returned −7.21%, compared with −6.63% for QQQ over the same period.

Although we underperformed the benchmark, reviewing the results was one of the most valuable parts of the project. It helped me see why it matters to look beyond whether an investment gained or lost money and consider how individual decisions, market movements and risk all contributed to the outcome.