New Site’s Algorithm Promises Bra Shoppers a Perfect Fit

It’s cold, you’re in a room with unflattering fluorescent lights and a full-length mirror, and a stranger wants to wrap your bust in measuring tape. That’s what buying a bra is usually like.
A startup called True & Co has a different experience in mind.
Its founders spent two months visiting San Francisco bra sellers, enduring near-daily bra fittings, in order to distill the process of fitting a bra down to an online survey. Their website, which launched on Wednesday, asks women to answer questions such as “What is the style of your best-fitting bra?” and “Does your bra hurt?” instead of taking out a measuring tape.
The site then recommends a handful of styles from its collection of more than 200 bras and asks users to pick three. It picks two more for them based on an algorithm and, after asking for a $45 refundable deposit, ships them the box of five brassieres. Women keep what they want and send back what they don’t. Shipping is free, and True & Co adjusts future recommendations based on what worked and what didn’t.
Online bra shopping is not an easy code to crack, and — aside from one other startup that fits bras based on women’s favorites — its’ not a niche that many entrepreneurs have attempted to fill.
“The bra is a complex garment that has 20 different components,” says True & Co co-founder Michelle Lam. “They are fit on models…if you are a woman that doesn’t look like that fit model, the bra won’t fit.”
A woman’s size can, for instance, vary between two styles from the same brand because they were fit on different models. True & Co’s algorithm will translate the difference.
Lam says that during the startup’s private beta, 500 women who took the survey on average said that three of the five bras fit them (if you have ever bought a bra, you will recognize this as a small miracle).
“The footwear market is almost double the size [of the intimate apparel market], and women enjoy shopping for shoes,” Lam says. “What potential could this be if women actually enjoyed the experience?”

10:17 by Robert dawne · 1

9 Steps for Getting Kickstarter Dollars

These days, more Kickstarter campaigns are achieving success than we can keep track of. The iPhone-friendly Pebble watch earned $7.6 million more than its $100,000 goal. And the Galileo iPhone platform closed its Kickstarter campaign at $702,000, far surpassing its $100,000 goal.
Not to mention, Kickstarter recently reported it has raised $200 million from over 2 million backers.
How does one cash in (literally) on the Kickstarter craze? For starters, it helps to have a unique concept, wicked ambition and one unforgettable pitch. We've read all of Kickstarter's guidelines, FAQs and tips, and have researched testimonials from successful campaign alums to compile a set of tips that will help launch you into the Kickstarter hall of fame.
1. The Scope
Kickstarter projects are just that: projects. And Kickstarter has strict parameters to define a project. It's "something finite with a clear beginning and end." In other words, Kickstarter is not meant to help you earn money to launch a business. Rather, it’s about earning money to complete a finite goal, whether that’s releasing your band’s latest album, completing a book, etc.
Now, if that project just so happens to coincide with the launching of your business, so be it. However, don’t expect to use Kickstarter funds toward anything related to general business–you can use the money towards the development of your project and in paying the necessary people to get your work off the ground. So, set very specific and measurable project goals. Not only will Kickstarter approve your project, but potential backers will have a firmer understanding of what they’re funding.
2. The Timeline
One of the biggest factors to take into account is your project’s timeline. This will dictate how long your Kickstarter campaign should run and how long it will take to deliver the finished product.
You can set a Kickstarter campaign to run anywhere between one and 60 days. Keep in mind, however, that projects lasting 30 days or less have Kickstarter’s highest success rates. A project’s momentum climbs in the beginning and the end, but can lag during a too-long middle time period. Find a happy medium between your timeframe and your audience’s attention span.
A timeline is also important so that you can set mailing dates for your backers’ rewards, another essential piece of the Kickstarter experience. Be sure to give yourself enough time to complete your project once the Kickstarter campaign has been funded; that way, you won’t disappoint your backers with late or rushed rewards.
3. The Money
Once you have a clearly defined project, it should be relatively straightforward to define a funding goal. It’s as simple as putting together a budget.
Take into account the following: production, manufacturing, labor, packaging and shipping costs. Factor in your “salary,” too; if you’re using Kickstarter to help you complete a book, backers are paying for your time. (Just be sure to make that clear in your project description.)
The most important thing to remember is that Kickstarter uses an all-or-nothing funding model. If your project doesn’t reach its financial goal within the specified time period, you’ll receive no money. Therefore, don’t set the bar unreasonably high. On the other hand, if you’ve accurately budgeted the project and are fully transparent to potential backers, you should see healthy returns.
4. The Tiers
Hand-in-hand with your budget, you’ll need to determine the proper rewards to return to backers once the project is completed. Rewards are tangible returns for a backer’s money, and can vary widely from project to project. A popular example is rewarding your backers with something made by the project itself, like a copy of a newly recorded album.
Rewards are determined by different funding tiers. Let’s take the CD example: You might estimate that a backer who pledges $20 deserves a copy of the CD. However, if a backer pledges $50, maybe he or she receives a signed copy of the CD. And if he pledges $100, it’s two signed copies plus a concert ticket.
Kickstarter data shows that the most popular pledge is $25, but the average pledge is around $70. Kickstarter also shares that projects with no reward succeed 35% of the time, while projects with a reward less than $20 succeed 54% of the time. Don’t be afraid to vary your pledge tiers widely to accommodate all budgets.
5. The Video
Kickstarter projects with a video component succeed at a significantly higher rate than those without (50 percent vs. 30 percent). So yes, a video is important. According to Kickstarter, this is what makes a killer vid:

• Tell us who you are.
• Tell us the story behind your project. Where'd you get the idea? What stage is it at now? How are you feeling about it?
• Come out and ask for people's support, explaining why you need it and what you'll do with their money.
• Talk about how awesome your rewards are, using any images you can.
• Explain that if you don't reach your goal, you'll get nothing, and everyone will be sad.
• Thank everyone!

Finally, be sure that your video thumbnail is strategic, inviting and piques the visitor’s curiosity. Consider featuring a prototype or a design element. After all, it’s the first image people will see when they visit your project page.
6. The Project Page
Now that you’ve defined your project’s parameters, it’s time to communicate them to potential backers and supporters. Kickstarter emphasizes the most important thing to remember is to be transparent at all times.
That means clearly defining your project’s scope and how you will achieve your goal. It’s also imperative that you explain precisely how you plan to use backers’ money.
Then, explain why you are the best person, company or group to complete this project. Why is your team qualified? What are your past experiences and accolades? Also, create a sense of urgency and timeliness–why do people need this project right now?
Remember to be concise but thorough. Ask yourself, "What questions would people have about my project before pledging money and support?"
7. The Community
Now that you’re ready to launch your project, it’s time to call on your community. Kickstarter recommends tapping your social media followers, but advises a gentle approach. Don’t spam your friends and goad your followers with self-promotion. Consider several different kinds of outreach so as not to overload one network.
And remember: Your community isn’t enough. Consider drafting a pitch document for media coverage, no matter how small the outlet. And ask for help from your local community so they can share in the success–pass out fliers in local businesses and make nice with your town’s radio DJs.
An often overlooked tactic is to tap your backers’ networks, too. Once a person supports your project, he or she is obviously invested in its completion. So ask backers to share the project among their communities.
8. The Updates
Your backers are the lifeblood of your project. They deserve to be updated frequently and thoroughly, as if they were on the team alongside you.
You may choose to either make updates public, or share them privately to backers. To make them feel invested, consider e-mailing updates that include video and photos of your progress, important milestones and team events.
9. The Rewards
A project’s completion means you need to start mailing backers their rewards. You’ll be able to send backers a survey upon completion of your Kickstarter campaign, in which you can ask them to provide their contact information and other requests (T-shirt size, color preference, mailing address, etc.) Kickstarter offers a spreadsheet tool to help you keep all of this information organized.
Staying organized is key. Many Kickstarter alums share that the most challenging part of the process was meeting the mailing dates for rewards. But the process should be pretty straightforward, as long as you account for every step of the process: collecting surveys, calculating shipping costs based on package weight and backer location, purchasing supplies, printing shipping labels, packaging, transporting and finally mailing your rewards.

08:01 by Robert dawne · 0

How One Startup Led to Another

You might call Raad Mobrem, 25, a serial accidental entrepreneur. As a senior at the University of California Santa Barbara, he and fellow classmates Chase McElroy and Jonathan Luna Rivera, who were in an entrepreneurship class together, came up with an idea for a new kind of durable dog toy as part of a class project. As it turned out, the toy—a super-tough, Frisbee-like rubber disc that could double as a water dish—became the foundation for a bona fide pet products company called Durable Ideas.
That was back in 2009, and the company now has distribution in more than 1,600 retail locations. But with growth came a few pain points. One of them, says Mobrem, was sales and order processing.
“We had all these sales reps nationwide and they might visit 15 stores in any given day,” he says.  “They had to write the order forms for customers, go back home and then get the orders to us through e-mail or fax.”
Consolidating Tech Tools
And like most small businesses, Durable Ideas’ back-office systems included a variety of programs such as QuickBooks, Freshbooks, Salesforce, an online credit card processor and an inventory system—none of which talked to one another efficiently.
“We had all these different systems and we had to take data and input it into each one,” he says. “And this process got really, really annoying.”
Not to mention time consuming, to the point that the company’s inside sales people were spending more time doing paperwork than selling.  It was an “ah-ha” moment for Mobrem.
“I thought we could create a centralized hub that integrates with all the back-end systems and integrate it with e-commerce,” Mobrem says. With Durable Ideas’ tech wizard Frank Jones,  Mobrem went to work on an iPad app that would do just that. Three and a half months later, they had developed an app that was bare bones but serviceable enough to bring to trade shows, where they used it to take orders. And then something unexpected happened.
“Companies said ‘What the heck are you doing on the iPad?’ and they begged us for the app,” says Mobrem.  “And then we got all these phone calls from people wanting to buy our solution, which was not for sale.”
Capitalizing on a Great Idea
Mobrem, fascinated by this unforeseen interest in the app, decided to do more market research. So he attended a few trade shows outside the pet industry, talking about the app to whoever would give him a few minutes. “Every one of them said ‘I need this,'” he says. In the meantime, the app had proven itself at Durable Ideas by dramatically reducing order fulfillment times from up to four days to just a couple of hours. Cash flow also improved by 35 percent, and sales increased 5 to 10 percent.
So in late 2010, Mobrem and Jones left their full time positions at Durable Ideas to start a new company to develop the app, which they named Lettuce. A meeting with venture capitalist Mark Suster of GRP Partners landed the company acceptance into startup accelerator Launchpad LA, in which Suster is a mentor. Private beta users have run approximately $500,000 in orders through the app, and Mobrem plans to make the app available at Apple’s App Store in the near future. When the private beta ends in late May, he’ll begin charging $29 to $119 per month per user.
“Our vision is really in line with the statement ‘Imagine if Apple designed apps for small businesses,’” says Mobrem. “In the long term, we want to be the place where small businesses can go to find great applications to run their whole business.”

08:42 by Robert dawne · 0

Facebook on New Timeline Apps: ‘We’re Going To See the Next Pinterest’

Facebook’s Open Graph has made it possible for developers of all sizes to tap into Facebook’s Timeline and post when their members listen to songs, browse for images, or read stories. Facebook’s Malorie Lucich told Social Times, “It’s a huge opportunity for startups. I think we’re going to see the next Pinterest come up through these kinds of integrations.”

People “gravitate to the types of activities they enjoy in the real world,” said Lucich, like fitness, fashion, and food.  The key is to base the app on some kind of action, like listening, watching, reading, or reaching a goal. If your site is about wine tasting, for example, users can post when they’ve tried a new wine.
In the end, all of the activity ends up in one box on each user’s profile page, giving members a look at what they’ve achieved throughout the year, whether they’ve logged every mile they’ve run or clipped every news article they’ve read. “It looks really beautiful on all the maps,” Lucich said.
For a startup company, the Timeline presents an opportunity to reach Facebook’s millions of users. Spotify recruited 4 million new users to its digital music service by streaming users’ playlists on Facebook. When Pinterest had its beta testers post images they liked on Pinterest to their Facebook Timelines, the site’s daily active Facebook user base grew by 60 percent.
In the last three months, Facebook has approved 3,000 Timeline apps that help people share their interests. A recent wave of 60 new apps expanded the offerings with videos from VEVO and fashion from Pose, among others.  But even companies that weren’t lifestyle-related found a way to get on board.
RockMelt created a social reading feature to introduce new users to its Web browser and iPhone app. Launched in 2010, the startup puts a social spin on popular browsers like Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. RockMelt has Facebook notifications, instant messaging, and updates from sites like Twitter and Tumblr built into the browser for easy access.
When making the decision to use the Open Graph, RockMelt CEO Eric Vishria told Social Times that “Facebook was a natural fit” for the socially-enabled browser. None of the other browsers had tried it yet, he added, “so we’re unique in that regard.”
With the Timeline app, users can turn on “social reading” to share the articles they read online with their friends on Facebook. The article appears on the timeline with the note, “recently read on RockMelt.”

News articles fall under the category of “safe content,” Vishria explained, which are things that people can share with their friends online without making things awkward. RockMelt connects to 150 “white-listed” sites, like CNN, that have safe content. “We want to make sure it’s a good experience,” he said.
RockMelt found that people were more likely to read an article that came from a friend.  Using the Facepile plugin, which shows the Facebook profile pictures of friends who have also read an article through RockMelt, has led to an increase in click-through rates of about 20 percent.

Users add an average of 14 new articles per day, most of which involve humor or breaking news. And once RockMelt’s users enable social reading, 75 percent of them choose to leave it on while they continue to browse the Internet. The most prolific social readers are between the ages of 18 and 34.

Facebook’s Timeline has also led to a 5 percent increase in new user growth for the browser.  To date, 2 million people have tried RockMelt and 100,000 of them now use it on a daily basis.  Said Vishria of the Facebook Timeline, “It’s a powerful thing.”

11:23 by Robert dawne · 0

DIY SEO Startup BrandYourself Has Nearly 6,000 Sign-Ups

BrandYourself made the famous startup pivot earlier this month, and now it’s sharing some data about the initial results.
The company started out as a way for people to control the impression they made online, both through search results and on social networks. It even recommended articles that you could read and share in your chosen subject area. Co-founder and CEO Patrick Ambron says his team eventually realized that the approach was “too much,” and that “the one BIG thing people loved about us was helping them improve their search results.”
So the new version of BrandYourself pares away all the other features, focusing exclusively on your personal search results. In both cases, BrandYourself pitches itself as a more affordable, DIY alternative to a service like Reputation.com. Instead of hiring someone to improve your results and paying them thousands of dollars, you can just log in to the BrandYourself dashboard, submit the links that you want to show up more prominently in your results, and get recommendations on how to improve their placement (for example, it recommended that I connect my personal website to a BrandYourself profile page, and also include my name in the text of the website). BrandYourself also tracks whenever the rankings change. You can get free recommendations on three links — after that you have to pay for premium membership, with pricing that starts at $9.99 per month.
Ambron says the new version of BrandYourself launched on March 8, and that 5,870 people have signed up since then. And of those sign-ups, 154 of them became paying members.
Oh, and this isn’t a business win, but it’s nice recognition: BrandYourself won the Best Bootstrapped Startup award at the South by Southwest Startup Accelerator earlier this week.

11:30 by Robert dawne · 1

New Ways to Fund Your Startup [VIDEO]

MSNBC's Your Business:
 Where's the Money?

It's not easy to go to the bank and get a loan these days. If you're looking to secure some funding for your startup, there are some options you may not have considered. Venture attorney Jennifer Hill has tips for new ways to find money.

08:06 by Robert dawne · 0

3 Things to Remember When Filing Taxes for the First Time

It’s your first year outside Corporate America and, in addition to attending to your mile-long to-do list, your taxes need to be filed. Dread not. Tax time doesn’t need to be painful, especially if you remember to do the following.
Pay attention to deductions
Business owners love deductions and for good reason; even the smallest ones can make a world of difference to a company’s bottom line. Sit down and document every possible expense, recommends Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation, a Calabasas, Calif.-based company that helps small businesses incorporate with the government.
Start with your physical location. If you work from home, calculate the percentage used for your business, then deduct that percentage from your mortgage and utilities. Added bonus: You can deduct 100 percent of any renovations done exclusively to your home office.
Next, look at your traveling expenses. “Do you travel anywhere in pursuit of your trade?” asks Sweeney. This includes mileage.
In addition, she says small-business owners can deduct a large portion of the actual expense of going into business. For 2011, that deduction is $5,000 (it was $10,000 in 2010 and there has been talk about increasing the limit, but it has yet to happen).
Business-related education is an added deduction available to small-business owners (i.e. conferences, certification renewals, etc.).
“Another one people don’t think of is bad debt,” Sweeney says. “If someone stiffs your business, you can deduct that cost. This usually applies to businesses with hard goods, not those that provide professional services.”
For more information on deductions, check out the IRS checklist.
Consider your audit risk
Audits will not spell the end of your business as long as you have proper documentation.
“Small business owners can get excited when they start up and deduct everything,” Sweeney says. “That is fine as long as the deductions are legitimate and they’ve been properly documented.”
Keep receipts and write down your mileage. You can now track your mileage using smartphone applications, like Trip Cubby and MileBug.
Know your deadlines
“Business taxes are due March 15, a month before personal taxes,” says Ian Aronovich, co-founder and CEO of GovermentAuctions.org in Great Neck, N.Y.
Don’t freak out yet. This law applies to corporations and S corporations, specifically, not to Limited Liability Partnerships (LLCs), Partnerships or Sole Proprietorships. If your company fits into the first two categories and you aren’t yet ready to file, consider asking for an extension.
“You can get a six-month extension, but you must file for the extension by March 15,” says Aronovich. Extensions can be electronically filed by using IRS Form 7004.
Beware: This form allows you to extend only the date of your filing, not the date of your payment. According to Aronovich, business owners are required to pay their estimated taxes by the original filing date. Failing to pay can result in IRS penalties.
For more information on filing deadlines, check out the IRS breakdown.
Previous article: Should a Small Business Do Its Own Taxes?  | Next article: How to Minimize What You Owe and Maximize Your Return
Katie Morell is an independent business writer and editor, who over the past 10 years has covered topics ranging from business and politics to travel and social justice. Her work has appeared in a variety of regional and national publications, and she has served as an editor for Meetings Media.
Photo credit: iStock

14:39 by Robert dawne · 0

Non-Scientists Use Business Savvy to Launch Med-Tech Product

Rebecca Griffin and Teresa Garland had a great idea for a home-health product but they had no scientific background. That didn't stop them.
In 2005, the two Dallas friends were chatting about a friend who was pregnant. She had two girls already and really wanted a boy. An expectant mom can find out the gender of the fetus with the first sonogram, usually at about 18 weeks. But there's a curiosity gap between the first home pregnancy test and that sonogram.
"We said, 'Gosh, you would think there would be a way to tell by the urine whether it's a girl or a boy,'" Griffin says. "How cool would that be?"
Some Internet research turned up an interesting bit of folklore. In the 17th century, women had a fairly reliable test involving grains of wheat and barley. It piqued their interest enough to look for a lab that would work with them.
They were not scientists, but they did know business. Griffin was a partner in a commercial real estate firm. Garland was a business-development consultant for PwC. They called on friends and contacts for referrals.
The search took them to San Francisco, where they found a company known for its quality skin products. It had the expertise and the vision to help them.
"We were on a fast track to get a product developed," Griffin says. "We felt like speed to market was important. We couldn't believe no one had done this before."
In addition to developing a reliable test, the lab had to figure out which week of pregnancy would produce accurate results. It had to keep track of each sample and match it to the sonogram and the gender of the resulting baby.
The lab went down many dead ends, but the biggest challenge was getting enough of "solution," or the urine of pregnant women. It developed a special cup for the solution samples, plus all the packaging and directions.
The two women tried doctors' offices and approached women in malls and offered them $20 to pee in a cup. Finally, they spread the word through churches and schools. Many women began dropping off samples in the mailbox.
"We did a lot of brainstorming and whiteboarding," Garland says. "How do you find the right jar [for the kit]? How do you design your box? Do we need instructions? A syringe? It gets complicated."
Ironically, it took about nine months to create the IntelliGender test. Independent testing facilities have rated it 85 percent accurate.
Both women were still working full-time, investing their own money in the company when the product launched with Internet sales in 2006.
As the orders for the kit increased, with CVS and Walgreens carrying it, Garland and her husband went to work at IntelliGender in 2009 to manage the volume. Griffin kept her job but participated as a full partner in the LLC. The company expanded to Australia and then to 23 other countries.
The kit now retails for $35. The most expensive part of the kit is the syringe for dropping a sample onto the tester—it was the only imported item. To date, the company has sold more than 500,000 kits worldwide.
IntelliGender also sells IntelliCeuticals, natural remedies to support the health of pregnant women and babies. The company aims to bring more complementary products to market.
Looking back, Garland thinks that the partners' business expertise more than made up for their lack of scientific training.
"We both had marketing [experience]. Rebecca had contract negotiations and I had finance and consulting. My husband was IT, manufacturing and logistics," she says. "A lot of inventors have the opposite scenario.
"But if you spend your whole time in the lab, you have no exposure to business. I think that was key to our success. We had the background of how to make it happen."
Griffin agrees. "You can outsource anything you need," she says. "In fact, it's highly unusual that anyone would have all the skill sets you need to develop a product. Tenacity and ambition are the mothers of invention."
Photo credit: Courtesy subject

12:40 by Robert dawne · 0

Bringing Luxury to the Masses

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a place where you could buy designer clothes and accessories at prices up to 90 percent off? If you’re like me, you’ve dreamt of this place for a while. It wasn’t until recently, though, that I found out it actually exists, and not just in my dreams.
It’s called Gilt Groupe, and it's a members-only e-commerce site that offers merchandise like women's sweaters, men's socks, kids' booties and home decorations—all at price points that don’t induce fainting spells. The best part: The site boasts wares from runway designers such as Zac Posen, Carolina Herrera and Valentino, to name a few.
Friends and fellow Harvard MBAs Alexis Maybank, 37, and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, 35, launched Gilt Groupe in 2007 as a way to bring the New York City sample sale to the masses. The caveat: Those who wanted in had to be invited (today you can ask to be invited), thereby increasing the exclusivity and excitement around the venture. The plan worked beautifully, and today the business boasts $500 million in revenues, more than 900 employees and offices around the world. This year the duo will release a book documenting the company’s meteoric rise, titled By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed How Millions of People Shop.
We got in touch with Maybank and Wilkis Wilson to find out how they managed to successfully change an entire industry.
Could you tell me about your backgrounds?
Alexis Maybank (pictured, right): I grew up between Charleston and central New Jersey. I met Alexis while at Harvard undergrad in a Portuguese class. We were a couple years apart and became great friends. After college I worked in Silicon Valley through the first wave of the technology boom. I was an early employee at eBay, when there were just 40 people. We both ended up going to business school at Harvard. While there, I did an independent study with Zac Posen.
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson (pictured, left): I grew up in New York City and after school worked in investment banking in London for a few years. After business school, I switched gears into retail and luxury goods and worked for Bulgari.
How did you come up with the idea for Gilt Groupe?
AM: In 2007, I was coming off an opportunity, and Alexandra was ready for a new challenge. We would often go to sample sales and had family members from around the country that would ask us to pick up items for them. Sample sales really weren’t available to people outside the tri-state area, so it dawned on us to think of a way to bring those sales to a mass-market audience. We started meeting and talking about how to launch the perfect concept.
AWW: Alexis started working on the site full time, and I stayed at Bulgari for a little while longer. She managed the building of the site while I started reaching out to brands.
How were you able to secure funding?
AM: We started talking with VCs about three weeks before we launched and were successful with AlleyCorp, a group started by Kevin Ryan, one of our co-founders. Dwight Merriman, the founder of DoubleClick, was also able to help us. That funding provided us enough to hire a few employees and rent office space.
When did you launch?
AWW: We consider Nov. 13, 2007, our official launch date because that was the day of our first sale, a Zac Posen sale. Two weeks prior, we did a membership launch where we teed up thousands of e-mail addresses to invite them to join Gilt Groupe.
How many members signed up out the gate?
AWW: We got over 13,000 members to sign up, but we didn’t know if that was a good number or not. We were trying to aim even higher and encouraged friends to invite friends with the incentive of a $25 credit.
What challenges did you face starting out?
AM: One of the first challenges was building a team. After two months we realized that we were hiring people just like ourselves, bright-eyed optimists. It didn’t make for a balanced team so we brought in executive coaches to help. About five months in, we hired an excellent woman out of Ralph Lauren. She brought a really measured approach to the business and made decisions based on experience and facts and not as much on intuition.
We also focused a lot on open communication. Seeds of distress can really tear apart startup teams when they aren’t addressed, so we made communication a priority.
How did you survive the recession only a year after your launch?
AWW: While the recession was a terrible thing, it ended up actually helping our business. Many brands were dealing with excess inventory and having a hard time selling things at full price. Plus, a lot of customers still wanted to shop for designer goods but didn’t want to walk around with big shopping bags; they wanted to be discreet. We ended up growing our membership faster than forecasted during that time.
How are you able to offer such slashed prices?
AM: There are two things that help us with pricing. First, we don’t have overhead or pay rent on Fifth Avenue. Second, we work in an industry that has seasonal inventory, so things need to turn over.
What does the future hold for both of you and for Gilt Groupe?
AM: We’ve talked about taking the company public, but at the same time don’t want to lose sight of providing the best possible customer experience. We will discuss the option of going public this year. [Wilkis Wilson reports the company received a $1 billion valuation in spring 2010.]
I love Gilt and couldn’t think of a business I’m more loyal to. I’m happy right now and just had a baby boy two weeks ago. I also have an 18-month-old daughter at home, so raising a family is a big part of my future plans, as is continuing to be involved heavily with Gilt Groupe.
AWW: I really enjoy mentoring young entrepreneurs and am now a mentor at TechStars. As for my future, I love Gilt so much and am still personally learning.
Could you tell me about your book?
AWW: The book is coming out in April, and it really focuses on our early days, getting the company off the ground. We worked on it for about two years, meeting every Thursday at 8 a.m. to brainstorm and go through anecdotes. We are really proud of the final product and hope it inspires other entrepreneurs.
What advice can you give budding entrepreneurs?
AM: Figure out if now is the right time to launch your company. Who is doing it already? If there isn’t anyone doing it, is there a reason why?
Also, execution is so much more important than the idea itself. Get your product out there and get feedback from your customers. The earlier you can get feedback, the better. Don’t over-invest before you know more from your customer base.
AWW: You really need to trust the people you go into business with. If you have any red flags or don’t know the person well, pay attention. It is easy to get sucked in by excitement and adrenaline. Invest time in reference checks.
If you are starting a business and throwing out ideas to consumers and investors, it is important to listen to criticism. That doesn’t mean you should back down on your ideas, but take that feedback to heart and think of how you can apply what people are saying to your business model.
Photo credit: Courtesy company

08:50 by Robert dawne · 0

How to Find Online Success Anywhere in the World

Let’s face it—we are only beginning to scratch the surface when it comes to the possibilities of Internet commerce. Every day businesses launch new products, programs, and platforms that they hope will be the next big thing. With the Internet touching so many lives, in so many places, it’s never been easier to run a business online. And in many ways, it’s even easier to run an online business from beyond the United States.
Low startup costs
Whether you’re starting an online drop-shipping business, launching an online system for business owners to use, or plan to build a popular design blog that functions just like a traditional business, startup costs are low on the web.
Here are the basics you’ll need to start an online business:

• Internet service
• Computer equipment
• Website domain and hosting
• Lots of time

The cost for each of these things will vary depending on where you live and the value you put on your own time, but generally speaking, you’ll spend less if you live outside of the United States.
Culture curiosity
It doesn’t matter where you live—people who don’t live nearby will find your life and business fascinating, so be sure to sprinkle that aspect of your life into your business.
Consider the gourmet sweet shop Ladurée, whose very name prompts fan girls everywhere to swoon with visions of delicious macaroons nibbled at romantic Parisian cafes. This company uses its beautiful roots to paint a strong brand image—from its website to the product photography—that people around the world know, trust and love.
You can do this by sharing a “day in the life” post on your blog, capturing your favorite local spot and sharing it on Facebook, or by going further and allowing the country you live in to influence the products you create and sell. Allow your fans and customers to get a glimpse into your wonderfully cultured life, and it’ll make them more eager to follow your company through and through.
If you live somewhere with ready access to great products people living elsewhere can’t get their hands on, why not set up an online shop filled with these goodies? South Korean company Jewelrism International set up an Etsy shop to promote and sell its products worldwide. In just two and a half years, they’ve racked up over 130,000 Etsy sales reselling craft supplies they source locally.
And if you’re a blogger with hopes of sharing your culture and building a blog business, Lucas Kleinschmitt of German Efficiency has written a must-read that explains Why International Bloggers Have an Unfair Advantage.
Affordable resources
Living in another country also means you’ll be able to tap into more affordable resources than those living in countries like the U.S. and Canada, such as lower employee costs and cheaper rent.
For example, recently I hired a small web developer for a short-term project, and I was stunned to learn that he had a team of five employees. When I asked how he was able to charge such a low rate for the project while covering his expenses and earning a profit, he explained that in India, where he lives, it only costs him $1,500 a month to pay five full time employees and rent space in a prestigious downtown building.
Is the developer running a sweatshop? No. He’s paying his employees standard wages for their city and is able to grow his business by concentrating on building clientele. If you live in a similar part of the world, consider hiring someone part time to help you tackle tedious parts of your business, so you too can grow the way plenty of other small businesses around the world are growing.
Justine Grey is a web entrepreneur who writes Work Life Joy for frazzled business builders who long to work vibrantly and live beautifully. You can find her on Twitter at @JustineGrey chatting about life, work and her pop culture obsession.

American Express OPEN Forum

10:55 by Robert dawne · 4

The Wrong Way to Market Social Media

Entrepreneur Kevin Ready tells a sadly humorous social media story in his book StartUp: An Insider's Guide to Launching and Running a Business. The airport parking company that he uses has a shuttle bus that runs from the lot to the airport terminal. Plastered on the bus windows are posters that say: “Like us on Facebook. Plus us on Google. Follow us on Twitter.”
"This makes sense doesn’t it?" asks Kevin. "Not. Let’s break it down.
A. Somebody at the parking company has been tasked with the job of handling social media.
B. Second, that person’s boss has probably established some sense of the metrics in the space: likes, plusses, and follows.
C. Since this is what the social media person is being measured on, he or she creates the sign as described and posts it in the bus.
D. The irony is that they've 'missed the bus' with the marketing collateral that she just made."
Sadly, this is how many small businesses are marketing their social media in an attempt to build an engaged following. So what’s wrong with it?
"Simple," says Kevin. "They're telling customers what the company wants. Why would any customer ever care what the company or someone's boss wants? Why, why, why? I would not be surprised if out of 50,000 customers per month in those busses nationwide, not a single one ever responds to this poster as it is written."
Every company needs to compose messages that get customers to do what the company needs done. But you shouldn't confuse your need with the customer's.
So what should the company have done? Kevin offers a three-point strategy:
1. Start with “why.” Under what circumstances would customers ever want to interact with messaging from her brand? What do they need? What are they interested in?
2. After identifying possible whys, evaluate your resources and see how you can provide a solution to one or more of them. This is the process of building a value proposition around that why. The mantra here is, “Provide value. Provide value.”
3. Finally, follow up by attaching the desired actions (in this case, like, plus, and follow) to that value proposition.
How about these?
“Get one free day of parking! Just ‘like’ us on Facebook to receive your coupon.” (Value plus desired action)
“Love Hawaii? So do we! We are sending two lucky families to Oahu—just follow us on Twitter and we will enter you to win!” (Value plus desired action)
“A lizard in a suitcase? The funniest travel stories ever told—only on our Facebook page.” (Value plus desired action)
By providing value, and arranging the message in such a way that customers who are interested in the value do what you are asking them to do, you greatly increase your chances of getting customer buy-in.

11:20 by Robert dawne · 0

Raising Money for a Thoroughly Unreasonable Venture

A couple of years ago, Tyler Hartung, Daniel Epstein, Teju Ravilochan and Vladimir Dubovskiy had a very, well, unreasonable idea. The three, all in their twenties and University of Colorado at Boulder grads, had worked in businesses with social missions and knew how hard it is to jump start a social venture. So they decided to launch The Unreasonable Institute, a Boulder-based not-for-profit that takes its inspiration from the well-known tech incubator/accelerator, TechStars. The name of the organization comes from a George Bernard Shaw quote: "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
The idea was to gather 25 social enterprises in Boulder for ten weeks, give them access to mentors, networks and the opportunity to raise capital, and watch them take off. The criteria:  “The ventures need to address the root cause of an environmental or social problem or need," says Hartung. Plus, all candidates must have sustainable revenue models. In the Institute’s first two years, the founders encouraged both for-profit and not-for-profit ventures to apply. This year marks a major shift, with the requirement that all must be for-profit businesses. “We were seeing for-profits take the most value out of the Institute,” says Hartung. The change also made it easier to attract mentors and capital partners who could potentially invest in the ventures.
But the most interesting aspect of The Unreasonable Institute is how its "fellows" are chosen.  This year, there were 306 applicants from around the world and 100 were deemed promising enough to advance to the second round, which involved a phone interview. Of those, Hartung and his co-founders chose 46 candidates from 25 countries whose ventures are featured on The Unreasonable Institute’s marketplace for 50 days (you can check them out on the Institute’s website until early March. That’s where individual donors fund their favorite entrepreneur’s $10,000 tuition fee, one donation at a time. Tuition goes toward transporting and supporting the fellows for six weeks, plus transportation costs for mentors. The first 25 finalists to raise $10,000 in 50 days become fellows and spend six weeks in Denver, starting in June.  To insure that deep-pocketed friends and family don’t tip the scales unfairly, maximum donations are set at $10 for the first week, then increase incrementally each week.
Currently featured in The Unreasonable Institute’s marketplace are, for instance: Quetsol, which is developing energy solutions for poor families in Guatemala; Waste Enterprises, which is tackling the crisis of waste collection and treatment in Africa; and Praki Design, a maker of charcoal stoves that decrease fuel consumption and smoke emissions.  They, and 43 others, are hoping to be among the 25 companies that will gather in June to live with one another and the mentors who will help them evaluate, improve, and scale their companies.
Hartung says that all but a small fraction of The Unreasonable Institute’s fellows from the previous two years are still up and running and that 66 percent of first-year fellows who were seeking funding received that funding. Among the Institute’s alumni success stories: Solidarium, a Brazilian company that connects local producers with big retailers, such as Walmart and J.C. Penney; and Eco-Fuel Africa Limited, which makes organic charcoal from agricultural waste and whose founder, Moses Sanga, was selected as 2012 TED Fellow. Sanga’s company also received a $20,000 investment after his participation in the Institute. That may not sound like a lot, but it’s a fortune in Uganda. “His trip to Unreasonable was the first time anyone in his village had been on a plane,” says Hartung. He’s hoping for similarly dramatic results from this year’s class.
Pictured: Co-founders Daniel Epstein (second from left) and Tyler Hartung (third from left)
Photo credit: Courtesy company

19:26 by Robert dawne · 0