Sramana: Do you have any proof points of your technology working and providing actionable recommendations? Krishna Kumar: We are very new and we have just started the pilot project for that use case. It is not a tried and tested method from the business method standpoint. We will be working with more established ERP vendors
Sramana Mitra: How do you assess the TAM? How big is the bridesmaid dress category? Ilana Stern: Bridesmaid dresses itself is about a $2 billion category housed within the $14 billion wedding fashion industry. Overall, the wedding industry is $100 billion. Sramana Mitra: Your growth strategy is wedding industry merchandise or collaborative e-commerce?
Dmitri Williams: I have no idea if I impacted sales because I have 10,000 followers. I don’t know if I have generated $1 or $3 million. I’ve got no clue. It’s all an assumption. You’re really looking at a proxy for action. Any marketer with their head on straight would rather have proof. What we
Sramana: So how have you been able to build a product by combining the Internet of Things, People and Processes? Krishna Kumar: We have an intelligence layer that sits on top of all of these three components and allows you to build applications on top of that. For example, we are working with an organic
Sramana Mitra: What has been your inventory strategy starting from the beginning to where you’re now doing private label. Can you step us through how the inventory strategy has evolved over time? Ilana Stern: The brands that we launched with are special occasion dress brands that are all made to order. Essentially, it’s a non-inventory
Sramana: What kind of traction were you able to get with your Bootstrapping with Services strategy? Krishna Kumar: We were able to get some good Fortune 500 customers using that bootstrapping methodology. We used that as the means to get our first round of funding, which came through Open Ventures. Sramana: Where is the company
Sramana Mitra: This is not exactly a wedding planning site? It’s a bridesmaid shopping site. Ilana Stern: No, it’s not. It’s a rich collaborative shopping experience. Sramana Mitra: Yes, but your focus is still on bridesmaid dresses or has it broadened? Ilana Stern: Our focus is still on bridesmaid dresses and we’ll be expanding beyond
Sramana: How did you get the company off the ground? Did you raise VC money? Did you use your own money? Did you bootstrap? Krishna Kumar: Initially, we had to bootstrap. The first few years were funded through my checking account. Sramana: How long did it take you to get your first customer? Krishna Kumar: