Gilt Groupe’s Founder Launches New buying App

A decade ago, Alexis Maybank founded Gilt Groupe, a luxurious daily offers website that has progressively accumulated over eight million shoppers. This February, Gilt was offered to Saks Fifth Avenue’s dad or mum company for $250 million, a figure much lower than its $1 billion valuation.

however Maybank is able to put Gilt firmly in the rearview reflect. She’s spent the previous couple of months plugging away at a brand-new procuring app with Leah Park, who led the ingenious operations at Gilt for a number of years. The app, known as undertaking September, launches as of late.

Named for the month that the trend calendar begins, the app lets in users to add images and spot other people’s photograph streams. unlike different visible social media structures, it lets you click on any item in a picture to purchase it right away. “each time I noticed an merchandise I favored on a friend’s social media feed, it could take me ages to find it at a retailer where I could purchase it,” Maybank explains. “i wished to create a platform the place you should see a product you liked in a photograph, then tap it to buy it immediate.”

Maybank wasn’t the only one who was once pissed off with the lack to shop directly from images. She had observed that Gilt’s web site receives quite a lot of traffic from customers leaving social media sites, who’re certainly attempting to find an object they have simply seen. while facebook has made it possible to set up a store on a profile web page and Like2Buy lets in customers to save gadgets they like on Instagram to a wish listing, each systems require many steps to make a purchase.

venture September’s interface is very visible, with rows of photography and no commentary. Maybank explains that it is designed to seem like a range in a manner journal. users can practice their chums, influencers, and brands, swiping left and proper to move from picture to photo. they are able to also create profiles and upload their own content material.

The challenge September team has been working with many brands and shops to permit users to make a fee from any gadgets that promote from their images. after they submit an image, they are able to link every item on the picture to a retailer where it can be purchased; if that merchandise sells, they are able to earn between eight to fifteen p.c of it can be worth and project September can even get a small reduce. (the precise figures fluctuate depending on the type of product and the retailer.) venture September customers can buy objects from Bloomingdale’s, web-a-Porter, Saks Fifth Avenue, train, Ferragamo, Fendi, Nasty Gal, and Free individuals, amongst many other brands. the corporate is actively bringing on others.

Bloggers, style editors, celebrities, and others with large follower bases stand to make some huge cash from encouraging folks to buy merchandise that they suggest. undertaking September has recruited Marie Claire ingenious director Nina Garcia, magnificence skilled Frederic Fekkai, and edition Christy Turlington Burns to be style advisors; they have each created profiles and will share content. “this is one option to begin constructing our follower base,” Maybank explains. however, she makes it clear that the platform will not be designed solely for influencers with big audiences. “The platform is open to any users who want to share their creative work,” she says.

To get off the ground, challenge September has received an undisclosed round of angel funding from investors similar to First round Capital, Greylock companions, built by way of women Ventures, and feminine Founders Fund Ventures.