The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. Name: StyleOwner
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Quick Pitch: Create your own online boutique and get a 10% cut of sales.
Genius Idea: You're stylish and influential. You have Klout. You've probably helped sell a clothing item or two through a recommendation you made over Facebook, Twitter or on your blog. Shouldn't you be getting a cut of those sales?
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That's the premise behind StyleOwner, a Manhattan-based startup that lets users create online boutiques featuring merchandise from a range of 75 individual brands, as well as big-name retailers such as Saks and Nordstrom. Users can host their boutiques on styleowner.com and on their own blogs. For every sale made through their stores, users get a 10% cut (minus taxes, shipping and, where applicable, return costs).
The startup is helmed by an impressive crew: Joel Weingarten, who previously taught robotics at the University of Pennsylvania as a visiting research fellow; Jordana Silver, who worked in design and sales at Michael Kors for eight years; and Tracy Gardner, formerly the president of J Crew retail.
Weingarten says StyleOwner primarily targets three groups of users. The first group is made up of entrepreneurial 21-year-old college students and stay-at-home moms who are passionate about fashion and love to make recommendations to friends. The second group is composed of stylists and industry professionals who want to extend their personal shopping businesses. And the third group is fashion bloggers who want to start earning affiliate revenue on items they're already featuring on their blogs.
In addition to boutique owners, StyleOwner also gets a cut of each sale made. The startup raised $1.97 million in an angel round earlier this year from Accel Partners, Forerunner Ventures and a number of prominent individuals, including Andy Dunn of Bonobos. One thousand stores have been created to date. Now the company is focused on building out its feature set for store owners, including a mobile app.
Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
This story originally published on Mashable here.
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