This story appears in the
November 2000 issue of
Startups.
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Who knows if perpetual bridesmaid duty prevents a woman from
walking down her own aisle-but who cares, if it means becoming an
entrepreneur. Liana Carlson, the unhitched 28-year-old founder of
After I Do LLC (AfterIDo.com) came up with the concept for an
online honeymoon registry while road-tripping with a fellow
bridesmaid to a wedding in 1996. Since the site went live in 1998,
she's been blessing gift-givers with more memorable options
than the breadbox and towels she gave.
Since many people now marry at an age when they're already
established, with probably two toasters to spare, Carlson wanted to
devise a way for guests to contribute to honeymoon bliss-be it with
money toward tickets or a pre-paid breakfast upon arriving at their
destination.
While pursuing her MBA from Southern Methodist University in
Dallas, Carlson, who'd worked in public relations and
marketing, took 1997 to apply lessons in controlling cash flow and
concept development toward her business plan, but it wasn't
easy. "Everything was new," she says. "All the
business processes, the pricing-there wasn't a model for me to
base a business plan on." Somehow, confidence got Carlson
through her first trade show, where she passed out brochures and
fielded questions about After I Do.
But the days of running an 800 number into her home line and
acting as a quasi-travel agent are over. Now fully
e-commerce-enabled (with only one other employee, things like Web
design are outsourced), the Denver company extends beyond the
honeymoon marketing packages that travel agencies offer, allowing
guests to purchase and pay in a few clicks. The focus now is on
growth (customer count has already grown from 277 in 1998 to an
expected 2,090 this year), with a large ad campaign and partnering
with reputable wedding sites as goals for next year.
