Meet Some of the Hottest Startups Melding Fashion and Tech The inaugural class of the New York Fashion Tech Lab shows how big a business opportunity fashion can be.
By Jason Saltzman Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
I believe that with the rise of technology, every industry will continue to be disrupted in new and exciting ways. It was with this in mind that AlleyNYC partnered and hosted the inaugural session of the New York Fashion Tech Lab (NYFTL). The NYFTL is powered by The Partnership Fund for New York City and Springboard Enterprises.
The program allows the biggest players in the fashion industry to engage with young companies building a wide array of fashion technologies. They recently had their demo day. For those of you who do not know what a demo day is, it's a live event that gives presenters an allotted amount of time to pitch their idea or company in front of a live audience, mostly investors. Here is a look into some of those companies. I hope this inspires you to build something awesome.
Clothes Horse: Clothes Horse helps shoppers get the right size and fit when shopping online in an easy, quick and delightful experience. Retailers see an average revenue boost of 10 percent from working with Clothes Horse, and a 15 percent reduction in returns.
Nineteenth Amendment: Nineteenth Amendment is a marketplace for fashion designers to showcase their designs through an interactive, crowdsourcing model. Designers sell directly to shoppers -- pre-production -- and collect real time demographic and sales data.
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Perch: Perch Interactive Inc. is intent on revolutionizing the retail industry. They plan on doing this by introducing a series of game-changing interactive, in-store digital displays where the product is the interface.
StyleSage: StyleSage is a strategic analytics web platform that helps fashion retailers and brands with critical in- and next-season decisions in local and global markets. Their beta platform, often hailed as "the Bloomberg for fashion," analyzes more than 1,000 retailers, 23,000 brands and 31 million products across 17 countries and deconstructs their pricing, assortment, and promotions strategies as well as trending styles.
Stylinity: Stylinity makes selfies shoppable -- with 68 percent of Millennials asking social network for purchase input, Stylinity expands e-commerce reach into interactions. WIth Stylinity, every selfie shared carries a click-to-buy feature, meaning that "Thumbs up?" shot sent from a dressing room to 10 friends can drive 10 customers to your site to buy. Plus, you'll know who snapped it, who sent it, and who influenced to purchase.
Stylit: Stylit helps users decide what to buy. Their patented styling platform unites machine-learning with the artistry of real stylists. Users receive contextual head-to-toe recommendations tailored to their tastes and needs.
Suddenlee: Suddenlee is a membership program that provides affordable next-day delivery from specialty stores and fashion brands. Their shopping logistics technology enables efficient merchandise procurement, processing and shipping for next day delivery on a regional basis.
Trendalytics: Trendalytics is a visual analytics platform that measures how merchandise trends resonate with consumers. They surface relevant signals for the fashion industry by identifying and synthesizing product attributes (e.g., maxi dresses, combat boots) across social chatter, search behavior and shared images to reveal actionable insights on product assortments.
It is important to know that the descriptions of these companies were drafted by the brochure handed out on demo day (I butcher pitches and needed some help). Needless to say, these companies blew me away on their demo day, which took place Friday, July 24th at Hearst. I took my good friend and amazing fashion designer, Kim Phan, of Yumi Kim to the event that showcased these awesome startups. She was super impressed (which is pretty legit).
PRO NYC STARTUP TIP: If you are in NYC, we are hosting a lunch and learn for the NYTFL at AlleyNYC. Tickets are $25.00 which includes lunch. For tickets and details go here.
I know I usually come to you with advice based on my past experiences. However, I feel it necessary to focus on the amazing companies I am learning about, in real time. The hope that this inspires you to think outside the box, and create something that you are passionate about. Also, I want you to make a gazillion dollars and win big! Hustle ON.
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