JESSICA WILSON RUNS THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL FASHION APP CALLED STASHD AND HAS HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH RICHARD BRANSON. FOCUS CAUGHT UP WITH THE 24 YEAR OLD CEO TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HER RISE TO THE TOP OF E-COMMERCE.
W
hat is your connection to the a single contact of anyone who lived there (sorry Mum, I know ing back on that experience. Richard Branson and spending Coffs Coast? you were worried!) but I was ambitious to find out more about time with him and like minded entrepreneurs on Necker Island I grew up in Coffs - on a small the tech industry. I met people from the likes of Google and was beyond anything I can put into words - I learnt a lot from farm just outside of Coffs Harbour Yahoo, who taught me about the industry. I then moved back him (we spent breakfast, lunch and dinner together with (Karangi). I went to BDC throughout to Australia and into a tech co-working space called Fishburntwenty or so other like minded entrepreneurs for five days). high school and I learnt some of my ers, where I found a tech co-founder. The tech co-founder built The island only ever houses 30 people at a time and it’s all most valuable lessons and met my core group of friends, who Stashd, and the rest is history. We had a fair amount of traction through invitation only - the villas are incredible and it’s in the continue to be super supportive in Coffs Harbour. relatively quickly and have continued to grow since. The start Caribbean, so when we weren’t having conversations about And your entrepreneurial spirit began to show at a was all bootstrapped, which means we did it all on not much the mindset of being a business owner, motivating people or young age, when you began organising parties for your money. general banter, we were making the most of the location. friends and school mates? What are some of the interesting statistics for Stashd? Who have been some of the most influential people you Ha ha, yes - it was all quite random at the time! The events We have users in 136 countries, have featured as one of have met? started out when our principal at the time banned formal after Apple’s Best New Apps in 11 countries and within the top 10 I’ve been so fortunate to meet some incredible people along parties, so a group of friends and I decided to organise the Lifestyle Apps in five countries. We will soon have close to one the way - some of whom I’ve mentioned, such as Richard Branschool formal after party on the farmland I grew up on. million items available on Stashd from retailers such as ASOS, son and our Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as well as the We pitched to my parents to use the farmland as a venue Bloomingdales, Estee Lauder and Shopbop. co-founder of Net-a-porter, the founder of companies such as and once (after much convincing) we got the go ahead, we Looking back, what were some of the things that helped Tinder and Spanx and investors who have invested in compatook to organising suppliers of lighting, staging, DJs and securi- you succeed? nies such as Paypal ... ty and even registered the party with the local police. The first Persistence ... And surrounding yourself with people who What start-up business advice could you give to young event went quite well and we broke even with ticket sales, so know more about the industry than you do and being open women from regional areas like Coffs Harbour? I pitched to my parents again to use the farm as a venue, and to learning from them. Mentors who have been there and I’d say just make a start - I’m a big we continued to hold after parties, 18ths and believer in that we only have one lifetime 21sts throughout my final years of high school. and if you have an inkling of what you What is Stashd is and how does it works? Persistence ... And surrounding yourself with people want to be doing with your life, you’re Stashd is what we like to call a global digital who know more about the industry than you do and ahead of a large majority of the popubeing open to learning from them. fashion mall on your mobile, although unlike a lation, so you may as well give it a go. regular mall, Stashd holds zero stock. We have Worst case scenario, it doesn’t work out, taken the process of how we intuitively browse you learn a lot, meet some really cool in an actual mall (flicking through items) and people and then try again. Don’t be put off by “failure” - sotranslated the process onto mobile with the use of swipe. Users done what you are trying to do cuts your learning curve in half ciety has put a level of negative hype on failure ... Failure isn’t - then you need the mindset to persist when things get hard are presented with one item and have the choice to either bad - it’s a stepping stone and process to learning and life ... I (which they will), be surrounded by the right team to execute swipe left to “Trash” an item to never see it again, or right to would also start to train your brain to think as big as possible; and have courage to do things the way you think they will “Stash” an item into a centralised Virtual Wardrobe in which just because you live in a regional area doesn’t mean you can’t work ... they can go back to for style inspiration, to share with friends have a global vision. Put yourself in sight of any opportunity Why do you think that Stashd has been so successful? for a second opinion or to go directly through and purchase, in which aligns with that vision ... A few things, one of which is that we’re a bit lucky the which we take a commission on sales. industry is ready to be disrupted, so we have timing on our side What are the plans for Stashd’s future? When was the light bulb moment for Stashd? The vision is to become the largest digital fashion mall in the - which is a major factor as to whether a company succeeds or I was working through Australia and New York fashion world holding zero stock - so a lot of locking in brands. We are doesn’t. The industry needs to be ready to be disrupted, users weeks and I noticed a huge transition from shopping on also a contestor on a reality TV series, which is a cross between need to be willing to use your product, and the market size desktop (e-commerce) moving to shopping on mobile (m-comShark Tank and X Factor airing on a Chinese reality TV network and stats need to be large enough to get retailers excited and merce) and like any successful platform of new technology, to 22 million people in April. We are looking to strategically on board the vision. there needs to be one “hero location” to discover, with a user break into the Chinese market - which is a whole mission in I also think a good mix in our team has been a factor - I am experience unique to the technology. So I decided to use my itself. the target market of our end user, which allows us to underknowledge of the fashion industry and book a one way ticket We’re also shooting a reality TV series, which is looking to stand what the customer wants more so than competitors who to Silicon Valley to find out more and fill that multi trillion air on one of the major free to air stations around our journey are more often than not old men who can see an impressive dollar market gap opportunity. growing this vision, behind the scenes of fashion weeks and market size, but might not necessarily be passionate and eduHow did you get started on the journey of building the generally handling the ups and downs of running a tech busicated about the industry they are heading into. app and the company? ness as a 24 year old CEO - which I’m super excited about. The journey started with booking a one way ticket to Silicon What was being invited to Richard Branson’s island like? Valley when I was 21. I didn’t have much money, I didn’t have Necker Island was incredible! I still pinch myself a little lookThanks Jessica. coffs coast focus. 33