As second-year MBA students at Wharton, Cherif Habib and Stephan Jacob identified an opportunity to deliver brands and products to students on a tight budget. Kembrel, a private shopping community for students, selling clothing, computer gadgets, and accessories at 40-75% off was born. Relying on social networks to drive consumption, with friends telling friends about hot products and brands, Kembrel has been able to create meaningful connections with its users. Innovative features include a Kembrel shop on Facebook, pop-up campus tours and a business model that leverages the work experience and creativity of real students. I recently spoke with co-founder and CEO Cherif Kembrel to discuss what metrics he uses to define success, how Kembrel stays ahead of the competition and why it may be less risky to be your own boss than to work for a large corporation in today’s economy.
Jennifer Sung: What is Kembrel? What are you offering that is new and different from what’s already out there in the online space?
Cherif Habib: Kembrel is a private shopping community for students. What we are doing differently is that we are targeting only students and the reason we are doing that is because we think that the current offerings [online] don’t cater to students as well as we do. So from a merchandising and assortment point of view, we think we are better. In terms of content and community, we are also doing something different. To give you some examples: every model on the site is a student, every photographer is a student, the content writers are students and the bloggers are students. This community driven [aspect] makes Kembrel unique. We also have the first private sales store running on Facebook–we are the first in the industry to have that–and that’s unique because our demographic is obviously spending most of its time online on Facebook and by bringing the store to [them], we are increasing the chances that they will find something they like and they can interact with us without ever leaving [Facebook].
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Dannijo, founded by sisters Danielle and Jodie Snyder in 2008, has emerged as one of the most sought after jewelry lines in the world. A celebrity clientele list (including Beyonce, Katy Perry, and Natalie Portman), multiple collaborations with fashion houses (including Luca Luca, Carlos Campos, and Walter) and a nomination for Inc. Magazine’s 30 Under 30 Coolest Young Entrepreneurs in 2009, are just a few of the many accomplishments they’ve achieved over the last three years. I recently spoke with Danielle and Jodie to learn more about the experience of running a business as sisters, their recent decision to do their first ever presentation at London fashion week and why sometimes it’s just as important to reject opportunities as it is to take them on.
Jennifer Sung: How would you describe your style and personality?
Danielle Snyder: I’m a little bit more bohemian and rock and roll inspired. I’m inspired by music culture from bygone eras like Woodstock to present music festivals like Coachella. And Jodie is a little more classic and inspired by old world sensibilities with a mix of vintage. So for the collection, we really work off of each other to create a well-rounded collection that speaks to a range of personalities.
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It’s almost hard to believe that in mid-2010 Prada (one of the most powerful luxury brands in the world) is just getting around to launching e-commerce for the US market. So, what took this luxury powerhouse so long to join the internet revolution? Here are some conjectures.
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Name: Kim Phan
Job Title: Founder, CEO and Head Designer of Yumi Kim
Meet fashion designer Kim Phan, founder and CEO of clothing line Yumi Kim. A self-described “Jane of all trades,” Phan launched her own clothing line in fall 2008, focusing on vintage prints and silhouettes with a touch of funk and urban femininity. Sold at upscale boutiques and department stores including Saks Fifth Avenue, Intermix and Bloomingdale’s, Yumi Kim has quickly become a favorite among the Hollywood crowd. In this edition of 20 Questions, Phan tells us about her love for Twitter, why her clothes give her customers an instant mood boost and why you should have paid attention in that accounting class you slept your way through.
Jennifer Sung: You started out in the music industry but decided to take the jump into the fashion world. Why the career switch?
Kim Phan: I moved to New York in 2001 and I ended up working for the president of Arista Records from 2001 to 2003. I was there for almost two years and when you work for the [president of a music company], you get to see the whole entire operations of a record company and learn how music is made. You also work with a bunch of different celebrities. However, I realized in the two years working there that I wasn’t passionate about music. I just wasn’t for me. So I decided to pursue what I love, which is fashion.
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Name: Andy Dunn
Job Title: Co-founder and CEO of Bonobos
Launched in 2007 by two former Stanford Business School roommates Brian Spaly and Andy Dunn, Bonobos is an online retailer that has quickly built up its reputation for selling kick-ass fitting pants–by men for men. In less than three years, it has sold more than 55,000 pairs of pants and eliminated “khaki diaper butt.” With free shipping & returns and great customer service provided by Bonobos “ninjas,” guys no longer need to leave the couch to up their fashion quotient. In this edition of 20 Questions, Dunn tells us why men hate to shop, the biggest challenges in running an online business, and the importance of hiring a good team.
Jennifer Sung: How did you get started with Bonobos?
Andy Dunn: [My business partner and I] couldn’t find pants that fit so we came up with a design of pants that fits better for a guy’s anatomy. Our pants are made with a contoured waistband and they are medium rise–so they’re not too tight or too droopy. And they have a tailored cut in the thigh that eliminates that frumpy mass-market fit but is a little more comfortable than your typical super tight Euro fit. What we saw was that people who were trying these pants on were telling us, ‘This is the best pair of pants I’ve ever put on.’ We tried to figure out how to bring these pants to a wider audience and we decided to put them up on a website. When we did that, a whole group of people were telling us, ‘You can’t do that. You have to launch a brand through traditional channels, you have to launch through stores, you have to do wholesale, you have to sell through your own stores.’ But we figured we’ll put them up on the web, we will get started that way and see how it goes. And we ended up growing like crazy just through our website. What we discovered is that guys can’t find pants that fit and they don’t want to go into stores to look for them. So we married those two things together and that’s really how Bonobos was born.
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