Modaym CEO Medya Farshchi
Modaym CEO Medya Farshchi

When it comes to online shopping, the options are vast. Almost every fashion retailer has an e-commerce presence. The ubiquity of options can be great for the languorous online shopper with time to search several portals for the right item. But for busy professionals looking for a unique item, the process can seem daunting.

That’s a pain point Modaym aims to address. The Seattle-based startup, which just launched in the U.S. last month, curates emerging clothing and accessory brands. Customers can shop for products from a variety of sources and have them shipped for free, directly from designers.

“Many people in our target audience are busy professionals who want to buy fashionable unique products without being overloaded with a lot of content, and we respect that,” said Modaym CEO Medya Farshchi.

Modaym separates itself from other online retailers with a feature called “broadcast,” which allows shoppers to contact Modaym’s network of designers when they can’t find what they’re looking for.

“Broadcast is a unique feature where shoppers can send the idea of what they want to relevant designers on Modaym and even include a picture,” Farshchi said. “Then designers can propose a product or even sketch a new design for the customer.”

We caught up with Farshchi for this installment of Startup Spotlight, a regular GeekWire feature.

Explain what you do so our parents can understand it: “We curate high-fashion collections of clothing, jewelry and accessories directly from emerging designers.”

Inspiration hit us when: “When we were shopping and hoping that not all of our friends buy the same dress or top or piece of jewelry. We knew that there were so many talented designers and fantastic products around the world but, unfortunately, they’re not always known or easily accessible to everyone.”

VC, Angel or Bootstrap: “Bootstrap. We decided to bootstrap the company for our U.S. launch, and as we expand our features and move internationally, we might look into bringing angels.”

Features - About - Image(1)Our ‘secret sauce’ is: “A combination of the brands we curate, unique features of the marketplace and straight-forward shopping. We look for the brands and products we love, while keeping quality, style and variety in mind.

Our customers can connect with the designers by asking them for specific customizations or even broadcast what they’re looking for. Broadcast is a unique feature where shoppers can send the idea of what they want to relevant designers on Modaym and even include a picture. Then designers can propose a product or even sketch a new design for the customer.”

The smartest move we’ve made so far: “Launching domestically first. It gives us the opportunity to focus on our domestic designer partners, get feedback from our customers and designers, learn and improve before we expand internationally.”

The biggest mistake we’ve made so far: “We only launched to public a month ago so it’s difficult to tell what our biggest mistake has been. Hopefully we don’t find too many of them! But of course, there have been and there will be challenges along the way that we’ll learn from.”

PrintWould you rather have Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg or Bezos in your corner: “Jobs. He was such an innovative individual and a great visionary.”

Our world domination strategy starts when: “It starts when we become a household name as the best place to shop for a wide variety of chic and fashionable styles from around the world, and also a platform that all emerging high-end brands trust and love.”

Rivals should fear us because: “We have an innovative approach of connecting customers directly to designers without any upfront cost or risk to emerging designers. In addition, we curate great products for customers which they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. We believe in a straight-forward shopping-focused experience and not overloading the customers with content.”

Modaym_Online__Shop_Luxury_Clothing__Jewelry__Handbags__Accessories__DressesWe are truly unique because: “We are combining the innovation and scalability of an e-commerce marketplace with the creativity of emerging designers to take online shopping to the next level. It’s truly a unique model which gives designers a platform to reach customers and gives customers easy access to a lot more merchandise options.”

The biggest hurdle we’ve overcome is: “Coming up with an overall model which allows us to provide a fully integrated e-commerce platform, free shipping, order management and tax calculations to designers, all without any entry cost or risk to them.”

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to other entrepreneurs just starting out: Invest upfront time in understanding your customers, and doing usability testing on your product. Also try to find your partners and customers ahead of time.”

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