Thursday, September 3, 2015
How Fitcode Hopes To Reshape Shopping For Women's Clothing, with Rian Buckley
Despite the revolution in e-commerce over the last 20-some years due to the Internet, there's one part of the retail puzzle which still has some serious issues: online clothing sales. Despite online retailer's best efforts, no one has yet figured out the best way to make sure that clothing that someone is buying actually fits--particularly in the area of women's clothing. One Seattle startup, Fitcode (www.fitcode.com), is looking to solve that issue, combining software algorithms with insight from its founders--both former models. We spoke with co-founder Rian Buckley, about how her years as a fashion model helped shape Fitcode, and how the company's hoping to translate that experience into a better online shopping experience for all women.
What is Fitcode all about?
Rian Buckley: Fitcode came to be after I modeled professionally for years. I modeled all over the world. While doing that, my cofounder, Bri and I, started realizing that what you see going on behind the scenes at photo shoots isn't what people see in pictures online. What people don't realize, is that there were many times we'd be at a photo shoot, and the clothing we were wearing was actually was clipped and pinned back to look better. If you had turned us around, you'd see the clothing we were wearing didn't fit at all, even though they looked fabulous in front. A couple of years after that, I started to notice that a lot of the brands we were working for were getting a large amount of returns, due to users having issues after online shoping. We thought that we had a pretty unique perspective on why this was a problem, and we might have a solution. The reason why, is that most people focus on size, but as a woman, and someone you have seen in those pictures, it's not really about size, it's about the fit of the garment. Two women who are the same size can have completely different body shapes. There's no adjustment of size that can solve that problem, because it's a problem with fit, not size. That's how the company came to be, and we started building this two years ago, and now we're up and running. We now offer up nine brands on our website, and soon will have twelve, which is super exciting to us.
How do you figure out fit?
Rian Buckley: We're initially starting just with women's denim. We have developed an algorithm, which we'll be able to eventually expand to other garments, but which is initially focused on women's jeans. We look at a woman's waist, hip, leg length, and other information, and also look at which parts of your body are the problem points. Is it your belly, your hips, your butt? Our algorithm figures that out. When you go into Fitcode, you answer four questions around images. We realize that women don't like to take their measurements, and they may not have measuring tape with them, and you also can't really count that as accurate, because we know that women like to like about their measurements. You can't take bad data and make a good product. So, instead, we have them identify with pictures and identify where their fit headaches are. They look at a drawing, and confirm hey, that looks like me, and I have that fit headache--whether that's gapping at the waist, muffin top, or whatever--and we use that to get their actual shape information.
Did you ever think when you were modeling that you'd end up working on software algorithms?
Rian Buckley: That is something I wonder every day, as well! I think the best thing I did, is I had this idea, and got a bunch of smart people on my team, and got out of their way. I'm a thinker, and I can see problems, and know how to solve them, and know where I want us to go, but I have an incredible team that actually does all of the grunt work to make that happen.
How is the startup funded so far?
Rian Buckley: We were angel funded until last month, when we went into a Series A funding. We'll be talking more about that funding later this month.
Other companies have tried to solve this problem, what's different about your approach here?
Rian Buckley: From what I've seen with our competitors, they're really focused on the size problem. We now know it's not size. Most people know their size, but that doesn't give them any idea if it's going to look good. I think the things that will lead us to success, is our focus on fit. We're really providing transparency to online shopping. We're showing each of the jeans with a woman whose body is similar to the consumer's on Fitcode, so they can see that jean on a real woman, not a model, and where it's not altered, or clipped, or photoshopped--for good or bad. I really think this focus on fit, not size, and our transparency, and also those product images, sets us apart.
What are the next big things for you in the next few months?
Rian Buckley: It's really exciting. We've been building this for about a year and a half, and now it's time to get going on marketing. We're really focused on bringing Fitcode to market, acquiring partners, partnering with brands and retailers, and figuring out what their pain points are, and tailoring Fitcode to them. That's my focus for the next few months. For my tech team, they're really focusing on the extension of the technology part of Fitcode, looking at how consumers are using our product, and overlaying those on our retail site and enhancing the online shopping experience.
As a woman entrepreneur, what have you found is your biggest challenge?
Rian Buckley: That's a good question. The biggest challenge I've run across, I think, is nothing to do with being a woman, but it has to do with being a CEO--and especially a young CEO. The biggest issue is delegating, especially when you have this process, your baby, who you want to nurture, and it's hard to hand that off. The lessons I've learned so far is really about delegating, trusting your employees and people to do the right thing, and running with their ideas.
Thanks, and good luck!