I may be working at a tech start-up, but that makes me even more fascinated with start-ups that are directly related to my interests. Last week, two very big things happened. One fashion start-up got acquired while another with so much potential (so we thought) shuttered. So how does that happen? Competition? Because that’s just the nature of the game? I’ve been wondering about this for awhile and I don’t really have the research or the data to back it up, but I find it to be very very interesting.
Prior to Trunk Club getting acquired by Nordstrom officially, I had been reading about the rumors of this weeks before. Trunk Club is a shopping service for men who don’t like to bring themselves to shop at retailers or the mall. The Trunk Club man works closely with a stylist to share what his interests are and what he is most comfortable in and the stylist puts together a “trunk” – some of which you would find above and sends it straight to your doorstep. The items you like, you get to purchase while the ones you don’t can be returned back. I thought it was an incredible service. I witnessed someone receiving a trunk once and I wrote about it on Quora. There hasn’t been a really great equivalent for it for women other than Stitchfix, which I heard was a hit or miss sometimes. What I’m still trying to figure out is what being acquired really means. What will the Seattle retailer do with the Chicago start-up? How will Trunk Club change itself? How will Nordstrom incorporate themselves into Trunk Club? I have so many questions.
The second big piece of news is that Hukkster shut down last Friday. They had a pretty awful name, but a great idea and supportive backing. The star-up raised $4.5 million dollars in venture capital over the last two years. The start-up which allows users to save items they like on the websites of their favorite retailers and receive notification of when the price has dropped was founded by two former J. Crew employees. Additionally, it was backed by the Winklevoss twins. For an idea that would have gained so much popularity among people – women especially – I am surprised that it only lasted two years.
It’s not a bold statement by any means, but I think it’s clear that anything can happen in the start-up world. One minute you’re here and the next you’re gone. It’s amazing to be in this industry and I’m learning so much, but I can’t wait to see what will happen next in the years to come.
