Behind ShopLook, there is a story that is more than just a website working to bring back Polyvore features. It is a personal story filled with purpose. A purpose only strengthened by the talent and beauty of the Polyvore community. And it is that personal story I’m excited to share with you today.
ShopLook’s story began on a summer day when I took my then 7-year old son to the pool. As rain began pouring down, we ran to find shelter by a bookcase. While we waited for the storm to pass, I mindlessly reached for a magazine. Something inexplicable drew me in. And it was right then and there that my life changed forever.
As I flipped through the magazine, the pages opened up to a story of Polyvore. Even though I had never heard of it, each word of that story drew me in deeper. It was at that moment that the specialness of Polyvore truly struck me. The very thing that many using it had known for nearly a decade. Polyvore was more than a platform where you could create sets. It was more than a social lifestyle destination. It was more than a mood board. The true beauty of Polyvore was that it allowed anyone - regardless of background, appearance, gender, location or age - to be equal as a creator. To influence the world and make it a more inspired place to be. Because it provided very simple tools for anyone be an artist, creator and a contributor. In a world taken over by popular social media feeds, we have forgotten that fashion is an art form - the only one that each and every human expresses on a daily basis. And art is what inspires a generation to be creative and to live inspired lives. We are lucky to live in a world filled with artists whom each and everyday expressed that using Polyvore. There was nothing else like it.
I was puzzled that it was not until this point that I had learned about Polyvore. In the months that followed, I dug more into this curiosity. More into the product. And more into the industry. With each and every step I took, an unexplainable force continued to pull me in. It had become apparent that by that time, late 2016, Polyvore had been stopped in its tracks. Polyvore could have transformed our world into a more creative place... So why was it no longer innovating, and why weren’t more people using it? I saw then what many people may not have seen - this beautiful platform filled with a talented community was left unnurtured.
I finally built up the courage to leave a comfortable 9-year career at Google. Many - including those closest to me - could not understand why. Why would I leave a great job to pursue a startup all alone with no funding? To work on what they saw as just another ‘fashion’ site in a world that definitely did not need another. The next few months were some of the loneliest months of my life. A feeling that - if you are an entrepreneur - you may understand very well.
I will skip the stories of the ups and downs and the hardship in the early months building ShopLook. Those stories that have been told by other entrepreneurs more eloquently that I am capable of telling.
Nine months after starting ShopLook, Polyvore was officially shut down with no warning, leaving millions without an artistic home. ShopLook was flooded with traffic and our inbox with user stories. I read each and every one of them - and there were thousands - and it did not take long to feel a deep connection to each user. The sense of purpose that was always inside me had been awakened, and I began to work harder than I have ever worked before in order to build ShopLook to be the type of platform that is worthy of this talented community.
There is a famous quote by Steve Jobs that says: “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”
I may still not be able to connect those dots looking forward, but I know this much: this is just the beginning of the ShopLook story. A story that is being written by this community as we together inspire a more creative world.
Although our start was to bring back to the tools that were lost, our future holds so much more. I can’t wait to share more of that vision with you over the coming months.
And oh yeah! The most important part - I am no longer doing this alone! I have hundreds of thousands of amazingly talented people supporting me and building this with me. A community from every country and background yet made equal in their love for art and their willingness to inspire and be inspired. And you know what else rocks? They are mostly women! That is true #GirlPower!
