How To Build An Online Fashion Startup With Sramana Mitra

Lessons From The Trenches based on interviews with Founders on Innovation and Business Models in Fashion e-Commerce

What you'll learn

How to identify startup opportunities through in-depth interviews with successful founders in the online fashion space.

What the trends, new innovations and best business models are for online fashion startups.

When to bring on a team while building an online fashion startup.

When to start raising funds for an online fashion startup.

How to scale an online startup.

What the exit options are for an online fashion startup.

Requirements

The only requirement for this course is an open mind and a willingness to learn.

Description

The 1Mby1M Methodology is based on case studies. In each course, Sramana Mitra shares the tribal knowledge of tech entrepreneurs by giving students the rare seat at the table with the entrepreneurs, investors and thought leaders who provide the most instructive perspectives on how to build a thriving business. Through these conversations, students gain access to case studies exploring the alleys of entrepreneurship. Sramana’s synthesis of key learnings and incisive analysis add great depth to each discussion.I started one of the Internet’s first fashion e-commerce companies in 1999. It was very expensive to do so at the time.Today, an online fashion business can be launched in an extraordinarily capital-efficient manner.There are so many effective e-commerce platforms from Amazon, eBay and Etsy to Shopify and BigCommerce that will allow you to either start selling through their marketplaces or create your storefront for just a few dollars.There are skilled freelancers on sites like Fiverr and UpWork to whom you can outsource some of your business building tasks at a very reasonable price.A bootstrapped, capital-efficient, million-dollar online fashion business is a great asset to build and own, and after that, you can decide to grow it further or not. It is a great place to be and you do not have to be an IT genius to get to that place.Of course, if you are a fashion designer who aspires to launch your own significant fashion brand, you do need additional resources.But, as a starting point, a simple fashion retail business can be built relatively simply.The first skill we recommend to master is bootstrapping. What is bootstrapping? It’s what happens when you use your own resources, which you control, to build a business.Learn more about bootstrapping and then you’ll be able to cross the first barrier of getting your e-commerce venture off the ground.Online fashion retail is a popular side-hustle for numerous entrepreneurs. It is also a popular home-based business chosen by solo founders. You can get started by selling a product on Amazon or eBay marketplace with very little investment. We share numerous case studies showing you how. We also have many case studies of much more ambitious efforts at building bigger brands.A bootstrapped, capital-efficient, million-dollar e-commerce fashion business can offer you a wonderful lifestyle and a rewarding journey. And then, who knows? You could end up building the next Donna Karan or Michael Kors. Let's get started!

Overview

Section 1: How to Build an Online Fashion Startup

Lecture 1 Introduction

Lecture 2 How to Build an Online Fashion Startup

Lecture 3 Uuma Case Study

Section 2: Personalization

Lecture 4 A Journey into Personalized Luxury Fashion: Editorialist YX CEO Rafael Ortiz

Section 3: Women's Fashion Startups

Lecture 5 From Student Entrepreneur to $15 Million with Stephanie Madesh, Kalon Clothing

Section 4: Men's Fashion Startups

Lecture 6 Men's Fashion Introduction

Section 5: Children's Fashion Startups

Lecture 7 Mompreneurs

Lecture 8 Navigating Through Massive Challenges with Jana Francis, Steals.com

Section 6: Niche E-commerce Brand Startups

Lecture 9 Introduction

Lecture 10 Shoes and Mass Customization Case Study - Shoes of Prey

Lecture 11 Watches Case Study - WatchUWant

Lecture 12 Glasses Case Study - SmartBuyGlasses

Lecture 13 Bags Case Study - Nomad Lane

Lecture 14 Jewelry Case Study - Pura Vida

Lecture 15 Jewelry Case Study - TrendHim

Lecture 16 Jewelry Case Study - Worthy.com

Section 7: Fashion Marketplace Startups

Lecture 17 Fashion Marketplace Startup - NOVICA

Lecture 18 Fashion Marketplace Case Study - Boticca

Lecture 19 Fashion Marketplace Case Study - Spreadshirt

Section 8: How to Design, Manufacture, Drop-Ship Cost-effectively from China

Lecture 20 Thought Leader in E-commerce: HugePOD CEO Joe Zhou

Section 9: Cross-Border Fashion Startups

Lecture 21 Cross-Border Fashion Startup Case Study

Section 10: Death by Overfunding Fashion Startups

Lecture 22 Introduction

Lecture 23 Death by Overfunding Case Study - Nasty Gal

Lecture 24 Death by Overfunding Case Study - Gilt Group

Section 11: Additional Content

Lecture 25 Bonus Lecture

Ambitious entrepreneurs with limited resources who want to pursue an idea for an online fashion startup.,Fashion aficionados who want to turn their passion into a digital business.,Aspiring founders who want to increase their chances of getting accepted into a top startup accelerator such as Y Combinator, Techstars, and 500 Startups,Any entrepreneur who wants to learn from successful entrepreneurs who have done it before and from investors who have supported them.,Professors teaching technology entrepreneurship courses anywhere in the world.