Catching Up With Leora Kadisha Of StyledOn

by The Daily Front Row

Remember way back in 2010 when we asked if StyledOn was going to become the Facebook of fashion? Two years later, we’re pleased to report that it’s more than a Facebook fashion stalking platform; it’s a bridge between consumers and brands. This week marked #SomethingBigIsComing for StyledOn. Translation: a site facelift with easier to navigate e-comm and over 4,000 shopable brands. Who is behind the site’s success? Let us introduce you to StyledOn’s founder and CEO, Leora Kadisha… 

How was StyledOn conceptualized?
I was born and bred in a family of serial entrepreneurs. My second semester in college I did a directive study with a professor for a new product concept. StyledOn was born through my experience in the venture capital world as the director of new technology investments for a firm in L.A., and I worked on the finance and sale side of IFA.

Did you draw on personal style experience?
After seeing how antiquated the industry is in such a digital age, it propelled me to start StyledOn, which was essentially picking up on a behavior of mine: going on Facebook and seeing how girls were wearing their clothes.

How do fashion houses accommodate the change in online shopping?
When we first launched, the people most excited were the luxury fashion houses. Their previous participation in social media platforms had been delayed because of their fear of compromising brand integrity. Very early on, we partnered with Oscar de la Renta because they wanted to reach a younger audience. We created “Oscar Every Day” and showed our community members the artisanship that goes into every garment. We positioned Oscar as a piece of art.

Do you have a dream partnership?
We’ve been pretty fortunate to cover the gamete of brands. We’ve worked with top luxury brands, but our passion really lies with emerging designers.

Any blogger collabs? 
Our claim to fame is the Man Repeller. She was an intern for us when she started her blog, and she’s still part of our family. There have been a ton of unknown bloggers that seek to tap into a larger audience, using StyledOn to promote their blogs.

How has the site change since we talked in 2010?
We were really lucky to have investors that knew the timing was challenging. Investors that were not in the industry didn’t understand the opportunity and brands were hesitant to tiptoe into the world of digital. For us, what was challenging was the value proposition for users: how do we get a few minutes of the user’s time? The past few years have been about finding the answer to that question. Two and half years later, the user experience has changed and understanding the needs of the brands and the industry has rolled into understanding that there is room for brands without feeling that they’re compromising.

You tweeted #SomethingBigIsComing today. Dish!
It’s the first time I’ve successfully pulled off an all-nighter since college. It was an all-nighter with all the developers, and we launched the culmination of the past two years in the making!

Where do you see the site in another two years?
Today we have over 4,000 brands on our platform that have digital fronts and we are looking to enable all of those to become e-commerce. We are focused on bridging the gap between consumers and brands. We are allowing brands to login to their pages and connect with users on a more real level.

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