An Indie-View: Fashion Mash
An Indie-View: Fashion Mash
Meg, AKA Margaret Howe, of something called “Fashion Mash”, has left a few comments on my blog over the past couple weeks. I had no idea what a “Fashion Mash” was, so I figured I’d ask her a few questions…
Joe Indie: Tell me about Fashion Mash. What is it? How long has the company been around?
Meg: At Fashion Mash™ you can upload pictures of your own clothing, arrange them into outfits and get feedback from your friends. It is a great way to organize your wardrobe & discover new combinations.
In addition to clothing images, graphics can be uploaded to use as backdrops or to decorate your outfits. You can comment on each other’s outfits and even experiment with other users’ clothing, backdrops or decorative elements. Outfit images can be shared on blogs or other websites for even more feedback.
The site is currently in beta-testing and we are actively seeking community input on the site’s features.
We started Heliostorm Digital Media, Inc. back in March to begin development on Fashion Mash.
Joe Indie: I’m assuming fashion is a big interest of yours. Do you design your own outfits and accessories? For pay? Or is it more of a hobby?
Meg: I’m just an ordinary woman with a day-to-day interest in what I wear. I frequently ask my husband, “Keith, do these shoes match this dress? Should I carry this pink purse or the brown one?” One day he was getting frustrated with all the questions and suggested I should be asking my friends. And out of that Fashion Mash was born!
Joe Indie: I like to know how companies make their money. So if you don’t mind my asking: How do you generate revenue with Fashion Mash? Are you planning a purely ad-based revenue stream? Or do you plan to sell services (or even fashion products)?
Meg: We are starting Fashion Mash on an ad revenue model. We plan on adding some paid designer accounts later where indie designers can link to their stores and pay to feature their outfits.
Joe Indie: Are you planning any “virtual” or “3D” features? Or both? Maybe for a fee you can see yourself in someone else’s clothes? Or you keeping it simpler? And, while I’m here: Have you considered “consignment selling” or “virtual thrift store” features?
Meg: At this time, we aren’t planning on any of the virtual stuff. We use Meez.com avatars and they have plenty of virtual outfits over there. People can already access each other’s items to experiment with in their outfits. Later on, as I mentioned, we will be implementing paid indie designer/pro accounts. If individuals want to sell their items, or pay to have their outfit featured, they would be doing it through those designer/pro accounts.
Joe Indie: Are you keeping your day job? Is your day job at all related to Fashion Mash? What about your spouse? Are you in this together?
Meg: We gave up our day jobs. Keith is doing the code development and I’m doing the business development.
Joe Indie: Wow. You both gave up your day jobs. That’s commitment. If you don’t mind my asking: How are you staying “afloat” as you build up revenue from FM? Did you have some savings set aside? Or *really* supportive parents? 
Did you have to make some adjustments to your lifestyle with that change?
Did you have to make some adjustments to your lifestyle with that change?Meg: We had a modest lifestyle over the last 5 years with the idea we would be starting a business and are now living on what we saved during that time. We moved from Boise Idaho to Edmonton Alberta to incorporate. Keith is Canadian and I am working on my Canadian residency. Our parents are all in the US and no, we don’t receive financial support from them. Either one of us may return to the workforce at some point next year. We’ll just have to see how it goes.
Joe Indie: Ah. You made the lifestyle changes before you needed to. Clever. So is this your first “indie” project? Or have you pursued other similar (or dissimilar) projects?
Meg: This is our first project as an independent company.
Joe Indie: Bonus question: Do you consider yourself “Web 2.0″? 
Meg: We’re Web2.0 in every way except the $5 million of VC funding. We are literally two-people on a shoe-string budget. Like Marcus Frind of plentyoffish.com, we are mystified at why it takes developer teams of 40 people and millions of dollars to make a web 2.0 site where people upload pictures of their dog food.
Joe Indie: I hear you. Well, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.
Meg: Thanks!
So. Now I know what Fashion Mash is. 
-David
joeindie.com » An Indie-View: Fashion Mash
David Michael of Joeindie.com interviews Margaret Howe on her new product, Fashion Mash.
“Joe Indie: Tell me about Fashion Mash. What is it? How long has the company been around?
Meg: At Fashion Mash™ you can upload pictures of your own clothing, a…
I had an extremely similar idea about 2 weeks ago for a social networking website, and when I typed “fashion social networking” and “friend fashion advice” I got 3 pages of fashion advice websites and magazines. I think if you do some AdWords campaigning you will get a good deal of interest!
Good job preplanning too. Finances often get in the way of good start ups happening.