Ideeli founder Hurley: Electric business is ruthless

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Beijing time April 1 news, according to foreign media reports, 2007 founded the luxury "Flash purchase" website Ideeli in the "500 Fastest Growing companies" list of the highest. Last year it earned 77.7 million dollars, a 40,882% increase since its launch.

The fastest-growing US company has come from an apartment in New York, with only 15 employees in the first place.

Luxury "flash Sales" website Ideeli (Tencent Science and technology with map)

"If you've seen my apartment, you know, there are so many people working there that's too crowded." Paul Hurley, chief executive of Ideeli company, said.

In 2011, the company raised 41 million dollars in its 3rd round of financing to recruit staff and develop new categories.

Hurley founded Ideeli early, the U.S. economy plunged into recession, fashion group began to find a new way, with affordable prices to meet their extravagant desires.

"In the United States, most people still don't know what a ' flash purchase ' is," Hurley said. This mode of sales discount is very high (many times the discount is as high as 80%), but only for members.

Ideeli now has 5.5 million users and 3,000 suppliers, in fact, it is in a casual situation as the giant of the retail market. Ideeli's original business model is not focused on retailing, which is a marketing platform brand that allows brands to connect with consumers by sending gifts and holding time-limited sales.

Ideeli's data show that consumers are more interested in big specials than marketing campaigns, so in order to meet this need, the company transformed itself into a real flash-selling company in 2009. It carries out the retail business, provides the member the big price reduction commodity.

"Our ideas are good, but others have better ideas," he said.

"Others" means Paris private shopping club Vente-privee.

"One of the things I've learned throughout my career is to always try something new." "Hurley said. He founded seven companies before setting up Ideeli. "You must have a good understanding of the present and be ambitious." It's bad if you just have to live. Who would like that? We want to offer our customers incredible and incredible experiences. ”

Hurley believes that his internet retail business is a billions of-dollar opportunity, but he does not focus on profit growth, but on the scale of expansion.

"The key is that all horses have to run at the same speed, so if you like very intense activity, you need to be careful." The key to scaling up is to lay the right foundation for victory, and we have laid the groundwork for the development of a larger company. ”

"People underestimate how difficult it is to make money. I'm not talking about the kind of thing that started a company and then sold it. I mean to create a company that makes millions of of millions of consumers feel happy because it exists. “

As for competition, Hurley closely watched H&m and J. Crew, as well as the E-commerce field of rival gilt Groupe, Rue la La and Hautelook.

"The retail business alone is about $350 billion a year." We are studying how consumers shop. They have a lot of choices, and E-commerce is not new. It is the retail business. But this business is very ruthless, if you are not good business will incur disastrous consequences. ”

Ideeli, who was founded in May 2008, moved to a building in downtown New York, but in less than a year, the company relocated to Chinatown and is now in a building with Dolce&gabbana Corporation. The company now has about 250 employees.

"Interestingly, when you move to a new place, you have a lot of space and feel like you'll never be able to fill it," said Hurley, "but after 20 minutes, you find the place a little crowded." One of our jokes here is that when you get a promotion, your desk is smaller. ”