Today’s guest speaker is the zenith of corporate baddie on TOP turned fashion tech startup founder. A former Blackstone employee, our esteemed guest speaker today left the trillion-dollar asset manager to start Pickle, a peer-to-peer clothing rental app, that allows users to rent out their closet to people who live nearby and favorite of enterprising fashion girlies nationwide. Though born in New York City in 2021, Pickle has more than half of its new users come from other parts of the country.
In the sea of startups vying for the all elusive venture capital funding — she and her cofounder Brian McMahon has raised $8 million in funding from FirstMark, Craft Ventures and others in 2023, giving it a $30 million valuation. An all the more incredible feat given that only 2% of venture dollars goes to women founders.
Fashion nerds I hope you enjoy this episode with the inspiring, Forbes 30 under 30, Julia O’Mara. We get INTO it from her most worn pieces, Pickle's incredibly cost-effective marketing strategy, and the creative features which this startup has developed to help fashion lovers across the US try beautiful clothes in an environmentally and fiscally sustainable way.
Have you given Pickle a try? If not, would you? As a renter or as an owner? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!