In a unique initiative, 8 start-ups came together to create a clutter-breaking experience for a set of women from across Bangalore who are all representative of a target demographic of customers that is common to all eight ventures.
The initiative Startups In Sync, a property of StyleBank.in, a fashion rental company that provides women with the service of being able to rent a premium western or Indian outfit at only 10% of the retail cost, brought together YourStory, Uber, Rentomojo, HouseJoy, EatFresh, Oh My Goddness and BlueStone to craft their first event TGIF – Thank God I’m Female, a pampering session for women.
“As first time entrepreneurs, Aina and I realised that there is not much collaboration in the start-up eco-system. I don’t think that’s because all of us do not want to, it’s just that every venture has its head down getting what they need to done. We wanted to do something that would foster alliances between multiple start-ups and leverage the power of combined reach, marketing effort, database and effort, that’s how the initiative Startups In Sync was born.” Says Bhavna Suresh, Co-Founder of StyleBank.
6.00 pm onwards on Friday night, over 75 women arrived at the YourStory office in Uber’s and walked in to a premium set up of furniture from Rentomojo. They then spent the evening getting styling tips and trying on outfits from StyleBank. Experiencing hair and make-up session from the HouseJoy beauticians, sampling fine jewellery from BlueStone and networking with other like minded women and influencers from the fashion, beauty, nutrition, fitness and food space over cold coffees from Oh My Goodness and snacks by EatFresh.
“The women here tonight are all part of a target demographic that we (StyleBank) and the other start-ups are trying to capture and cater to. They are women who have their own purchasing power or the significant decision maker in a relationship. Most importantly, they are women who are open to and customers of on-demand and access economy services and products.” Says Aina Barker, Co-Founder of StyleBank.
The women who were invited to the event were selected from a list of over 300 registrations. Banking on the power sharing to drive a common agenda, each start-up involved sent out communication to their database of the desired demographic, inviting them to register. This has now resulted in a list of 300 verified leads that is shared between all 8 start-ups. To further drive buzz and have a little fun, all 8 start-ups engaged in a bit of light hearted banter on twitter. The conversation garnered over 18K impressions for the #ThankGodImFemale
“We recognised a brilliant concept with this event where a lot of women who are coming in are the kind of target audience and customer who do not like buying things but want quick access of everything . Rentomojo was very excited to be a part of TGIF because events like this are not just a great platform for collaborating and networking but are also a platform for like minded women to come together to network and interact with each other. “ Tulika Shukla, Brand Manager, Rentomojo.
