Meet the multimillion dollar Silicon Valley fashion startup you've never heard of
Vicki Thompson
The brains behind the Ruby Ribbon operation pose at a trunk
show at Los Gatos boutique Bella Rosa. From left to right: Katherine Barr,
general partner at venture capital firm Mohr Davidow; Anna Zornosa, Ruby Ribbon
founder and CEO; Patti Cazzato, chief merchandising officer of Ruby
Ribbon.
- Lauren Hepler and Preeti Upadhyaya
- Silicon Valley Business Journal
The main event is about to begin: A trunk show for Burlingame-based fashion startup Ruby Ribbon, which melds the old school model of Tupperware parties with the growing e-commerce field.
Ruby Ribbon has raised nearly
$11.5 million in venture funding after a $3 million seed round led by Trinity Ventures in May 2012 and an $8.5 million
Series B round led by Mohr Davidow Ventures in early 2013.
Founder and CEO Anna Zornosa's mother really
was "an Avon Lady," selling makeup to friends and family at small
gatherings.
Now, Zornosa and her team of 200 independent sales associates, or stylists,
sell patented shapewear at in-person trunk shows. The sales operation is
augmented by e-commerce stores run by each stylist."If my mom had Facebook or a smartphone, what would her business have looked like?" asks Zornosa, a veteran of tech and media companies like Yahoo and Knight Ridder Digital who has also served as an adviser to several startups.
In addition to the booming
e-commerce and retail startup field (read
more about that here), Ruby Ribbon is seeking a piece of the $10 billion
shapewear industry brought to the masses by the company Spanx. Zornosa and her
Chief Merchandising Officer Patti Cazzato hope to meld
shapewear garments like camisoles and slips with more fashionable active wear in
the sphere of yoga titan Lululemon.
"Active wear is very functional,
and so is shapewear," said Cazzato, a former yoga apparel company founder and
veteran of Levi Strauss & Co. and Gap Inc. "It seemed very natural to bring them
together."
Lauren Hepler covers economic development, sports, and hospitality for the Silicon Valley Business Journal. She can be reached at 408.299.1820
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