We recently spoke to fashion affiliates company, STYLIGHT, about their journey from a university project between four friends to an international company operating in 19 countries and employing 160 people. Benjamin Gunter, one of the founders and CEO of STYLIGHT, reveals how the business got started and what he’s learnt along the way.
How did you raise the finance for STYLIGHT?
We got investment from Business Angels and Venture Capital.
What was the toughest part of starting your business?
At the beginning, it was convincing investors. Some of them told us that online fashion has no future because people want to touch the fabrics when buying clothes. Now the challenge is keeping the start-up spirit inside the company whilst growing the team.
How quickly did the business grow?
We optimised and shaped the business in the first three years. Since then, we are growing quite fast in terms of traffic, users and also the team. It went from 70–150 people in the last year (see image below).
What are the biggest challenges the founders have faced launching and running the company?
There were thousands; one negative highlight was the perception of entrepreneurship seven years ago. Even after two years running the company with around 20-30 employees, people were still asking us whether we were still pursuing “this project STYLIGHT” or if we’ve finally found a real job! But I think that has changed a lot in the recent years.
What are the most important lessons learned over the years?
We’re still learning new things every day and we designed our organisation that way. Right now, with around 160 people, we really see how important corporate culture and communication is above all else.
Are you always on the hunt for new talent?
STYLIGHT is constantly changing and growing as a company. For this reason it is quite essential to find talented and motivated people who can realise the visions and ideas of STYLIGHT. Each business appears to be as strong as the people creating and developing it. Thus, we are always looking for interesting people with a proactive approach to join us in our headquarters in Munich,Germany, or in our offices in London and New York City.
To the right is a breakdown of STYLIGHT’s business growth over the last five years and the employee profiles that have made this possible.
Do you have any advice on starting your own business? Let us know in the comments below!
Images: STYLIGHT
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