Synopses & Reviews
On a warm September night in 2002, former acquaintances Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis reconnected at a mixer for new students at Harvard Business School. Alexis had just ended a four-year run at eBay during the dotcom boom and bust. Alexandra had just spent three years as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Now they were entering the country’s top training ground for future titans of Wall Street and the Fortune 500.
Little did either suspect that five years later, they’d become famous not in finance or consulting or corporate management, but at the bleeding-edge intersection of fashion and technology. Gilt Groupe – launched by Alexis, Alexandra, and three colleagues in 2007 – is one of the most fascinating startups of recent years, with a valuation of more than $1 billion. And it all began with one bold idea: to bring sample sales online and change the way millions shop. As Alexis and Alexandra write about the day Gilt.com went live: “We had created a website that could potentially change the rules of retail, for both shoppers and brands. If shopping was traditionally a slow, leisurely activity that might consume an entire day, it would now be competitive, addictive, urgent, thrilling—a rush delivered at the same time each day. Shopping would become not just easier, but so much fun.” But turning that vision into reality wasn’t easy. Designers had long controlled their own sample sales by staging them in anonymous, makeshift locations and strictly limiting invitations. Those lucky enough to hear about a Marc Jacobs or Hermès sample sale would drop everything and run for dramatic, fleeting bargains. Why should elite brands support a new startup trying to replicate the experience online? And even if brands like Valentino, Christian Louboutin, and Zac Posen got on board, would shoppers embrace such a website? Would the kind of people who love high-end fashion really visit a new online sale each day? Was “accessible luxury” a breakthrough idea or an absurd oxymoron? Alexis and Alexandra share their perspective in this dramatic story of Gilt’s birth, rise, and evolution. They show how they juggled the conflicting needs of their suppliers, engineers, marketers, and potential investors. They explain how they blended their individual strengths and weaknesses and managed their rapidly growing team. They cover the growing pains of expanding into new categories like housewares, travel, and menswear. And they take us through the darkest moments of the recession when Gilt might easily have died. As you’ll learn from the true story of Gilt, anything is possible for those with the creativity to recognize a new opportunity and the perseverance to make it real.
Review
“There’s no garage in this entrepreneurial thriller—the adventure starts with a sample sale.”
Review
"Alexis and Alexandra have created something original and amazing, and they did it in the simplest way possible. They found something they loved, and they figured out how to bring it to the massive amount of people they knew would love it too." -Mark Cuban, serial entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks
Review
“
By Invitation Only is a must read for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators who will be inspired by their journey and how passion, purpose and partnership fueled a revolution in shopping!”
-Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN, Inc
Review
“A fantastic adventure of entrepreneurship and girl power. Buy it, read it, enjoy it. You will certainly learn from it.”
-Robert Polet, former CEO of Gucci Group
Review
"Gilt Groupe has forever changed the landscape of e-commerce. Not since eBay has there been such a revolution in the way we shop. Alexis and Alexandra redefined the way we approach luxury."
-Nina Garcia, author and fashion director
Review
"By Invitation Only is a brilliantly written book because its authors, who were friends before they were business partners, respected each other's ability to cultivate relationships, take calculated risks, and execute their game-changing, visionary ideas. The key takeaway is that one needs to have an entrepreneurial spirit and indomitable will to succeed, no matter what career path you choose!"
-Janet Hanson, Founder and CEO, 85 Broads
Review
“Alexis and Alexandra are the ultimate entrepreneurs, having combined their love of fashion with the evolution of technology. They changed the way millions of people shop and have inspired others to follow in their footsteps. This book gives valuable insight into starting and building a business from the ground up based on one good idea. It’s a must-read for anyone who has a dream and entrepreneurial spirit.”
-Bobbi Brown
Review
"An exciting story about an exciting start-up. Alexis and Alexandra saw a fantastic opportunity in the luxury space and took it."
-Tony Hsieh, bestselling author of Delivering Happiness, CEO of Zappos.com
Review
"First, Gilt Groupe’s co-founders changed the way we shop by recreating the excitement of a sample sale online. Now, with “By Invitation Only,” they’ve let us in on their innovative creative process. Anyone who hopes to understand the world of tech entrepreneurship -- or upend it -- would be wise to read it."
-Arianna Huffington, President and Editor In Chief, Huffington Post Media Group
Review
“
By Invitation Only is destined to be acknowledged as a classic in many realms: retail innovation, business partnership, partnerships and relationships, creative destruction, and business strategy. This extraordinary book deserves the widest of readership by everyone interested in retail, entrepreneurship, innovation, strategy—and, of course, getting a good deal.” —New York Journal of Books
Review
“The story reads as a how-to manual for any entrepreneur looking to start something big and disruptive.” --Xconomy.com
Review
“First, Gilt Groupe’s cofounders changed the way we shop by recreating the excitement of a sample sale online. Now they’ve let us in on their innovative creative process. Anyone who hopes to understand the world of tech entrepreneurship—or upend it—would be wise to read it.”
—Arianna Huffington “There’s no garage in this entrepreneurial thriller—the adventure starts with a sample sale.”
—Dan Heath, coauthor of Switch and Made to Stick
“Alexis and Alexandra have created something original and amazing, and they did it in the simplest way possible. They found something they loved, and they figured out how to bring it to the massive amount of people they knew would love it too.”—Mark Cuban, serial entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks
“By Invitation Only is a must read for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators who will be inspired by their journey and how passion, purpose and partnership fueled a revolution in shopping!”—Mindy Grossman, CEO of HSN, Inc “An exciting story about an exciting start-up. Alexis and Alexandra saw a fantastic opportunity in the luxury space and took it.”—Tony Hsieh, bestselling author of Delivering Happiness, CEO of Zappos.com
Synopsis
The founders of Gilt Groupe reveal how they built the Web's most famous fusion of high tech and high fashion.
For years, sample sales have lured fashion insiders to makeshift storefronts in anonymous locations, offering dramatic, fleeting bargains on coveted designer brands. For those lucky enough to make an exclusive e-mail list, a Marc Jacobs or Hermès sample sale is a drop- everything-and-run event.
Harvard MBAs Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, best friends and dedicated sample sale shoppers, saw the industry-changing potential of taking sample sales onto the Internet. In November 2007, they launched their members-only Web site to a select national group of thirteen thousand young, high-end shoppers. They offered 50-70 percent off luxury brands like John Varvatos and Valentino, in "flash" sales lasting just thirty-six hours. It became an immediate viral hit as members rapidly invited friends to join. In four short years, Gilt Groupe has spawned dozens of imitators and grown to five million members and has a valuation of $1 billion.
Maybank and Wilkis Wilson explain how they launched a simple yet groundbreaking business that catered to their passions. They provide straight talk on how to build a start-up and negotiate the conundrums that still face women in business. For Gilt customers interested in an inside view of the fashion industry, they also provide a revealing portrait of key players like Zac Posen, Christian Louboutin, Valentino, and many others.
Synopsis
Gilt, currently valued at more than $1 billion, was launched by Alexis Maybank, Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, and three colleagues in 2007. It is one of the most fascinating startups of recent years. And it all began with one bold idea: to bring sample sales online and change the way millions shop. As they write about the day Gilt.com went live: “We had created a Web site that could potentially change the rules of retail…If shopping was traditionally a slow, leisurely activity…it would now be competitive, addictive, urgent, thrilling…not just easier, but so much more fun.” Alexis and Alexandra share their perspective in this dramatic story of Gilt’s birth, rise, and evolution. They show how they juggled the conflicting needs of their suppliers, engineers, marketers, and potential investors. They explain how they blended their individual strengths and weaknesses and managed their rapidly growing team. And they take us through the darkest moments of the recession when Gilt might easily have died.
About the Author
Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson cofounded Gilt Groupe with Kevin Ryan, Mike Bryzek and Phong Nguyen. Previously, Maybank had launched eBay Canada and eBay Motors; Wilson had worked for Merrill Lynch, Louis Vuitton, and Bulgari. Both have BAs from Harvard College and MBAs from Harvard Business School. They live in Manhattan with their husbands and children.
Visit www.gilt.com
Follow Alexis on Twitter: @GiltFounder
Follow Alexandra on Twitter: @GiltAlexandra