After 54 hours of intensive product building and pitching at the Startup Weekend Bangkok earlier this month at HUBBA, Infinit Closet emerged as the winner.
Essentially, Infinit Closet is a peer to peer female apparels sharing platform. We spoke to one of the team member Wichaya “Maprang” Sirasupparoekchai to find out more about the winning idea and her experience at Startup Weekend Bangkok.
Tell us more about your team’s background.
Our team consists of four members: Poon, Art, Tull and myself. While I have graduated from the Masters in Marketing at Thammasat University, Poon, Art and Tull are still taking the same courses there, apart from working full time. Poon and I are colleagues at The New Media Plus, so he is the main guy connecting all of us up.
Could you share with us your winning idea and how it came about?
Infinit Closet is a digital platform that allows female users to join their virtual closet with their friends and make peer-to-peer clothes borrowing and lending easier. Girls and fashion can never be parted, but not all girls can buy whatever items they want. Many girls borrow fashion items from their close friends. We know for a fact that this is actual girl’s behavior. Infinit Closet is going to facilitate this and also promote girl’s fashion sense as it allows them to have a peek into someone else’s closet.
The idea came about just a week before the Startup Weekend took place. I was talking with my best friend about borrowing dresses on Facebook. Another friend saw the post and asked me whether I wanted to see her dresses too. Then I thought what if there’s a center where we can see all of our friend’s items.
How did the idea evolve over the weekend, and why did you think it won the hearts of the mentors and judges?
Over the weekend, we brainstormed other features that we thought would complement the platform. We validated each feature with our female friends both through Facebook chat and telephone. Most of the key features were confirmed by our prospective users, although some were rejected. The mentors at Startup Weekend also gave us valuable advice to improve our product.
The idea concept was solid because it addresses a real problem. A good friend used to tell me to look for a business idea where your problem is. This was exactly what we did. Then, it’s about refining the business model and the revenue stream. Investors, in this case the judges, were interested in how you are going to make money from it. Finally, a clear and straight to the point presentation is important. Not only do you need to communicate your business concept clearly, but also do it within five minutes. I think we have done all these three points well enough to stand out.
How was your experience at Startup Weekend Bangkok?
The Startup Weekend was a memorable experience for all of us. It might sound strange but I loved the intense environment and time limitation of the competition. It forced us to work beyond our limitation, but at the same time have a good sense of time management. More than that, I’m grateful for my team. The team work is especially important in this intense situation. My team has a perfect combination and the best chemistry. It made the work much easier and more pleasant.
I think Startup Weekend Bangkok in later years will be improved as Thai people get a better understanding of tech startups. I’m excited to see many more Thai startups emerge from this competition.
Are you guys going to continue working on the idea?
Yes, definitely. We know that there’s a space in this market and winning the competition made us more confident about this opportunity. We expect to see the beta launch in the first quarter of 2013. After we won the Startup Weekend Bangkok, we have been competing in the Global Startup Battle where all the best teams from around the world compete. The most voted 15 teams will go to the final and the judge will choose the best team as the winner. You can come see our VDO introduction and vote for us here.
The post Attention ladies: Infinit Closet will let you share clothes and accessories through a virtual closet appeared first on e27.
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