By making high quality wardrobe essentials (imagine Patagonia for the “everyday” category) and life-simplifying technology, Pareto makes getting dressed the easiest part of the day. We provide personalized styling “recipes” based on the Pareto pieces in a wardrobe.
Two WashU alums, Jessica Landzberg (BU ’17) and Olivia Putterman (BU ’14), are the founders of Pareto. They shared more about their story, as well as what they love about entrepreneurship.
Website: www.shoppareto.com
Tell us your startup story – What is the problem you’re solving?
After spending years working in-house for retail brands (including J.Crew, Madewell, Band of Outsiders, and Target) and as consultants with McKinsey, we became disenchanted with the retail industry. Today, brands are focused on more – more product, more often. Major fast-fashion brand, Shein, launches 1,000+ new styles every day. Everlane, a brand typically regarded as more “minimalist”, launched 400 styles just for the summer. Women, on the other hand, wear 20% of their closets, 80% of the time, reaching for the same core wardrobe essentials day after day. What does this all result in? In the pursuit of constant newness, brands have made getting dressed overly complicated. Women are forced to spend endless time, energy, and money just to get dressed in the morning.
What is your solution to that problem?
Pareto is a first-of-its kind, tech-enabled apparel brand, bringing together exceptional product and life-simplifying technology to holistically make getting dressed the easiest part of your day. How does it work? First, we make the best version of the core wardrobe essentials using a fully traceable, farm-to-closet supply chain. We work directly with every hand that touches our product, starting with the cotton farmer, allowing us to make the best quality decisions at every stage. We then further simplify getting dressed with ongoing, personalized styling inspiration (aka “recipes”) pinged to you based on the Pareto pieces you already own and your style preferences. This allows you to take the “brainpower” out of getting dressed in the morning. To date, we have brought six products to market. We are also proud to have shipped orders to a diverse set of women across 48 states and to have achieved high customer satisfaction, an average post-purchase product rating of 9/10, and raving 5-star reviews.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned as an entrepreneur?
Try not to get discouraged by people questioning your approach. It may mean you are on to something bigger than even you expect. For example, we heard from countless fabric knitters, “Trust me, you would never want to visit the facility that dyes the fabric. It is a waste of your time.” While it is important to listen to feedback, sometimes criticism is a way of protecting the status quo.
What do you love about entrepreneurship?
One of the most rewarding aspects of being an entrepreneur is that everything we work on has tangible output. From designing our pieces to establishing our supply chain, to developing our website – we directly see the output of our labor. It is “test & learn” to its truest extent. In addition, it goes without saying, as founders of an apparel brand, nothing makes us happier than seeing our community loving and wearing the pieces we create!
What advice would you give to someone considering creating a startup or entering an entrepreneurship competition?
If you have an idea that is keeping you up at night, don’t let cost be the barrier. Invest the time in understanding the startup costs – you may be surprised how far you can get with limited financial resources. Also, know that a career in entrepreneurship will likely require a diverse skill set – the early days of building a company require an “all hands on deck” mentality. Each day may look very different and you need to be comfortable with that…but that is what makes entrepreneurship so fun!
What activities, student groups, professors, or classes had the biggest impact on you during your time at WashU?
Both of our WashU experiences played an important role in launching Pareto. Jess’s involvement in StEP, (Skandalaris’ Student Enterprise Program) co-founding the Bear-y Sweet Shoppe, uncovered her love to build things. Her Retail Management and Luxury Goods courses with Professor Sneider also fostered her retail obsession. Olivia’s internship with a St. Louis start-up through the Skandalaris Internship Program (SKIP) taught her many valuable skills and lessons about what to do (and not do) in the early stages of building a new venture.
The winner of the Spring 2023 GIA will be announced at The Washington University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards Presented by the Skandalaris Center on April 20. All are welcome to attend the awards ceremony to see which team(s) will win non-dilutive funding for their venture.