Polyvore, which offers users the ability to create a collage of clothing and accessories to form an outfit, has been a hit with fashionistas who use it as a way to express their own unique sense of style. Many fashion and other related brands have seen a large increase in their traffic because of the popularity of this site. But is there a way to make money on polyvore?
Pasha Sadri, a corduroy-wearing software engineer who worked on Yahoo Pipes, had the idea for Polyvore in 2007. Inspired by the process of decorating his new house, Sadri used a Yahoo tool called clipper to collect ideas and put them together on an inspiration board. He convinced fellow engineers Guangwei Yuan and Jianing Hu to join him and build a Web-based version of his idea.
They started by focusing on fashion, which they thought would draw repeat visitors. In the beginning, Polyvore allowed users to create a set -- an inspiration board of outfits or home furnishings -- by dragging and dropping images from the Web onto a blank page. Users could share their sets with friends, and the creators earned a small amount of money through advertising and affiliate links.
As a result, the site became cash-flow positive earlier this year and isn't depending on outside investors, which is a big milestone for a startup. It also became the first fashion e-commerce site to offer native ads, and it aims to deliver a 6-to-1 return on ad dollars, which is a better return than other top social media sites such as Facebook and Google.
