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When Pinterest launched in 2010 and exploded in popularity in 2011, the big joke was that people use it to plan their weddings (even if they're single or not yet engaged), or to decorate their hypothetical dream homes. But little did brides-to-be know that there was something better for wedding planning, something more tailored to their precise needs. That product came from Los Angeles native Kellee Khalil.
She launched Lover.ly, a visual search engine and cloud scrapbook for everything wedding-related, from color schemes to cakes to shoes and engagement rings. Lover.ly has 32 blogger partners on board (including Weiss) who create content. Then Lover.ly tags that content for color, season, location and brand to make it immensely searchable.
Unlike Pinterest, Lover.ly images are curated, and content is approved before it goes live on the site, in order to maintain the platform's aesthetic and integrity. The company recently launched commerce, letting users "shop" and "rent" items they find on the site. To date, it's received $1 million in seed funding.
"We’re in execution mode. You have to move 100 miles per hour in any direction you can. It’s all about momentum and keeping the momentum going. That’s what I love about business -- you get to go hard," says Khalil.
Rachel Sklar, who we interviewed recently for another Mashable series, is an adviser and friend to Kellee, whom she describes as "a killer." And we saw that hustle firsthand. Because Lover.ly is new and not yet proven, Kellee has become a master presenter, listening carefully to see how Lover.ly and the company at hand can work together to create a partnership that is mutually beneficial.
“I'm always looking for the win-win.""Basically, when I go into a meeting, I think about the brand and five different ways we could work together. I never know which way it's going to go. I go into the meeting and get a sense of what their objectives are, what their plans are, and that's when I kind of start formulating -- I'll shift the conversation in the direction that makes sense for them," says Khalil. "Partnership should be mutually beneficial; we have a great product, we have great technology, we have great content -- how can we leverage that to benefit another brand? I'm always looking for the win-win, and the only way you can do that is if you listen to the other half. Know what they want. So I never want to go in with a strict agenda. My team looks at me like I'm crazy, like, "What have you prepared?" But I'm not going to go in with a slideshow of 30 things -- that's the most awkward thing ever. I'd rather go in, listen to them, see what they have, and then let's brainstorm and then go from there."