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NJ Tech Meetup 65:
Meet the startups: NMRKT | Thrive Commerce | Savile Row Society

NJ Tech Meetup 65
October 20th, 2015
Contributed by NJ Tech Meetup member, Gil_Olsen.
Come say Hi during/after the Meetup and tell me what you're up to.
You know the drill... at each NJ Tech Meetup, companies get 5 minutes and a brief Q+A to pitch whatever is most valuable to their mission... new users, new talent, an introduction to an investor for their next round, or, if they have their priorities straight, the coveted NJ Tech Audience Choice Award.
The Pitch Co. Intros. are meant to help give some context and set the stage to make the most of the time for you.
Let us know what you like, what you don't, and what makes you curious about upcoming companies in the comments.  
First up....
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One of Oprah’s most popular shows used to be the annual “Oprah’s Favorite things” episode.  If a product was featured on the show, the “Oprah effect” would skyrocket sales.  This happened because Oprah is a trusted advisor to her loyal audience, so her recommendations move the needle in a real way.  This phenomenon is not limited to TV and celebrity.  There are 700 Million blogs, online magazines and Youtube channels.  12 % of Google searches results are blog posts by independent publishers.  

NMRKT offers independent publishers the opportunity to monetize their influence on their audience without compromising their integrity.

Content creators can integrate an online store to their site in under 30 minutes.  They curate the contents, and when their audience purchases through their store, they make their affiliate commission.  

NMRKT’s pilot shop conversions were 500% as effective as traditional affiliate links.

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Check out CEO Julia’s Techstars Demo Day Pitch from last year in Austin so you can show up and learn about their traction since then.  
@ShopNMRKT
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Thrive Commerce is a platform for retailers to offer coupon codes and discounts more effectively, plus analytics to back it all up.

Think about your last significant online purchase.  Let’s call that item “X”.  

Thrive Commerce knows that you probably got to the shopping cart, noticed a spot for a coupon code, and then went and Googled X + “coupon code” etc.  For consumers, this is an easy way to save a couple bucks.  

For retailers, losing sales to these long tail keywords can be a nightmare.  Not only do they lose the revenue from the discount you found online, they can pay heavy commissions to those affiliate deal sites.  What’s worse, the affiliates will also feature competition.  If a company loses the sale completely, they’ve now sunk their acquisition costs, lost the revenue of the sale, and probably the LTV of that customer PLUS whoever they might refer!  

If I was a retailer, this would piss me off enough to show up on Tuesday to hear about what Thrive is doing to fix this for me.  

@thrivecommerce
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Fun Facts for Context:  1 Savile Row, London is the home of the Royal Geographic Society. 3 Saville Row is Apple.  (Not that Apple- the Beatles’ Apple). Other than that, the rest of Savile Row is known as the “Golden Mile” of bespoke tailoring in London.
If you’re anything like me, you still need some more help on vocab.  “Bespoke” is a type of tailoring that means completely custom.

Savile Row SOCIETY presents curated men’s outfits by occasion (work, weekend, night out) for each of four main “Savile Row Society Archetypes”- I-Banker, Trader, Big Firm Lawyer and Tech Product Manager.  Users take a brief survey on preferences, and then are matched with an expert Style “Wingman” who helps chose outfits that intersect user interest, the latest trends, and over 100 high end brands. Users based in/around NYC have the option to stop into their showroom in the Flatiron District to forge the relationship and get in person measurements and service.

CTO Andrew Figgins’ team profile claims Barbara Corcoran (of Shark Tank) has the best handshake of anyone he’s ever met.  (No comment was made on the style choices of any of the other Sharks.)  If things go well, CEO Lisa Dolan is hoping to turn her Columbia business school status from “leave of absence” to “dropout” to continue leading her 10+ person team.
*Disclosure: I only own 8 suits.
I was married in tan, ($220), a groomsman in navy, ($150), and thrifted a charcoal suit for ($17).
The other five are wetsuits for surfing and diving, so take my high-end fashion commentary with grain of sea salt.
@savilerowsociety
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No, that is not me.
(Or a wetsuit, for that matter.)