NCFA Canada by Sunny Shao | August 15, 2013

NCFA Advisor Sunny Shao talks to Ana Caracaleanu, CEO of Luevo and Jenny Tcharnaia, co-founder and CFO of TriMirror and NCFA Advisor about their fashion startups and how both crowdfunding and crowdsourcing trends have played a part in building their business.

Ana's background in the fashion industry helped her identify a gap in the marketplace for something like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, but specifically for the fashion industry. After completing her MBA in 2012, she decided to pursue her entrepreneurial dream and founded Luevo, a product-based crowdfunding platform that connects fashion designers directly with consumers. Luevo is currently in private beta and plans to launch in Fall 2013.

Jenny has a lot of experience with launching and successfully exiting startups. Her previous fashion businesses gave her a good understanding of building and growing social network communities, which provided a foundation for her most current project, TriMirror. TriMirror aims to solve the problem of trying on clothes for online shoppers by combining real-time 3D simulation technology with highly customized avatars to show how garments fit as users move.  Jenny's existing social network communities became TriMirror's early adopters and product ambassadors.

Both startups have seen a lot of growth in the crowdfunding industry recently and even more potential for fashion designers, retailers, consumers and other industry partners to support one another. Ana, Jenny and Sunny are all excited to see what's on the horizon for crowdfunding in Canada.

Luevo is the first product-based crowdfunding platform that connects independent fashion designers with consumers who  want to be on the leading edge of fashion. On Luevo, you discover and pre-order high quality limited edition fashion goods you can't find  anywhere else.

TriMirror provides real-time virtual fitting rooms to simplify the process of shopping. For fashion designers and retailers, TriMirror also offers 3D designer tools, in-store virtual try-on installations and ecommerce widgets.

The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry.  NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place.   Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors.  Increase your organization's profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners.  Learn more eBrochure | Prezi or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.