Transcript - Daniel Salcedo
Season 4, Episode 7
Conversation with Daniel Salcedo
Joshua Williams: Retail Revolution, a unique podcast that features in-depth conversations with guest experts in omni-channel retailing with myriad perspectives, technology, consumer engagement, data analytics, merchandising, and more. We pay special attention to current sociopolitical issues and challenges and their implications on fashion retail as well as opportunities to innovate and rethink retail's future is at retailrevolutionpodcast.com for more information, including full transcripts and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn at @retailrevolutionpodcast. Retail Revolution is produced by Joshua Williams and hosted by Christopher Lacy. Both are assistant professors in the fashion management graduate program at Parsons School of Design.
Christopher Lacy: Today, I talk with retail revolutionary, Daniel Salcedo about how simple solutions can solve big problems, known and unknown. I am Christopher Lacy, and this is Retail Revolution podcast.
Daniel what's happening. How are you?
Daniel Salcedo: Hey, how are you, Chris?
Christopher Lacy: I'm good. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm super excited to talk to you about ShopYourFit.
Daniel Salcedo: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.
Christopher Lacy: Okay. So, Daniel, you didn't come from the retail industry, right?
Daniel Salcedo: Not at all.
Christopher Lacy: So, what's your background?
I want to know how you became a guy who was like, we got to figure out how to get clothes to fit right on people.
Daniel Salcedo: Well, as you can tell by my accent, I'm not from America, I'm originally from Venezuela. I've been in New York for 16 years. I started here as a producer of an advertising agency.
That was my first job in New York. Quickly I moved to video production, which has always been my passion, video and creating content. And then from there I moved into different types of videos, like from media production. I moved to VR and AR, which is kind of the mix between video and technology. That's the way I like to refer to. And on that journey, I also co-founded a music licensing company, which was called Muse Me that we were able to sell after three years to a conglomerate in Spain, that actually came to US to start our new business in music. And they wanted to do different verticals of music. And we were only focused on music licensing for advertising agencies and that business got acquired. And then I’ve been an entrepreneur in this country since I came. And I think that's the nature for me as an immigrant and also what I was back in my country. I always had in my mind; I want to create new things. I want to build things from scratch and it's always been my challenge, and my passion.
Christopher Lacy: So, I want to talk to you about, you bringing up the, the part about being an immigrant, coming into a new country. And there's barriers that come along with that, whether it's language and culture and processes and things like that.
Can you tell me about, like, how did you kind of overcome those barriers to pursue what it is you wanted to pursue; to become who you are right now?
Daniel Salcedo: Well I think it's a matter of time. And I think it's also a matter of the mindset that you, how you come into the States. I think that a lot of people make the mistake to say when they come to America and they want to transform their experience or their experience that they were having in their own country and bring it here. I think that's probably a mistake in my point of view, because you're not coming here to lead the same life that you were living in your own country. So, the idea, and I think the beauty of diversity and the beauty of an immigrant to come to U.S. Is that you bring part of your culture, and that culture becomes the difference that you are bringing into the people.
And I think when you realize, and these took me a while, I have to admit, I mean, this is not something that the first day I stop in New York, I say, "Oh, this is a solution." It took me years. It took me some time to reflect about this and to live different experiences until I realized that my accent, my culture, and the way that I react and behave is exactly going to be the difference that I'm going to bring to whatever I decide to do in, United States.
Christopher Lacy: As we talk about the difference and leaning into the difference. Also understanding where the opportunity lies in that difference; you took your path that had nothing to do with this industry and saw that there needed to be something different. And I want you to tell us about ShopYourFit and how that came to be, in that process.
Daniel Salcedo: So, basically what happened is like a few years ago I was focusing on video production and creating video experiences. I was creating and producing a lot of AR and VR experiences, which means augmented reality and virtual reality. And what we were doing is basically we were providing services to different publishers, advertising agencies and sometimes festivals like we were in Sundance Film festival.
We also need something for Art Basel in Miami. So, we did different experiences; just taking AR and VR as a vehicle to express whatever content we were doing. So, one of those experiences was to be at a fashion trade show at the time that they invite us to put together basically some VR and AR experiences. And as part of the deal was for us to have a booth inside of that art fashion fair and promote our services. So, what we did at the time was like, we had no idea how to interact with fashion brands at that time. And what we did is basically we create some triggers. And what I mean by triggers is like we brought pieces of technologies and different experiences that we knew that it was going to open conversations with these brands. And when you are in front of one of those experiences you get like, "wow," you get that wow effect. And then you become more vulnerable. And then with that vulnerability, you're able to express exactly what your problems are, what exactly are you trying to solve? And things like that. And within those conversations, we realized that there was a lot of problems in the fashion industry, and there are still some problems in the fashion industry that we could solve applying those technologies that we were experimenting at the time. And that's how we decided to work on our body recognition technology using TensorFlow, augmented reality and other technologies. And we basically, what we did is what any technology company at the beginning does at the beginning is to create an MVP, basically without even registering the company or thinking that this was, going to be our life now. We thought, well let's create an MVP. Let's create these technologies. And let's start testing the technology with a few brands. And we were lucky at the time, to meet Jordana from FashInnovation. She was very intrigued about the technology and we were able to put that MVP that we had at the time in the FashInnovation. We started having conversations with brands, kind of the same way where we had previously in these fashion trade show, but with something enhanced that we knew it was meaningful and that's how everything started. I mean, from there, we pivot the product from a B2B solution to our marketplace. And then to a marketplace, to a fashion discovery, which is what we're doing right now, which is what is exactly ShopYourFit.
Christopher Lacy: So, can you take us through what ShopYourFit does. What is it solving for? How does this solution get applied a brand side and then from a customer side?
Daniel Salcedo: Sure. So, right now, technically we are a B2B2C platform, meaning that we are solving problems for customers and for brands, right?
So, on the brand side, what the problem that we are solving, and this is something also interesting too. Initially, when we started this process, we thought that we were solving the problem of fashion returns, right? Of online returns. And that's how we started this process. And just to give you a context, ShopYourFit right now, is basically a fashion discovery platform that connects local and independent brands and other types of brands as well with customers based on the body type and the style of the customers. So, if you are a customer and you go to our website, you put manually your height and your weight. And then after that you go through a selection process of the way you usually like to dress, and then right after that, you go into a scanning process with your phone that is optional. And then with that scanning process, we have more accuracy in terms of your measurements. And then knowing all that information, you're basically get into a universe of different brands and clothings that are going to be exactly your match. And that's what we are doing currently for ShopYourFit.
So, on the brand side, we started saying the problem is online returns. However, we all know COVID came and changed everything. Right?
Christopher Lacy: Right.
Daniel Salcedo: So, what was happening now is like another problem actually came on top of their returns, which is brands today having very hard time, especially the small and the medium brands, they're having hard time to find customers online. Right? Because they're not trained to sell online. Selling online is something new. I mean, normally when you open a store, you kind of know how to open your store, how to get customers. But getting customers online is something new. And it used to be more like a vanity, well, not a vanity, I would say something that it will support basically your retail business. Today because of COVID, if you don't do it online, basically you die. Right?
Christopher Lacy: Right.
Daniel Salcedo: And all these brands having to put their focus only in getting customers online, that's where, what we see that we're also solution with that because what we are doing is basically bringing customers to these brands that we know that they're going to love their clothings, that they're going to feed them well; if you have a piece of clothing or you have a shirt or something that you really like, the first thing that you do, "oh, I want to tell my friends, this shirt is amazing." So then you're bringing to a brand, what it's called in marketing, basically an ambassador is a customer that is not only going to purchase your clothing, is also going to talk to their friends about their clothing, which you say an ideal customer for a brand today
Christopher Lacy: You brought up returns and this is a topic we've actually discussed on the show multiple times. And whenever we talk about e-commerce, I talk about a a lot of times the numbers don't incorporate returns. But I want to take it from the perspective of the sustainability efforts and really just sustainable business practices.
And I want to know, as you've developed to this, was there anything alarming to you about what you saw with business performance and the impact of returns on an organization? And has ShopYourFit really helped mitigate that for brands so far? Are you kind of seeing that happen and are they seeing that as a result?
Daniel Salcedo: We're seeing in the first couple of brands; so even when we started just a B2B solution, that every time we implement our technology or now ShopYourFit with a brand, we see definitely a decrease in online returns and it's helping. However, as I would say before, I think today, because of COVID, there's a bigger problem for brands and that's what we're focusing specifically on that.
However, solving that problem of getting them costumers that they're going to feed their clothings basically at the same time we're solving the problem of online returns, because the customer is not going to return the clothings. And as you all know, in the fashion industry and it's well-known in others as well, that when some brands, specifically the big ones, sometimes they don't know what to do with the clothings. And they ended up in landfills.
Christopher Lacy: Right.
Daniel Salcedo: So, when you really thought about your company, were you thinking we really want to support smaller brands and startups, or was it really kind of like, we want to really support larger organizations. The reason I ask is because whenever there's a new technology that comes out, or a new solution, based on pricing sometimes the smaller companies and medium sized businesses as you mentioned before, are not really able to access because it's just not in their budgets to be able to do it. And so larger organizations are able to take this technology and use it. What was the strategy for you and Mathias with ShopYourFit?
Daniel Salcedo: Well, it, it's interesting that you bring this up because this is an ongoing discussion internally, even between us and our team.
The way we started is of course, with bigger brands, because I mean, think about other industries, how Netflix started, how Spotify started, right? These are both artificial intelligence and discovery platforms on different industries. And the way that they get attention at the beginning is with some recognized songs in the case of Spotify. And then, on the case of Netflix, they have to talk to the studios and bring the movies that everyone knows, so people can come to the platform. We've kind of followed the dots, right at the beginning. We brought the bigger brands first, because we knew that if there's no bigger brands there, people would probably not trust you. However, when we realized through time, is that our customers, they're fine having those brands, but at the end of the day, our real value proposition for them is to bring them something new. To say, "okay if I like X brand, there's some brands that are similar to those." That as you're saying, they're probably more aligned probably to your values that you can still purchase and you're supporting a different type of company sizes.
And that's where we see the biggest, opportunity right now. I mean, we see a lot of demand and a lot of ask for customers to discover and to, realize, and to understand what is happening after all these brands that I already know. And what can I discover in your platform that I didn't know, before.
Christopher Lacy: We work with a lot of students and I talk to a lot of different startups and people who have ideas and they're looking out at the fashion landscape, or the retail landscape, and they're trying to really discover, like how can we do something or how can I do something that is going to change the game?
And I guess my question to you is, what is the process you kind of go through? Cause I would call you a serial entrepreneur at this point. You've been...
Daniel Salcedo: Thank you.
Christopher Lacy: Figuring out... you're welcome.
Daniel Salcedo: Thank you for that compliment.
Christopher Lacy: You do a very good job of recognizing an issue and wanting to find the solution and finding it in a different way.
What is that process like for you? I mean, what is that thought process? And is there anything you could kind of say to anyone who's in that mode of wanting to do that? How do they kind of find that? To find the answer that's not always there?
Daniel Salcedo: Very very good question. I think it starts from either identifying a problem and a possible solution, right?
I think if you come into the mindset of understanding, okay, I want to solve X problem. And here's a solution that could potentially solve that problem. What happened normally, which it happened to us already a few times, and it probably will continue to happen, is that when you are focusing on solving a specific problem, you realize that there are other problems there that it could be potentially bigger or more meaningful to you as well.
Both criteria's work. At the end of the day, you are the founder and you decide what is the destiny of your company. So, what is the real problem that you're solving? I mean, we're trying to solve a very big problem in the fashion industry. There's so many layers right now, and so many different type of costumers, so many different types of clothings, that it could go into million different routes. And that's why I think is fascinating about what we are doing right now. And when I encourage to anyone who's starting something, not only in the fashion industry, in any other industry, is to focus on that, focus on what is the problem that you're solving and what I'm doing to solve that problem. And then, getting to that journey. Start getting into very deep, "okay, who are my customers? What is the real problem I'm trying to solve?" Let's talk to customers as well. That's something that we do on a weekly basis. We, as founders, we're always are talking to potential customers. And that's where all the ideas are coming from. We would never, I mean, we probably make those mistakes at the beginning because everyone does it when you starting a company, you think that, the truth and how to solve any problem in the world. And this is why I think I'm the founder here. I raise the money. So, I know how it is. I know at the end of the day, you're doing something for customers and you want customers to use it. And if you don't listen to your customers, then you're never going to solve any problems.
Christopher Lacy: That's perfectly said. So, as you look out at what's happening in technology, what you've seen in technology, you've worked in AR you've worked in VR, and talking about the future of retail, how do you see technology shaping the sustainability effort from a customer viewpoint in retail? And I ask you that because part of your mission statement is promoting sustainable practices. And at the core of your business, you are a technology solution for that. So, how do you kind of see this movement of technology marrying with sustainability in the future?
Daniel Salcedo: Well, I think first of all , sustainable and shopping by values, I think is the future of retail. If you're not thinking about a conscious, customer today, I think you're probably still in the present or in the past. If you talk to anyone, I think, or to a lot of the people, especially the younger generations right now, they're all thinking about that. They're thinking about, why I want to buy a specifically this brand. What is the mission of that brand? Why do they start the company? What kind of fabrics are they using? All those elements are important for a customer today to make a decision on where to buy.
We are literally talking to customers at brands on a weekly basis, as I mentioned, mentioned, and we were in shock in the last few weeks that we've been talking, especially with COVID, we're having a lot of conversations with brands. And a lot of the brands, and I'm telling you, it's not only one or two or three, this is something that comes in every conversations that every time a brand speaks loud about their mission, or why are they're doing what they are doing, they get more customers.
Christopher Lacy: Right.
Daniel Salcedo: And I'm talking about customer chat, how they're using their marketing today, how they're communicating, what they are doing. And it's less about what clothing I am producing. Like, if the dress is fashionable or not, at the end of the day. If I'm openly speaking, why I'm doing what I'm doing, I think that they are getting more customers. And you see a lot of examples of brands that are going in that direction and they're being successful today.
Christopher Lacy: Daniel. I have to say I've enjoyed our conversation today because there's something that excites me when I speak to someone who did not come from the industry in any way. And they step into it with a viewpoint to solve a problem that the industry has been struggling with. And you talk about it with such passion and I love it.
Daniel Salcedo: Thank you. Thank you.
You, you actually, I think with your questions, your opening myself to speak in this way.
Christopher Lacy: Awesome.
Well, here's what I want to do. I want to give you the opportunity to tell our listeners how they can stay up to date with what you're doing, what ShopYourFit is doing. I have to say I've been on the website. I love it. So, for everyone who's listening right now, please go check it out, but I'm going to let Daniel talk about how you can stay up to date with that.
Daniel Salcedo: Yeah, I think by continuously going to our website, ShopYourFit.com, we are continuously making improvements. We're literally changing the product on a weekly basis. And I'm talking about drastic changes. And the way that we are changing the product is based on customer feedback. And every time we hear something meaningful, either for our brand, or for a customer, we're literally making changes, or if we're not making a drastic change, at least we are conducting an experiment with less costumers, so we know that what we are changing is really going to create an impact in customer.
So, at the end of the day, this platform is for everyone that today wants to shop something that will make them feel good, make them a fit and also align with our values. That's our mission. That's why we build ShopYourFit. And I encourage you to keep checking our website. We are improving the website every day.
Christopher Lacy: Daniel, thank you so much. We were so happy to have you at Retail Revolution podcast.
Daniel Salcedo: Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure.
Joshua Williams: Thank you for listening to this episode of Retail Revolution. A very special thank you to everyone who has helped make this podcast possible. If you'd like to support the work we're doing, please visit our show page at RetailRevolutionPodcast.com and click on the donate link. Our theme music was composed by Spencer Powell.
Be well and stay tuned for our next episode.
