Boosting men’s confidence one look at a time with the help of Launchpad
When Michaela Kloudová hired a personal stylist to help her boyfriend revamp his wardrobe, she was amazed to see the profound effect it had on his life. As well as feeling happier with his look, he was also more confident as a person. Michaela decided to start her own online personal shopping service, Genster (a portmanteau of the words ”gentleman” and “hipster”), to give more men the opportunity to boost their confidence. “When you look good, you feel good – and that makes you more confident,” says Michaela. “Our vision is to increase the self-confidence of as many men as we can.” Genster provides its clients with personal stylists, who hand-select garments to match taste and lifestyle. After receiving a collection, the customer chooses to keep what he likes and sends back anything that doesn’t quite suit.
In the early stages of the start-up, Michaela attended a series of Google Developers Launchpad mentoring events to help get her business off the ground. The opportunity to learn from mentors and other start-ups gave her the inspiration she needed. “Launchpad helped us turn our idea into a viable business. It enabled us to sit down and set our priorities, understand how to identify and target customers, and really get our strategy right.” Michaela also learned the importance of gathering feedback to continually improve the customer experience, which has led to the business growing by 45% every month and the chance to hire two new stylists. “I’m a walking advertisement for Launchpad! Meeting experienced people who want to listen to you and advise you is a great way to start your business. Moreover, the people are great and I’m still using the network.”
Launchpad helped us turn our idea into a viable business. It enabled us to sit down and set our priorities, understand how to talk to customers, and really get our strategy right.