The men behind the multi-million dollar online shopping website, Adam Jacobs, Cameron Votan, Andreas Otto and Finn Age Haensel. Source: Supplied
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AUSTRALIAN online fashion retailer The Iconic is close to earning $10 million a month in revenue and the four men behind the venture say it feels "pretty f***ing great".
Well, actually co-founder Adam Jacobs said that, but his three co-founders agree.
Jacobs, along with Andreas Otto, Cameron Votan and Finn Age Haensel all left lucrative day jobs to launch what is now one of Australia's most successful online shopping sites that employs about 350 people.
With three-hour delivery, free returns and 500 brands under the one roof, The Iconic has seen unprecedented growth aided by the launch of its own magazine - starring Joel Edgerton on the cover - and with the signing of Bondi Hipsters Dom and Ade to an ad campaign for the site.
"We saw after a few months our customer base grow really quickly," Adam Jacobs said. " That was the first sign to us that this business model works and, yes, Australians like shopping online."
]]>Jacobs says the success of the online shopping site stems from the belief that the customer experience is the absolute priority.
"That’s why we optimise the site for easy use, offer free shipping and express options like three-hour delivery in Sydney, have products at a variety of price points, and a local customer service team," he said. “We believe that the customer can and should have it all."
Partnering with a venture capital fund also didn't hurt, because it allowed them to experiment and take risks.
"We had a great venture capital firm behind us which provided us funds," Finn Age Haensel said. "It really motivated us to try new things that were unheard of in the market.
The group launched a fashion magazine earlier this year to help boost sales.
“No other online retailer had done that before. Because we had the support of the venture capital fund to try that, we know that if we failed we'd learn from it but we wouldn't get punished for it.”
What was the "key" to their success? Adam Jacobs says their isn't one but said it is essential to decide firmly on the mission and values of your start-up and to make them the core of everything you do.
"You need to be able to adapt very quickly to a changing environment, while keeping a stable centre with consistent goals to aim for," he said.
Jacobs said the team looked to sites like eBay, Yahoo and Google for inspiration.
"They are known for consistently pioneering technology and also for being great places to work," he said. "These guys were on the front line of internet development, and have innovative cultures and strong track records in success."
At a time when bricks and mortar stores are struggling to compete, it's unlikely most retailers were pleased when they heard they had local online competitor potentially stealing customers away.
However, Jacobs said that "there will always be a space for bricks and mortar retail in Australia because the Australian customer is savvy, and expects a variety of options and experiences".
But that doesn't mean The Iconic won't give retailers a run for their money.
"We believe that online retail will become a huge part of retail, very soon," he said.
"Online retail can offer variety, experience, competitive pricing and convenient delivery in ways that bricks and mortar retail cannot. Like Europe and the USA, Australia will shift to Goliath online industries and very happy online customers."
So what advice do these entrepreneurs have for people who have a great start-up idea but don't know where to start?
"Buy the domain, lodge the patent, start building.”
"In this climate, great ideas are flying, and if you believe in what you’re doing, one of your biggest advantages could be doing it first. Build the skeleton and ask for feedback – from friends, family, and anybody who might use your product.”
Another essential element to success is research and getting to know your environment. Find out whether anyone else is doing it already and think about how you could do it better.
