Don’t Be Fooled
This isn’t just a picture of a quirky married couple–ignore the pug and the wolf-shirt for a moment. Susan Gregg Koger and Eric Koger are also the co-founders of ModCloth: an online clothing, accessories, and decor retailer that aims to provide a fun, engaging shopping atmosphere for the customer.
The Story
In high school, Susan spent a lot of time thrift store shopping. She searched and searched for vintage styles. So eventually this hobby turned into a website–with the help of her boyfriend Eric. The high school sweethearts went on to Carnegie Mellon University, and in 2006 they turned Susan’s hobby into a dream. Now, with her husband working as the CEO of the company, Susan may focus entirely on the aesthetic, vintage-inspired vision of ModCloth.
The Community
ModCloth makes an effort to reach out to the independent designers. Susan is intent on finding and supporting originality from all over the world. For this, as well as for other reasons ModCloth has plugs in just about every social media site. They have FaceBook, Pinterest, and Instagram profiles–as well as a blog. These sites obviously help in terms of advertisement, but their mission involves much more than the selling of merchandise:
“We want to fundamentally change and democratize the fashion industry by creating a vibrant, social marketplace that empowers indie designers, suppliers, and our community.” —ModCloth.com
The Pug
The Koger’s vision is inspiring because it’s the story of a realized dream. Together the couple developed a way to share what they love, and promote creativity. Sure they’re a quirky couple, but you know what? Their idea worked, and the pug is adorable. So let the man wear his wolf-shirt, and just trust that Susan gave him a hard time about it later.
Great spotlight on a entrepreneurial couple that really settled into their own market niche and started a successful business doing what they love. Indie artists always have a hard time reaching an audience, whether they be music artists, fashion designers, or movie producers. Modcloth sounds like a great platform to pull together these designers and turn a profit distributing their creations.
i love modcloth! i seriously shop on this website all the time, its exciting to actually get the story behind this website that i love so much! i love that they use items from their personal lives together as ideas behind some of their items and collections. it makes for a comfortable environment for the online shopper.