Amber Venz Box has taken the fashion-tech industry by storm while being a mother, wife, and successful business woman all at the age of thirty.  The Dallas native has turned photos on social media into a way for style inspirations to make money. Mulling over the idea with her husband, at the time boyfriend, the two created an online website called RewardStyle with an affiliated app called LIKEtoKNOW.it. This company connects retailers with social media users so that people can easily find and purchase an outfit they saw in someone’s post. This new way of selling and shopping has seen one billion dollars worth of success and is growing. Box’s idea began before Instagram dominated social media platforms, which proved to make this company difficult to start.

RewardStyle was born from Amber’s own pain when was struggling for money as a twenty-two year old living in Dallas. Amber had her own consulting business where people would sign up and pay for a fashion consultation. She also ran a personal blog that kept up with her daily attire and style. Amber realized that she was losing money because people were just buying what she was blogging about instead of scheduling a consultation, and at the time money was her focus. It was then when she began crafting her idea to create a platform that would make her money, make retailers money, and make customers’ shopping experience easier.

It wasn’t a simple process, however, because Amber Venz Box ran into trouble trying to get large retailers to notice her and take the time to listen. There were many times when retailers would tell her there is no budget to work with bloggers because they mostly focus on celebrities and magazines. Amber also saw problems arising in her marriage because their opinions about running the business were different. With great persistence and patience, Amber was able to close a deal with a smaller retailer who saw an increase in revenue after working with her company. This brought the couple closer together, and they are now a strong business duo. Today, Amber is working with over 4,500 retailers who pay commission to users promoting their merchandise, which leads to sales for the company right from the picture.

Hearing the persistence Amber required to get her company running echoed what we have been talking about in class and with the quest speakers. Start-up companies can’t be successful unless you want it and adapt your strategy for the market you are trying to pitch to. Sometimes failure is regardless, but we should never give up after a few failed attempts. Amber was able to solve her own pain, but she also solved the pain felt by different markets. In other words, Box took her passion for style to create a new piece of technology that has changed the fashion industry.