BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JUNE 26, 2000 ISSUE
PEOPLE "I'm Always Asking: 'Is It Working?'" Laurie McCartney, 33, founded her e-tailing company eStyle based on her own experiences as a harried mom looking for a one-stop-shopping solution. The Harvard Business School grad had previously worked as a journalist, on Wall Street, and with Disney in Paris. Correspondent Arlene Weintraub caught up with McCartney recently in Los Angeles. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow: Q: How did your experiences with your first child, Jack, influence how you built the eStyle site? A: When I was pregnant, I had a lot of trouble finding fashion basics, like a simple black suit and a bathing suit I could feel good wearing. Once I had the baby, I felt like I was spending my life looking for sleepers and onesies. The stores were always sold out. So, taking advantage of the unlimited shelf space on the Web, I focused on providing washable, functional clothing with a contemporary look and feel. And I supplemented it with hard goods like furniture and toys. Q: When you were pitching the plan two years ago, Web superstores like Amazon were taking off. How did you convince venture capitalists that you didn't need to offer every baby product out there? A: I looked for analogies they could relate to. I asked them, if they were in the market for a golf club, would they want to see every club in the world or would they want to see the ones that addressed their problems? Well, if I'm looking for a lightweight stroller that I can get in and out of the car easily, I want to see the best of the best, not every stroller available. Of course, my situation was somewhat unique in that I was eight months pregnant when I was pitching this plan. So when they asked, "Do you understand the market?" I could say, "I am the consumer." Q: What about content? How did you set out to make eStyle different from the other baby sites on the Web? A: We wanted the site to be all about educating women at key stages of parenthood, but without taking ourselves too seriously. So many baby sites tell you that in your fifth month you need to have an amnio. Well, I already know that. What I need to know is that I should be ordering a crib because it might take 12 weeks to arrive. Q: How did your experience working at Disney shape your approach to starting this business? A: Working at Disney is all about being passionate about the consumer and building a brand tied to an emotional experience. We had a very rigorous planning process and a buttoned-up diagnostic approach to make sure we were meeting that goal. When I came up with the idea for eStyle, friends said I could go to venture capitalists with a 10-page plan, but instead I spent months writing up a 100-page plan. Now, as the market tightens up, I spend a lot of time looking at every line item, every piece of our spending, and I'm always asking, "Is it working?" Q: You've raised $61 million privately, and now you're thinking about the next round of fund-raising, going public. With the e-commerce shakeout in full swing and stocks way down, how will those plans be affected? A: Partly because of my investment-banking background, I always felt tech stocks were irrationally valued to some extent and that they would adjust. They had to come down at some point. But right now, I'm not so worried. Our model is based on building a brand with high-margin products and long-term sustainability. I think if we focus on executing our plan, we'll be able to access capital. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP					RELATED ITEMS An E-Tailer's Labor Pains RESUME: Laurie McCartney ONLINE ORIGINAL: "I'm Always Asking: `Is It Working?'" INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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