Startup interview: Mark Jones, COO, Bosom Besties
RTIH gets the lowdown on Bosom Besties and its machine learning Fit Finder technology.
RTIH: Tell us about Bosom Besties
MJ: We are a woman owned e-commerce tech startup.
We provide businesses with a customisable online machine learning Fit Finder quiz that only recommends a specialised list of products that would best fit each customer’s unique size and shape based on over 10K, real in-person validated fittings.
At our most basic, we are using data collected daily from in-person validated fittings from experts to fuel our machine learning Fit Finder quiz recommendations.
We do not use any kind of generic information. We have a very robust database of measurements and products, connecting millions of data points.
We developed multiple machine learning algorithms in-house to be able direct the customer to the products and sizes that would fit them best.
Many, if not most companies use generic size guilds. For example, almost all fit finder quizzes ask “What is your current size?” the bad news is 80% of woman are already wearing the wrong size.
That quiz will now be anchored to recommend a size larger or smaller depending on fit. When woman are fitted correctly most increase or decrease multiple cup or band sizes.
Truth be told, companies need help providing and directing their customers to the best product options. If the risk of selling the wrong size is eliminated on the front end, all the costs associated with resolving the issue and returning the product will also disappear.
On average we reduce the return rate by 5% for all of our clients. We also reduce the customer service inquires and handling time by over 50%.
Any online store that only provides a “Size Graph or Size Guild” is going to need to automate in some way with a Fit Finder or calculator, especially if it’s a “Try Before You Buy” scenario.
RTIH: What was the inspiration behind setting the company up?
We wanted to provide our online customers the same results as if they were getting fitted in-person by an expert.
Once we reached that point we decided to expand our capability and offer other companies a chance to use our data and Fit Finder technology.
These are real results from a client who sales swimwear taken over nine months: Decreased their customer service inquiries by 71.1%; Decreased the customer service handling time by 60%
Reduced returns by 4.9%; Increased their sales by 13.2%: Increased conversion rate 1.36%; Increased the average order value by $14.37.
Our niche is currently for businesses that sell intimate wear, swimwear, shapewear, and active wear. Snug fitting products were the delta must be minimal.
RTIH: What has been the industry reaction thus far?
MJ: Really amazing so far!
Just take it from one of our clients: “From start to finish both of you (Mark and Courtney) have exceeded my expectations.”
“Your professionalism, your commitment to working through issues and problems we have run into, your communication, has all been above and beyond expectations.”
“We have really enjoyed the whole process as we have worked together as a team, and have really felt that from the beginning.”
“You have delivered the product we have talked about, and continue to work to make it better and make improvements and changes and to really meet our needs as well as the needs of our customers.”
“We love this collaboration, we feel like it is truly a collaboration, and feel lucky and blessed to be able to work with you.”
“And besides all of that we love the product! It is making a difference with our customers and helping our sales, and has reduced customer service inquiries by at least 80%.”
“That’s a big deal! We wholeheartedly recommend you.” Collette
If we can set up a meeting and have the conversation, we will most likely make the sale.
RTIH: What has been your biggest challenge/setback?
MJ: The challenges are different depending on the company size and industry.
Small/medium business: We are able to set up meetings and have delightful conversations although they have a hard time justifying or incurring any additional expenses that are not absolutely necessary for operations.
Medium/large businesses: Honestly, It’s been very difficult even getting in contact with anyone to set up a conversation.
“We are boot strapping this business currently which usually means we move a bit slower then funded startups. We would rather take the steady approach and make sure that our decisions and value makes sense to our team and the clients”
RTIH: What are the biggest challenges facing the omnichannel retail sector right now?
MJ: This answer is going to be different for every company depending on their strategy. What I do know is having some kind of Fit Finder or automated sizing calculator is very important in the whole mix.
Thirdlove spend a lot of money updating their Fit Finder because of how important it is with the increasing online sales and reducing the return rate.
Ours is still better though, haha.
For in-store purchases we provide QR codes to minimise dressing room try-ons, increase efficiency and improve the shopping experience for clients that offer to manage and sanitise flexible measuring tapes for customers.
RTIH: What's the best question about your company or the market asked of you recently by a.) an investor and b.) a customer?
MJ: A lot of people ask, why not just continue to build up and expand Bosom Besties’ online sales as an e-commerce brand? Simple answer: Scale.
RTIH: What can we expect to see from you over the next 12 months?
MJ: I’d expect you will see more businesses using the Bosom Besties Fit Finder tool.
We are boot strapping this business currently which usually means we move a bit slower then funded startups.
We would rather take the steady approach and make sure that our decisions and value makes sense to our team and the clients. We will continue to be consistent, innovative and always improving our technology.
