Currently...

In May 2011 we launched http://www.lux-fix.com" rel="nofollow">LUX FIX, the luxury fashion gambling and group buying site, offering a new and social way of shopping online for luxury acccessories through addictive online events.

LUX FIX offers its members two new ways to shop online:

• Flash Events – lasting for a maximum of 45 minutes, the price drops down from RRP and customers click 'buy now' to lock in the price they want to pay.
• Limited Edition Exclusives – exclusive items in super-limited editions with a group-pricing model; the more buyers the lower the final price. 

As founders of a new start-up, we are involved in everything from signing up new designers to marketing, supervising the website development and managing the site's content.

Before I escaped...

Alice escaped from a career in finance, taking the plunge after 2 years in investment banking at Goldman Sachs followed by 3 years in Private Equity.

Rebecca was previously a digital consultant, advising start-ups and corporates on marketing, business development, and fund-raising.

My moment of truth...

During our corporate careers in private equity (Alice) and digital consultancy (Rebecca), we found we just didn’t have the time to trawl through all the fabulous pieces Net-a-Porter and other sites had to offer. Spoilt for choice had become inventory overload!

We started dreaming of a site that cherry-picked the most exciting new pieces each season and delivered them straight to our inboxes. That in itself would be exciting, but getting members-only pricing for these items was the icing on the cake.

Planning for it...

We pushed go on LUX FIX in January 2011 and launched our beta site in May 2011 so the pre-launch period was quite a whirlwind!

We tested the concept amongst potential consumers and target designers to confirm the market and refine our business model. A big focus was building up a portfolio of brands to feature on the site and a lot of time was spent working with our developers to make sure the site was ready for launch.  

The worst and best bits...

Best: 

• Seeing an idea coming to life
• Caring and being excited about 'work'
• The adrenaline that comes from being responsible for our own decisions

Worst:

• Waking up through the night with yet another 'genius' idea for the site

Best advice...

Never take no for an answer!

Useful resources and information...

Listening to the wise advice of other entrepreneurs who have done it all before.

Our friends, family, and business contacts have all been extremely generous with their time - from lawyers, accountants and bankers to fashion industry contacts and tech entrepreneurs...