Founded byMonaZhao and Lily Xu, the small, privately owned start up is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Want not
Dotfully has effectively isolated, and aims to alleviate, a consumer need: what to do with perfectly good products received as gifts, samples, and picked up on impulse that aren’t quite right?
Beauty is a huge industry. Women accounted for $245 billion in sales revenue of cosmetics and beauty products worldwide in 2014. How much of that goes unused?” Zhao, also Dotfully’s CEO, asks in a media release announcing the site.
The business savvy founders are working from personal knowledge: “each had drawers full of unwanted cosmetic products that they either purchased or received as samples. Many were never opened, or used just once. Feeling bad about throwing perfectly good items in the trash, they decided instead to create Dotfully,” the statement reads.
“We founded Dotfully, because it sounds like ‘thoughtfully’. Call us dreamers but when we bring all the beauty lovers together and create a thoughtful community, that dream will become a reality,” Lily Xu told Cosmetics Design.
P2P
Peer-to-peer online marketplaces have come into their own, and the sector comprises well-known sites like Rent the Runway, Airbnb, and Etsy.
Markets such as these save consumers money, are convenient and fun; plus “the highly specialised nature of these websites is yet another benefit they are bringing. They do one thing, but they do it well,” according to CurrencyFair.com, a currency exchange site which posted a helpful little blog about the P2P revolution.
A hand full of prestigious brand logos—bareMinerals, tarte, Bobbi Brown, Shiseido, and Chanel—are featured prominently on the Dotfully site and more formal relationships are in the works. “The featured brands on our website are products our members are giving away on our website and [that we are] in conversation with regarding further partnership,” Xu told Cosmetics Design.
Swapmeet
Site users on Dotfully earn points by posting available items to the site and exchange those points for personal care, fragrance, and makeup products they prefer.
Members using Dotfully are making up and making connections. “Dotfully is beyond a trading marketplace, it is a strong and vibrant community where members share amazing makeup tips, beauty tutorials, and latest trends,” said Emily Co, lifestyle blogger and an early site member.
The site includes a moderated discussion forum where members can post questions and responses to an ever growing string of prompts from Dotfully and fellow members.
The future and the financials
For now the founders are funding Dotfully: “The venture is supported by all three founders. Our startup is currently bootstrapping and we will begin fundraising in June 2015. We are partnering with International cosmetic brands such as Club Clio, VMV Hypoallergenics, and local businesses in San Francisco through various events and social media outreach.”
So consumers and brands aren’t paying to place or purchace product on the site. “The marketplace is built to be powered by our members. Which means, all the items are given away for free using points by other members….The only thing we charge is the shipping if the two members cannot meet up in person for local pickup.”
From vision to launch, Dotfully has been seven months in the works. “Dotfully’s team has grown from the three founders to a team of six, headquartered in the heart of San Francisco. Dotfully’s launch party on January 15th has over 350 beauty enthusiasts registered and our members list is growing by the minute. We anticipate a conservative growth of 50,000 active members by the end of 2015 and more as the journey of discovering beauty should never end” said Xu.