Over the years, a number of startups have tried to redefine the way that users discover and purchase items on their mobile phones. Pretty soon we’ll have another one in Strut, an app that is designed to help users create new outfits that they can buy directly on their phones or share with friends.
The app was created by Mark Daniel, one of the winners of last year’s Thiel Fellowship, which provides cash and mentorship to students who skip going to college to pursue entrepreneurship. His co-founder is Nate Chiger, who had previously won an Apple Design Award for his app PanoPerfect.
Together they’ve come up with a new app they believe will introduce a new form of impulse purchasing on mobile phones. By presenting users with a curated feed of instantly purchasable products, they hope to highlight new fashions and allow users to build outfits by mixing and matching available apparel. Users will also be able to share those fashions with friends, get feedback, and message each other around specific products.
Strut isn’t available on the app store quite yet; Daniel says he’s targeting a launch of the product later this year. But it’s already attracting interest from investors who like the way early builds combine fashion and commerce in a way that makes mobile shopping a more social experience.
So far they have raised $1.5 million in seed funding led by Ben Ling and Khosla Ventures, with participation from Eniac Ventures, Sherpa Ventures, Slow Ventures, SK Ventures, FG Angels, Base Ventures, Kevin Rose, Rick Marini, Ryan Bloomer, Darius Monsef, Steve Jang, Dan Rose, Daniel Brusilovsky, Elliot Loh, Bo Han and Owen Van Natta.
“The future of shopping is mobile,” Ling wrote to me. “We will continue to see a secular shift toward purchasing via mobile in an impulse-driven way that we didn’t see on the web. We are excited to back Mark as a talented founder toward his vision of the future.”
Along with its investors, the team has also assembled a group of impressive advisers. They include StyleSeat founder Melody McCloskey, Jawbone senior product designer Matt Hunter, and Bandpage CEO James Sider.