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This article was taken from the September 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Jess Lee must make one hell of an impression. Fresh out of Stanford's computer science programme, she got a spot in an elite management-training course and became a product manager for Google Maps. Three years later she sent an email to the fashion curation site Polyvore with a criticism so detailed, the cofounder offered her a job. Lee did everything from coding to sales -- and now, after five years with the company, the 30-year-old is CEO.
More than 20 million people per month use Polyvore to create, peruse and buy from themed collages known as "sets". The site lets users clip out pieces of clothing they find online, then scale, rotate and crop them into outfits. It drives millions of clicks to retailers each month -- so unlike image-collection site Pinterest, it's actually profitable. Polyvore doubled its revenue last year, and Lee hopes to turn it into something more omnivorous, moving from fashion to lifestyle. But first she's elevating super-users like her. "Can we make a random girl with great taste who lives in Minnetonka influential?" wonders Lee, who is helping users collaborate with designers and launch their own clothing and accessory lines. If anyone can teach a user how to level up, it's Lee.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
