Nasty Gal; The Cinderella of Tech and Social Media

Philly based clothing and retail powerhouse, Urban Outfitters, is being rumored to acquire web retail company, Nasty Gal. Although this is exciting for all you fashionistas out there for obvious, material reasons, what I find to be far more interesting, and inspiring, is the story behind the start-up ebay company turned one of Fast Company’s top 50 most inivative companies and the young female mind behind it all.

Sophia Amoruso was a 22 year old community college drop-out and aspiring photographer when she began selling vintage, name brand clothing on ebay for exponentially more than the thrift store price she paid. After she found that ebay was no place to expand and run her business, she created ShopNastyGal.com, which has since been shortened to just Nastygal.com (after she was able to get the domain from the previous owners of the once pornographic site) and utilized social media to build and spark interest in her company.

Last year, Nasty Gal sold nearly $100 million of clothing and accessories — profitably.

A New York Times article about the Amouruso and how the young woman created one of the most in demand, talked about, up-and-coming sites around sheds light onto how social media, determination, and creativity can be combined to create an unbeatable equation for success in our tech savvy world.

“For the last seven years, Ms. Amoruso has been courting a cult following of 20-something women. Nasty Gal has more than half a million followers on Facebook and more than 600,000 on Instagram. But it is not yet well known beyond that base. At fashion trade shows, the company’s name still gets strange looks. “People say: ‘Nasty Gal? What’s that?’ ” Ms. Amoruso, now 28, said in an interview at her new headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. “I tell them, ‘It’s the fastest-growing retailer in the country.’ ”

Read the full article and keep an eye on Nastygal.com and her future endeavors.