Abbie Victorino thought her dream was to be a fashion model or a cabin crew for an airline. But a fateful, accidental job in an e-commerce startup and a lightbulb moment that led her to create StyleGenie. She’s helping people decide what to wear so they won’t have to. This is her story.

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I’m a middle child of a typical, broken Filipino family—wherein the dad is working abroad and the mom is a homemaker. My parents are years-long separated and I learned early on that I have to depend on myself if I want to get something.

I was 17 years old, still in college, when I learned to earn on the side by being a television commercial (TVC), runway, and print model. I also sold mini crochet art at the university. Two days after graduating from the University of Santo Tomas with a degree in business major in marketing management, I was already working for an events company.

Several job-hops later, I landed a job by accident in an e-commerce startup.  That was in 2013, way back when e-commerce wasn’t a thing and Filipinos were still scared of shopping online.

Falling In Love With E-Commerce
I fell in love with e-commerce. Back then, I was handling the fashion section of the startup company and helped its monthly revenue grow five-fold. There is so much power in doing business online.

I started importing and selling fashion accessories online while balancing it with my full-time sales job as an e-commerce consultant when I had the lightbulb moment.

Since I was very busy, I didn’t have time to think about what to eat, much less, what to wear. So when I discovered a diet delivery subscription, I thought, “Why isn’t there a delivery subscription for clothes?” I knew what I had to do. So I created a five-slide deck presentation, pitched it to my closest girlfriends, and the rest is history. StyleGenie was born.

StyleGenie is a styling-plus-clothing subscription service dedicated to boosting both male and female customers’ confidence through curated fashion pieces, one box at a time. This is made possible with the help of expert stylists who personally match fashion pieces from retail brands with each individual style profile. When you visit the website, www.stylegenie.ph, you can create a style profile and experience the magic!

What did you learn in your journey that you wish you knew before you started?
The technical things, definitely. I wish I paid attention to my accounting, taxation, and finance classes. I wish I had superb graphic design skills, basic coding skills, and digital marketing techniques. Being in a startup, the struggle will somehow creep up on you and make you feel less of a CEO as you overcome hardships every day.

In early 2018, I was invited by Alibaba to visit China for 12 days as the first Filipina member of the UNCTAD Alibaba eFounder Fellowship Program. Meeting the chairman, Jack Ma, and getting to know the 36 other founders from across the ASEAN region motivated me to keep pursuing my dream. It reminded me of how little we dream, when in fact, we can be of big contribution to the whole country’s digital economy, or even best, the world.

Is your business or career today all you dreamed it would be? When did you realize this was what you wanted?
I used to think my dream career is to become a top model or a cabin crew traveling the world and staying in nice hotels. But I’ve tried both and I felt like there’s something more I wanted to do. I wanted to build something that can impact more people in a positive way. Whether it be in fashion or e-commerce or simply being a #GirlBoss inspiration to female entrepreneurs. I don’t consider myself successful yet but I’m getting there slowly.

What do you love most about your business or career?  How has this changed your life? How do you impact the lives of others?
What we’re building in StyleGenie has never been done before in the Philippines and I know that it’s a change in shopping behavior but I love a challenge! I’m definitely in this because I love receiving feedback both positive and negative from our customers on how we can improve their experience. The never-ending tasks to be done, collaborating with all the pillars of the fashion industry, and working with such vibrant team fuels me to do well every day.

Do you ever feel like giving up or have you ever felt this way? What made you carry on?
Yes. Like many startups, we have been bootstrapping for more than two years and with a limited budget, it sometimes takes a toll on your mental health. There were a lot of sacrifices that I had to make including leaving my full-time job and through hard times, I can’t help but wonder what my life would have been like if I didn’t pursue this.

But then I look at my amazing team, our customers who email us how we have granted their wish and brand partners whom we have helped flush out their excess inventory through sales, and all is right again. I also get a lot of messages from female entrepreneurs saying that I have somehow inspired them. Then I know that it’s all worthwhile.

What advice can you give women who are thinking about a similar business or career? 
I learned a lot from our expensive mistakes but I don’t believe in regrets. Every decision I made before, whether right or wrong, led me to a new lesson about being an entrepreneur. I wouldn’t change anything.

 

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