Picture yourself walking through a small town during the holidays. The window displays are perfectly curated – reflecting the cheer of the season, local sports teams, coziness of colorful lights and sparkling decorations, and perhaps even upcoming events in the community. It's not just about the products; it's about the way they tie into your life. A store owner might even know you by name, suggesting an item for an upcoming anniversary dinner or vacation. But how do you replicate this same personalized, one-to-one shopping experience in ecommerce? While there may be no true substitute for that in-person experience in your hometown, that doesn't mean companies can't bring a similar level of personalization to the online shopping world. 

This is exactly the challenge that Curated for You, co-founded by Katy Aucoin and Mary Brendza, set out to solve. They identified the gap between the small-town personalized shopping experience and the impersonal nature of large-scale online retail, and made it their mission to bridge that divide.

The Origin Story of Curated for You

Katy's journey began while working with large retailers like Walmart during a period of rising demand for personalization and increased privacy regulations. She observed a critical issue, explaining "Retailers were stuck in reactive patterns, focused on clicks and point purchases without an understanding of the intent behind those decisions. You may have experienced this when searching for a specific product, and all of a sudden that one item takes over your online shopping experience." This approach often misses the mark, as trends might come and go before the company could react, or the true "why" behind the customer's purchase – could be overlooked entirely.

Katy imagined a way to personalize shopping based on what's happening in customers' lives, not just their online behavior. She knew there was a way to create a personalized experience online that goes far beyond simple product recommendations. Instead of just focusing on what a customer is searching for, Katy wanted to understand the context of why they need to purchase. For instance, if Lucy is attending a UT football game in Austin next weekend where temperatures will be in the mid-90s, a truly personalized experience would proactively suggest appropriate attire, sun protection, and game day essentials. This contextualized approach anticipates the shopper's needs, asking: "Why does someone need to buy tomorrow, and how can we deliver a proactive, personalized experience that's relevant to their immediate future?"

Katy dedicated two years to researching local boutiques, identifying how they build customer relationships and curate shopping experiences that are relevant to everyday life. "I spent two years studying local boutiques because they had something e-commerce didn't: a deep understanding of their customers' lives. My goal was to bring that same level of care and personalization to the online world," Katy shares. Thus, the vision for Curated For You came into being with Katy bringing on Mary Brendza as a co-founder.

Katy Aucoin, Co-Founder and CEO of Curated For You.

The Vision Behind Curated for You

Curated for You's mission is to bring the personalized, customer-centric experience of small boutiques to the e-commerce world, using data and AI to anticipate customers' needs in real-time. As Katy puts it, "How do we create a scalable experience for e-commerce retailers to deliver the same personalized, localized touch that a small boutique can? It's about anticipating their needs in real-time and curating experiences that feel personal." At the end of the day, Curated For You is helping retailers uplevel their customer experience, ensuring shoppers no longer have to stress about finding the perfect outfit for every social event or bounce around trying to find  what they need.

Curated for You's Purchase Intent Platform has three core components.

Here’s how their product works: 

• Step 1: A consumer insights engine detects real-time buying signals across social media and search, integrates external APIs for local events and weather, and runs proprietary surveys to capture demographic information about why people are buying in different geographies.
  
  
• Step 2: An AI merchandising tool automatically matches a retailer's catalog to relevant topics and applies an AI editorial lens for curated assortments. These assortments are dynamic - constantly evolving with new inventory, making the process seamless for the retailer. 
  
  
• Step 3: A toolset helps retailers market these new topics smartly and at scale, including localization features. The localization can automatically show location-based topics to people in specific areas at the right time. 

Katy adds, “This approach supports the shift we've seen in consumer buying behavior in recent years. As consumers increasingly make purchases that reflect their lifestyle across all channels, it's important for retailers to evolve their website navigation and homepage content accordingly. Retailers need to create experiences that reflect not just what a customer has clicked on, but why they need to buy - from local events to weather changes to social plans.”

Curated for You's contextual landing pages convert at nearly 2x the rate of standard product category landing pages.

But why does this matter for retailers? Katy explains the impact: "Their customers love it. And it leads to tangible results, like dramatic increases in category revenue and conversion rates and allows for a more efficient way to deliver the experience consumers expect. The results speak for themselves: Curated for You's contextual landing pages convert at nearly 2x the rate of standard product category landing pages and the platform helps retailers grow their share of wallet for consumers' social events. As a concrete example, Curated for You helped grow Revolve's revenue for their lifestyle categories by 120% year over year in Q3.

The Stage 2 Catalyst Program Impact

As Curated for You began to grow rapidly, Katy saw the need for help in scaling the business effectively. She turned to Stage 2 Capital's Catalyst program to help refine her go-to-market strategy.

"We're growing fast, and the Catalyst program is helping us focus on how to scale our go-to-market strategy. The hands-on approach and direct access to experts have been invaluable," Katy shares. The program has helped her focus on defining North Star metrics and understanding the importance of scalability to enable faster, smoother growth.

One unexpected benefit Katy found in the Catalyst program was the networking opportunities. "The networking and mentoring from Catalyst have been exceptional. It's not just theory—it's actionable insights we can use immediately to drive growth," she explains.

Future Growth and Scaling The Vision

Looking ahead, Curated for You's vision extends beyond its current offerings, having successfully started with women's apparel and expanded into men's and children's sectors. And the company isn’t stopping there, it sees opportunities to further deepen the personalized experience across more retail categories. The ultimate goal is to unlock a truly individualized 1:1 experience based on each consumer's unique plans and preferences.

Katy's main focus is on developing a robust, scalable go-to-market strategy. This strategy will be crucial in articulating where the company is today and where it's headed, especially during future fundraising.

Advice for Early-Stage Founders 

Katy had one great piece of advice: seek help early: "Surround yourself with people that can help, and speak up a lot sooner than you think you need to. You're definitely not the first one to experience that challenge, no matter what it is."