The Visionary Behind The Yes: Julie Bornstein’s Journey
More than two years after leaving her role as Chief Operating Officer at Stitch Fix, Julie Bornstein is finally taking the wraps off her first independent venture. Since departing the subscription-based personal styling service just months before its initial public offering, Bornstein has been busy building a new e-commerce platform that promises to revolutionize the way we shop online.
The Birth of The Yes
Bornstein began working on The Yes shortly after leaving Stitch Fix in 2019. She teamed up with co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Amit Aggarwal, who brings his extensive experience in engineering roles at BloomReach and Groupon, as well as his recent stint as an entrepreneur-in-residence at Bain Capital Ventures.
The duo’s vision is to "rewrite the architecture of e-commerce" using AI-powered technology. This is a concept that Bornstein has been passionate about since she was just 10 years old, spending her weekends at the mall with her family.
"I realized that technology had changed so much, meanwhile … the whole framework underlying e-commerce had remained the same since the late 90s when I helped build Nordstrom.com," Bornstein explained in an interview. "If you could rebuild the underlying architecture and use today’s technology, you could actually bring to life an entirely new consumer experience for shopping."
A Team of Experts Behind The Yes
The Yes has assembled a team of experts from various backgrounds to help bring this vision to life. In addition to Bornstein and Aggarwal, the company has brought on:
- Lisa Green, former Head of Industry, Fashion and Luxury at Google, as its Senior Vice President of Partnerships
- Taylor Tomasi Hill, who has had stints at Moda Operandi and FortyFiveTen, as its Creative Director
The team is headquartered in Silicon Valley and New York City, with investors including Comcast Ventures and Bain Capital Ventures.
Funding and Valuation
Bornstein and Aggarwal have raised $30 million in venture capital funding to date across two financings. The first seed round was co-led by Forerunner Ventures’ Kirsten Green and NEA’s Tony Florence, while the Series A was led by True Ventures’ Jon Callaghan.
When asked about the company’s valuation, Bornstein declined to disclose any information. However, Callaghan did comment on the significance of The Yes in a statement: "AI and machine learning already dominate in many verticals, but e-commerce is still open for a player to have a meaningful impact."
What to Expect from The Yes
While Bornstein and Aggarwal are tight-lipped about specific details, they revealed that their AI-powered shopping platform will speak for itself when it launches next year. Here’s what we know so far:
- Directly with Brands: The Yes is working directly with brands to create a new consumer shopping experience.
- Addressing Overwhelm in Shopping: The company aims to address the issue of overwhelm in shopping today by providing a more streamlined and personalized experience.
The Yes is expected to launch in the first half of 2020, but for now, we’ll have to wait with bated breath to see what this innovative platform has in store for us.
Related Topics
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Bain Capital Ventures
- Deep Neural Networks
- Entrepreneur
- Forerunner Ventures
- Jon Callaghan
- Julie Bornstein
- Kirsten Green
- Machine Learning
- Media & Entertainment
- Startups
- Stitch Fix
- The Yes
- Tony Florence
About the Author
Kate Clark is a journalist and writer who has been covering technology and startups for over five years. She has written extensively on topics such as AI, machine learning, and e-commerce, and has interviewed numerous industry leaders and entrepreneurs.
Follow Kate on Twitter at @kateclarktweets for the latest updates on The Yes and other exciting startup stories.
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