Fashion software ‘hybrid’ gains funding

The funding comes from angel investor Simon Worth who has joined the company’s board as a non-executive director.

Marcia Lazar, formally founded the company in June this year, after gaining the investment, although the company has been in development for over two years.

Lazar, who has worked in fashion for most of her life, had the idea after being unable to find any useful software that could calculate the cost of producing clothes.

Despite having no previous computer experience, she invented the software herself and then spent two years testing it usefulness.

F2IT’s road to funding was aided by the ‘Gateway to Investment’ (G2i) scheme that helped her prepare her proposal for investors through a series of workshops.

Lazar pitched to numerous investors, including those at events organised by G2i, until finally hearing about Worth through her own contacts.

She was impressed by Worth’s credentials as he had experience in both the software and fashion industries.

“He had just invested in a clothing designer and had also made money out of software, so I contacted him and met him in a coffee bar in Soho,” she says

“He went off with my business plan for the weekend and by Tuesday said he was very interested.”

The company are now recruiting staff and plan to launch their product, Zedonk, online early next year.

Lazar says that her ultimate ambition is for it to become the industry standard for global fashion.

“A ‘Zedonk’ is a hybrid of a zebra and a donkey and that’s a bit like me – half fashion, half IT,” Lazar adds.

© Crimson Business Ltd. 2006