Chris Morton and Sebastjan Trepca: Lyst

Chris Morton and Sebastjan Trepca, 32 and 31
Company: Lyst
Web: www.lyst.com

In today’s web, personalisation is king – and what could be more personal for shoppers than having your very own tailored online store? This was the thinking of Chris Morton and Sebastjan Trepca when they founded Lyst, the unique fashion e-commerce site that allows users to create their own online store by following their favourite brands. Shoppers can then buy products directly through the Lyst website.

For shoppers, the benefits are obvious, and the model works for fashion brands and stores as well, who can boost their sales through inclusion on Lyst’s portfolio. Since launch the site has seen extremely impressive growth, with the business growing at an annual rate of 400% two years in a row, and brands on Lyst’s portfolio now include leading names Gucci, Burberry, Net-A-Porter, DKNY and many more. Lyst currently boasts 2.5 million shoppers a month, 70% of which are based in the lucrative US market, helping to drive an annual run rate of $70m. It’s no surprise that top European VCs are getting in on the action; the site has secured $19.5m of funding since launch, with the majority of this coming from a $14m Series B round led by Balderton Capital in January 2014.