Everyone understands the struggle of trying to find the perfect outfit and turning towards the Internet for inspiration. Sadly, the most known outfit hashtag #OOTD (outfit of the day) is over crowded with so many posts that you are stuck searching through the mess for something you may like. LOOKMACHINE solves that problem! By using hashtags to categorize outfits, any user can find the perfect thing to wear for the right occasion. We talked to Aliyah Wong, one of the co-founders and Head of Business Development to tell us more about the company that was created at Cal State L.A. We also spoke to many members of the LOOKMACHINE team to tell us about their involvement within the company.
The LOOKMACHINE Team:
Sunny Chung – Founder and Head of Product
Aliyah Wong – Co-founder and Head of Business Development
Michael Chiem – Business Development, Acquisition
Jessica Lopez – Business Development, Retention
Leah Smith – Product Liaison
Kevin Mowers – Product, Developer
Andrew Aquino – Product, Developer
Christian Noble – Product, Developer
Aliyah Wong: Co-founder and Head of Business Development
How did the five core members meet? What made each of you want to participate in Startup Weekend (SUW)?We all met at Cal State L.A.’s first Startup Weekend. Sunny and I [Aliyah] came to SUW to pitch a fashion startup we’d thought of and find equally enthusiastic team members – which is how we met and formed our founding team with Leah, Jess and Michael.
Michael met our developers at the second Cal State L.A. SUW and we brought them on board to help take our product from mockup stage to a full-blown app.
All of us are driven by ideation, innovation and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, which is why SUW was so appealing for us. We’ve all worked on outside projects separately and felt that SUW would give us a better feel of what it’s like to take those projects to business.
What is LOOKMACHINE?LOOKMACHINE is the first social platform dedicated to fashion that helps solve the question on every girl’s mind, “What should I wear?” Our app takes OOTD selfies and categorizes them by occasion, making it easy for girls to find outfits as they’re getting ready for events (e.g. work, brunch, date night).
How did you come up with the idea for LOOKMACHINE?Like many girls out there, Sunny and I struggle on a daily basis for outfit inspiration. And we found that there is no one place that you can go to for outfits of all styles and from real girls. LOOKMACHINE was really born from this daily dilemma.
Building an app sounds simple, but there must be a long process behind that. What are the biggest challenges to launching an app?The biggest challenge is keeping the consumer’s journey through the app as simple and intuitive as possible. To us, this means constantly thinking of the consumer first. This may sound like we’re stating the obvious, but it’s surprising how easy it is to get lost in thinking of different features we think should be in the app. A lot of hours are dedicated to brainstorming how the app works to keep it as simple and straightforward for the user as possible. At the end of the day you can build an app with all the bells and whistles, but if it doesn’t address the consumer’s wants or needs then it’s moot.
What’s the next goal that you’d like to accomplish? This can regard your career or just in general!As a company, our immediate next focus is to build out a beta app for a select group of fashion-lovers to test before we release to everyone.
If you love fashion and are interested in being the first to test our app, follow us on Instagram (@LOOKMACHINE) for updates!
Michael Chiem: Business Development, Acquisition
1. How has your education helped you as you try to attain your goals? What is your major?I am a dual major in Business Administration with a concentration on Marketing Management and Computer Information Systems. I feel like we’re always going to be students forever because there’s always something new to learn everyday. When there’s something new to learn everyday, I stay curious and challenge myself. Cal State L.A. gave me opportunities to search for projects and work with like-minded students.
2. How have you been able to balance pursuing a full-time education AND an early stage startup?I haven’t been able to balance my education and an early stage startup because it’s involved with everything I do. The skills I learned from our startup can be applied to classroom team interaction and strategic approaches in marketing. The methods I learn in class can be applied to our startup. Also, checking in on our Instagram and seeing an increase in followers puts a smile on my face during lecture.
3. Are there any other cool projects that you have been involved with? LOOKMACHINE is longest project I have worked on with an incredible team. In the last year, I’ve been trying to brand myself as a social media creative. Check out my work at michaelchiem.com or twitter @michaelchiem.
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?Probably in front of a computer looking up stuff, with a bunch of creative people around me, creating great work for businesses and solving emerging consumer problems. I want to be remembered for a social media campaign that lives on.
Jessica Lopez: Business Development, Retention 1. How has your education helped you as you try to attain your goals? What is your major?I am a Business Administration major with a concentration in Marketing. My education hasn’t helped me attain my goals…not yet at least. I will continue to rely on my innate abilities and the fact that it I am/we all are a field of infinite possibilities.
2. How have you been able to balance pursuing a full-time education AND an early stage startup?For me, the key to making time for LOOKMACHINE has been believing in our team, our mission, and everything that LOOKMACHINE is and will be.
3. Are there any other cool projects that you have been involved with?This is by far the coolest project I have been involved with.
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?I have no idea. But I know it will be where I’m supposed to be.
Leah Smith: Product Liaison
1. How has your education helped you as you try to attain your goals? For me, my education has been the sole reason I found my passion for technology and motivation to reach my goals. Without being in the Californiate State University system I would not have known about Startup Weekend and that really changed my life and helped me find out what I wanted to do in life.
2. How have you been able to balance pursuing a full-time education AND an early stage startup?At first it was hard for me to get through classes while finding time to keep up with the projects we had for LOOKMACHINE. Especially since at the beginning we didn’t really know what we were doing so every task took time because I had to learn what to do (ie, like learning Photoshop to create mock ups). Soon after I began to really believe in what we were doing and it made me more excited to put in extra work and consequently I began to manage my time better.
3. Are there any other cool projects that you have been involved with? I do have ideas every once and in a while that I work on in my spare time, but LOOKMACHINE and school are where I spend most of my time.
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?In 5 years I hope to be using science to help people and spread love through technology. I am not exactly sure what role I will play in that or even what that will mean, but I figure that if I build the technological and scientific skills now I will find a place where I can use those skills to do good.
Kevin Mowers: Product, Developer
1. How has your education helped you as you try to attain your goals? Cal State LA has helped me by providing my basic fundamental skills and knowledge to get an idea of what I really want to do for my career. The biggest advantage of the education system is the opportunity to engage in various communities to build a network of friends and to find the people that have the same life goals as you.
2. How have you been able to balance pursuing a full-time education AND an early stage startup?My first priority is school. Once I finish all my schoolwork, I work on the things that excite me. You can always make time for something your passionate about, and that includes sacrificing a whole weekend of partying to develop a product. Also working with a team that has the same energy as me really motivates me to put in work.
3. Are there any other cool projects that you have been involved with? LOOKMACHINE is probably the most official project I’ve worked on.
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?I see myself working with a video game company or even making my own video game projects. These video games will be compatible with the Oculus Rift. If that dream doesn’t come then. I’ll be working with entrepreneurs to develop amazing application ideas.
Andrew Aquino: Product, Developer
1. How has your education helped you as you try to attain your goals? What is your major?My education as provided me with numerous out-of-class opportunities such as Start-Up Weekend, job fairs, and the career advisement center. My major is Computer Science.
2. How have you been able to balance pursuing a full-time education AND an early stage startup?Definitely having a Google calendar makes everything work for me. I have a tight schedule during the week but I know that if I stick to it and maintain good discipline, I’ll be able to be free to work on my start-up responsibilities over the weekend.
3. Are there any other cool projects that you have been involved with?My best friend Matt is currently working on his own website that helps recognize local businesses around our hometown. I’ve been helping him with outreach ideas as well as production work. Come check out BeagleRock.com!
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?I see myself owning my own house as well as having a close group of friends and a really awesome girlfriend. I try not to look too far ahead to be honest, I try my best to stick to the present and see what I can do in the “now”. It’s all small steps really.
Christian Noble: Product, Developer
1. How has your education helped you as you try to attain your goals? What is your major?My education in Cal State L.A. has aided me greatly. Not only are the academics, professors and campus helpful on advancing my understanding of my major, I was also to create a network of people that greatly fueled my eagerness to learn and my entrepreneurial spirit. My major is Computer Science.
2. How have you been able to balance pursuing a full-time education AND an early stage startup?I just pace myself, and try to keep a flexible schedule in order to fit everything in, and also having a positive mood, mind and body about your day helps me a lot as well.
3. Are there any other cool projects that you have been involved with?Other than LOOKMACHINE…I actually took up making beats using a beat making software in my laptop. I also do remixes of cool music. Check out my soundcloud. my name is Christian Erol.
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?I see myself as a successful entrepreneur and having a thriving business. I also take account what are the 3 main industries that are growing rapidly in 5 years and I would want to make ripples in those industries. I would also want to create more projects with my LM mates and other young entrepreneurs like myself.