034 – Sim Gulati of Dropel and Ruchika Kumar of SKU IQ – “Gamechangers”

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Revolutionary fashion technologies…

Sim Gulati (Co-Founder and CEO of Dropel Fabrics (the world’s first hydrophobic cotton textile supplier (repels liquid)) and participant in the NY Fashion Tech Lab, joins Marc Raco (The Hope Is Project and Monkey Radio), Pavan Bahl (OS Fashion) and Rob Sanchez (Manufacture New York / Ralph and Remington [Episode 22]) in studio. Gulati discusses the power of a demo, nanotechnology, meets cotton organic fabric acting like synthetic, military implications, treating natural fibers in brand new ways, application and limitations with pre-printed fabric, the rollout with new menswear brand Kelby and Co., WWD [article – paywall], from home furnishings, childrenswear, and menswear. The experience with NY Fashion Tech Lab, the path to funding and Demo Day, value of meeting other cofounders, mentors and coaches, retail insider experts, developing a collection and brand, Business to Customer and Business to Business, what’s ahead, how Italy helped Gulati focus on building something of value and putting ego aside, his fear of homelessness, the surprise success of Dropel due to connection in spite of resistance, and the hosts all express interest in ownership.

Ruchika Kumar (Co-Founder and CEO of the San Francisco startup SKU IQ, powering real-time inventory retailing software for physical retailers to sync in-store POS systems with eCommerce) then joins the hosts to discuss her company and involvement in the NY Fashion Tech Lab. Kumar discusses the surprisingly innovative plug-and-play solution of bridging retail systems so they easily communicate, current priorities, the “a-ha” moment with NYFT Lab the came from learning from the infrastructure and tech architecture of bigger retailers, the obsession of Omnichannel retailing, and the introduction of a new enterprise package. She reveals how the idea was inspired by inaccurate data, the importance of looking at a retail operation as a whole and the efficiencies, better decisions and increased revenue which come from having a better road map and access to inventory, and whether SKU IQ is generating revenue. Plus, what the synergy of working with other companies in the NY Fashion Tech Lab has provided and how it has mattered to the SKU IQ team’s development and future.

• Brad Feinstein
• Christine Creamer
• Amanda Parkes
• Kay Koplovitz
• Maria Gotsch
• Mohith Julapalli
• Scott Lux
• Westfield Bespokes
• WWD

SPECIAL CHALLENGE FROM THE HOSTS: 

We’ve been challenged to drive 200 Twitter followers for our previous guest Alex Semenzato in the next week. To make it a game, we’re asking all of you to follow Alex @alexsemenzato and our show @fashionbizshow with the hashtag #IFOLLOWEDALEX. Anyone tweeting the hashtag who is following bothaccounts will receive an invitation to our private reception for friends of the podcast. We look forward to seeing you there!

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