FashionStake Screenshot | Source: FashionStake

The FashionStake Diaries is a four-part series that gives BoF readers a behind the scenes look at the crucial first months of a crowdfunding fashion startup, seen through the eyes of its founders. Today, as FashionStake goes live, the founders reveal their initial designer lineup and reflect on their journey thus far.

NEW YORK, United States — Almost one year ago to the day, we were sitting in a classroom at Harvard Business School drawing up an idea for a new fashion website. Shortly thereafter, we began the exciting, humbling and often heart-wrenching task of building a company at the intersection of fashion and technology.

Today, we are happy to launch the fruits of our labour. And in this post, we’d like to share some important lessons we learned along the way, introduce our initial designer lineup and encourage you to test drive the new site.

10 LESSONS LEARNED

Distill your vision. Our company’s vision can be expressed in two words: “Democratize fashion.” It took us weeks to come up with a meaningful yet succinct phrase, but we now use it daily when we speak to investors, customers, employees and designers.

Partner with people who act like founders. During our first round of hiring, we looked for experts in technology, web design, marketing and designer relations. But it’s their personal drive and willingness to rally around a vision that has been of greatest value.

Double your cost estimates. We were slugged with hidden cost after hidden cost: lawyers, samples, web hosting and optimization tools… The list goes on. Be prepared.

Great ideas can come from unpredictable places. Some of our best technology ideas came ...

MCM's Boston bag | Source: MCM

Relocated labels (FT)
“From individual consumers of luxury goods, the Chinese and Indians have become consumers of luxury companies, in a shift that has far-reaching implications for the $80bn (€63bn, £52bn) a year industry.”

When luxury brands outsource, should they tell? (Today)
“Italy’s Parliament has passed a law that [requires] manufacturers be able to prove that their products were primarily made in Italy and, if any part of the work was carried out elsewhere, a traceable location must be shown.”

Saks shares surge on report of possible buyout bid (Reuters)
“Saks Inc shares surged 22 percent… after a published report that a group of private equity firms may soon launch a bid for the New York-based luxury department store operator.”

Boomers and Zoomers: The Social Web Grows Up (Brand Channel)
“As Boomers continue to age, their social media skills are ripening. The latest Pew Internet survey reveals that social networking among Internet users in the 50+ segment nearly doubled, from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010.”

Memorial service at St. Paul’s for Alexander McQueen (Telegraph)
“The late, great British designer, Alexander ‘Lee’ McQueen, will be remembered at a Memorial Service, at St Paul’s Cathedral, on September ...

Dior's Shanghai Dreamers | Source: antbazaar

Chinese people as identical Maoist robots? (Guardian)
“If fantasy is part of the appeal of fashion, then wouldn’t it be worthwhile for Dior, Chanel, and other couture houses to figure out how Chinese people fantasise and see themselves?”

Marketing’s New Rage: Brands Sponsoring Influential Bloggers (WWD)
“Forget about just display ads. Increasingly, the future of advertising online seems to be through sponsorships, contests, giveaways, product placement, widgets and games — often with bloggers.”

How CEOs Will Use Social Media in the Future (Mashable)
“Today’s CEO is not social… Very few of the CEOs at top companies in the U.S. and the rest of the world have any material presence on the popular social media sites… all signs are pointing to a future filed with CEOs who can speak the language of the people — social media.”

Ebay redoubles marketing efforts for fashion offering (Marketing)
“Since eBay launched its Fashion Outlet site in April, it has had 30 fashion retail brands, including Superdry, Karen Millen, Ted Baker and Office, join to sell their products through it.”

How the late Corinne Day changed my life (Telegraph)
“Her style of photography, ...