Gilt Groupe is an innovative online shopping destination that offers members insider prices and special access to the most inspiring merchandise, culinary offerings, and experiences daily. In December, Michael Bryzek joined Startup Grind NYC at the AOL offices in Manhattan for a fireside chat. A full house for sure, but this was definitely our first event where fashion insiders may have outnumbered techies. One thing founders and fashion types can both agree on is that Gilt Groupe is at the top of its game with product and technology.
Michael Bryzek is a co-founder and the CTO of Gilt Groupe. Michael arrived in the United States at the age of two after his serial entrepreneur father had the foresight to create a plan to escape Poland. The family settled in Silicon Valley and today one might say that entrepreneurship was in Michael’s blood. Prior to his role at Gilt Groupe, Michael founded Volunteer Solutions, which was acquired by United Way of America in 2001. Michael earned bachelor and graduate degrees in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“MVP is Over, At Gilt we focus on MVAP; Minimum Viable Awesome Product.”
Minimum. Viable. Awesome. Product. MVAP is just as incredible as it sounds and is the Gilt motto for delivering quality above all else. Availability of product, seamless payment, and same day shipping are what keeps buyers returning to Gilt. According to Michael, the bottom line is, “we’re not selling basic needs. Our business model is about emotion. What we really focused on was the user experience. If the customer loves the product and the experience, he or she will come back." Mobile and web sales continue to grow and a great user experience, particularly for high-end items, is what separates market leaders from failures. Michael recognized the importance of the UX and its value to the business early on, which is why the focus on it has never faltered.
“If We Hadn’t Done it this Way, Would We Even be Here Today?”
Gilt is well known and acclaimed for their limited edition products and discount sales. However, it is the software and technology strategy that keeps the Gilt website operating smoothly. One of the unique challenges that drive engineering at Gilt is their daily spike in traffic. The sales begin at noon and web traffic can increase by a whopping 1000% every single day. Since the onset, the company’s focus has been on hiring the best engineers and utilizing the best platform. To support the large number of visits and order fulfillment, the Gilt platform has evolved from Ruby On Rails to Scala. A difficult process made easier by Michael as CTO and the Gilt engineering team.
The full video of Michael’s interview with more details on the technology powering Gilt and the company's founding is here: http://bit.ly/1czzmE8
Big thanks to AOL and our partners at Google, AlleyWatch, Elance, and Handybook!