I discovered AHAlife website few weeks ago and I (literally) fell in love with their tech gadgets. I was lucky to personally meet with Shauna Mei the founder and CEO of AHAlife , the New York-based luxury online retailer. I was inspired by her energy and entrepreneurial vision. Let’s see a bit in details who is behind AHAlife.
Women Love Tech Meets With Shauna Mei From AHAlife
Tell Us About You And Your Background
I emigrated from Mongolia at age 7. My career includes working at Goldman Sachs in the private equity and investment banking division and was COO of Casall, a €20mm revenue luxury, Swedish activewear company. I am the co-founder of Aronsson Group, a luxury investment and advisory firm with CEO of Dona Karan, Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta, and has grown AHALife’s investor and advisor network which includes author Deepak Chopra. The technology behind AHALife operates a “drop ship model” with no inventory, and was created in-house.
Tell Us About Your Company
AHAlife is a curated destination for discovering 1,000+ designers & artisans in 45+ countries. We scour the globe to find exceptional, quality objects for every aspect of your life. By creating a community which values creativity, we’re empowering independent designers & artisans to thrive online. We’ve discovered 1,000+ designers & artisans in 45+ countries.
We scour the globe to find exceptional, quality objects for every aspect of your life. By creating a community which values creativity, we’re empowering independent designers & artisans to thrive online.
Have You Met Some Major Technology Problem When You Were Creating Your Business?
I brought on Sachin as my partner about two years into the business. In the beginning, I underestimated the extend of building out a full-fledged marketplace. There was nothing off the shelf and we had to build it from scratch, creating custom tools and services to solve the problem for our unique niche brands. Together, we have build a technology company at its core, dedicated to solving the unique problem for millions of niche designers and artisans who otherwise, don’t have the capital, experience / know-how to reach a large global consumer base.
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Would You Call Yourself A Tech-Savvy Woman? and why?
Absolutely! I studied computer science and electrical engineering at MIT and am so greatful that I chose to be an engineer versus pursuing a more liberal arts education. It’s really help me with my problem solving skills. Technology is constantly changing and I love working in an industry where things are fast-paced and I am constantly learning new ways to help people improve their life and driving growth efficiently and in a scalable manner.
Which Kind Of Smartphone Do You Have?
iPhone 6 with a cool case (photo)
Name 3 apps You Use Everyday
Yelp, Facebook & WhatsApp.
What Is Your Last Tweet?
was a retweet:
ASX welcomes to the market: AHAlife Holdings Limited @AHAlife $AHL @CunninghamMax http://bit.ly/1IO4t23
The Last Picture You Post On Instagram?
A Steve Jobs quote
Thank you Shauna for your precious time and I wish you all the best with your exciting online adventure, on my side I will hand pick and post regularly ahaLIFE gadgets!
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