(Stefan's Head)Stefan's Head cofounders Trey Sisson, Sathish Naadimuthu, and Michael Kushner.
Attention shoppers: An app called Stefan is here to send you clothing discounts, but only if you send a text to this phone number: 646-759-0904.
Once you send a text, Stefan will let you know when limited-edition clothing goes on sale, and you can be one of the first buyers.
The text-a-number-to-get-something market is exploding. One app recently featured on Product Hunt let people text a phone number to get in touch with a Stanford student on demand. Another app called Magic lets you send a simple text to get anything you want delivered to you.
Stefan is a text message-based e-commerce brand. You text 646-759-0904 to opt into texts from Stefan.
"Stefan is a dealer of things," Stefan's Head co-founder Sathish Naadimuthu tells Business Insider. "And the only way to get them is if you're on his list."
Once you text Stefan, he'll text you back and figure out if you’re "right" for his exclusive list. Once you’re on, he’ll send you messages about anything, and will text you about new products every couple of weeks. When you get a text from Stefan, you have to click in to buy his goods quickly, because they're limited-run and they go fast.
When you get a text from Stefan about a new product or piece of clothing up for sale, you're sent a link. Open the link, and here's what you see:
You enter your credit card information the first time you make a purchase. Stefan remembers your size, too, after you order once.
We asked whether Stefan was a real person or a robot. How could one person handle all these texts? Stefan is "an actual guy we met at a ridiculous party in L.A., one we had no business attending," Naadimuthu tells us. "All we can say is that he’s a prominent artist who wanted to be part of something fresh. It just so happened that he was into streetwear and fashion as much as we are." Even as the company grows, Naadimuthu says Stefan "will continue to be the guy behind the guys."
Stefan designs the products, and everything is created in-house working with US-based manufacturers. In the future, Naadimuthu says the startup will "collaborate with cool brands, artists, designers and other creatives."
We texted Stefan to check it out for ourselves. He's definitely real.
NYC-based Stefan's Head was founded by Sathish Naadimuthu, Trey Sisson, and Michael Kushner. The three previously started an ecommerce business. Naadimuthu says the trio discovered that their customers were "surprisingly into communicating via text and gravitated towards limited-run products. That’s how the concept for Stefan’s Head began."
Though it's an e-commerce company and not an on-demand delivery service like Magic — a Y Combinator alum that promises to deliver you anything you want (as long as what you want isn't illegal) — Stefan's Head has the same premise of operating within a text messaging layer without requiring an actual app.
Magic specifically has gained traction with investors: just after it graduated from Y Combinator's accelerator program, it was reported that Magic was raising $12 million from Sequoia Capital at a $40 million valuation.
Stefan's Head made some noise when it launched on Product Hunt last week, and people like designer Marc Ecko are tweeting out Stefan's number:
Stefan's Head, which launched just three weeks ago, is one of 12 companies currently going through Techstars NYC's accelerator program. On Friday, the company will present at Techstars' Demo Day.
"Most people are really pumped about the idea and text us exactly how they feel," Naadimuthu says. "Some people think we’re too risqué or weird. Either way, we’d rather be loved or hated than land somewhere in the middle."
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