The founders of Gilt Groupe reveal how they built the Web's most famous fusion of high tech and high fashion. For years, sample sales have lured fashion insiders to makeshift storefronts in anonymous locations, offering dramatic, fleeting bargains on coveted designer brands. For those lucky enough to make an exclusive e-mail list, a Marc Jacobs or Herm's sample sale is a drop- everything-and-run event. Harvard MBAs Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, best friends and dedicated sample sale shoppers, saw the industry-changing potential of taking sample sales onto the Internet. In November 2007, they launched their members-only Web site to a select national group of thirteen thousand young, high-end shoppers. They offered 50-70 percent off luxury brands like John Varvatos and Valentino, in "flash" sales lasting just thirty-six hours. It became an immediate viral hit as members rapidly invited friends to join. In four short years, Gilt Groupe has spawned dozens of imitators and grown to five million members and has a valuation of $1 billion. Maybank and Wilkis Wilson explain how they launched a simple yet groundbreaking business that catered to their passions. They provide straight talk on how to build a start-up and negotiate the conundrums that still face women in business. For Gilt customers interested in an inside view of the fashion industry, they also provide a revealing portrait of key players like Zac Posen, Christian Louboutin, Valentino, and many others.
亚力克西斯·梅班克（Alexis Maybank）和亚历山德拉·维尔基斯-威尔森（Alexandra Wilkis-Wilson）是吉尔特集团的创始人也是吉尔特的公众形象。梅班克的事业开始于硅谷。身为eBay最早的四十名员工之一，她在硅谷创办了eBay加拿大公司和eBay汽车业务。
威尔森商学院毕业后于第五大道开辟事业，在此之前她花了三年时间在美林证券投行工作，为宝格丽和路易斯·威登服务。2007年，他们与凯文·瑞安（Kevin Ryan）组建团队一起创办了吉尔特集团，目标是将名品特卖的专属感与兴奋之情带给熟谙网络的年轻时尚主顾。他们已在多个会议上发言，如《金融时报》的国际顶级时尚品牌行业峰会(FT Business of Luxury Summit), 数字生活设计（DLD）以及华尔街日报的“我是如何建成它的”（“How I Built It.”）...
