Whym Co-Founders on Conversational Commerce, Supporting Women-Owned Businesses, and More
In this episode of Women in Retail Talks, Women in Retail Leadership Circle Digital Content Manager Kristina Stidham interviews Kelly Nyland, founder and chief executive officer, and Rhenee Bartlett, co-founder and chief operating officer, of Whym, a female-centered, first-of-its-kind conversational commerce boutique. Listen in as Nyland and Bartlett share their career backgrounds, how they met while both working at Snap Inc., and how the idea for Whym started. They discuss how customers shop with Whym’s text message-based commerce model, the personal shopper behind the customer experience, and the types of products the brand sells through its partnerships with other small businesses or “Insta brands.”
Whym focuses on selling products created by other women-founded businesses, and Nyland and Bartlett share how the boutique allows customers to shop for products based on brand values. They discuss Whym’s omnichannel marketing efforts, its experiential events and pop-up shops, and Whym’s sub-brand, Petalfox, that the duo founded in 2017. Lastly, Nyland and Bartlett discuss the technology powering Whym’s conversational commerce model as well as their future plans to grow the brand.
Kelly Nyland is the founder and CEO of Whym. Over the past 15 years, Kelly has had a hand in building four successful tech companies and has brought over 120 digital and physical products to market in 40 countries and launched 10 global brands. She has worked across a variety of technology companies, launching first-to-market products like the Parrot AR.Drone at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2010. She has also helped several companies market and grow both in the US and overseas. Kelly served as the senior vice president of marketing at Sphero, growing the company internationally and expanding it to over 70 countries.
Rhenee Bartlett is the co-founder and COO of Whym. Rhenee and Kelly met while working at Snap Inc. Prior to her time with Snap Inc. and Whym, Rhenee served as the events director and experiential mastermind with Motive and as a senior account manager with IMG Live and Vivid Marketing. During this time, Rhenee architected experiential campaigns for brands such as Pepsi, Budweiser, Sam Adams, Subaru, Cartoon Network, AT&T, and more. She brought these experiences to life at thousands of properties, including multiple Super Bowls, New Year’s Eve in Times Square, and The Vans Warped Tour. She has produced branded shows with Lee Brice, Phillip Phillips, Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Bastille, and Dierks Bentley.
Date: January 28, 2020
Credits: Kelly Nyland, Rhenee Bartlett
Duration: 33:34
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