Mona Bijoor

Mona Bijoor (born November 25, 1976) is an entrepreneur, investor, startup advisor and author.

Mona Bijoor
Born (1976-11-25) November 25, 1976
Williamsville, NY
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
Occupationbusinessperson, entrepreneur
Known forJOOR marketplace

She is the founder and previous CEO of JOOR, the digital marketplace developed to service wholesale apparel, a largely offline industry where orders are still frequently placed using fax.[1][2] She stepped away from her role as CEO in March 2017 and was replaced by Kristin Savilia.[3] Currently she is a Partner at Kings Circle Capital and her first book Startups and Downs: The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs will be released on September 30, 2019.[4]

Biopgraphy

Mona Bijoor was born in Williamsville, NY, the daughter of Dinesh and Rashmi Parekh, both small business owners. She attended Williamsville North High School before attending the University of Pennsylvania where she studied human biology. She then went on to earn her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[5]

Business career

After graduating from Wharton, Bijoor held a variety of different roles in the fashion industry, including corporate strategy roles at Elie Tahari and Chanel.[6] Between 2007-2009 she was a Senior Buyer at Ann Taylor, an experience which inspired her to found JOOR to address perceived pain-points in the wholesale process.[7]

For its first year, JOOR was self-financed, before conducting Series A[8] and Series B[9] funding rounds in 2011 and 2013 to fund expansion overseas. The platform allows brands to display their collections in an online marketplace where retailers can purchase products wholesale, a process that before JOOR usually required using pen and paper.[10] In 2013, the company made a deal with IMG and, in June, the platform saw $220 million in transactions linked to designer "resort market".[11] After quadrupling revenue between 2012 and 2013, Bijoor was named one of Crain's New York 40 Under 40 in 2014[12] and JOOR was named an Inc. "Company to Watch."[13] That year, JOOR was also named one of the 10 most innovative companies in fashion by the staff of Fast Company.[14] By 2015 the company was also firmly entrenched overseas, landing huge contracts with Harrods in London and Myer in Australia, which helped boost JOOR's transaction volume to more than $7 billion, with $15 billion projected for 2016.[15] In a 2016 interview with Inc., Bijoor announced that JOOR had grown to 100 employees with 7 offices in 5 countries.[16]

Some of JOOR's clients include Diane Von Furstenberg, Phillip Lim, Alexander McQueen, Rag & Bone, and Thakoon[17] on the fashion side, and the retailers Bergdorf Goodman and Saks.[18] At present, JOOR has offices in New York, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, and Sydney, and processed close to $3 billion in transactions for the fashion industry in 2014, generating $10 million in revenue.[19] For her accomplishments, Bijoor was named Fashinvest's entrepreneur of the year in 2014, and one of the Wharton Business School's 40 Under 40.[20][21] In 2015, Bijoor was asked to join the advisory committee for Saban Brands, a major fashion and entertainment conglomerate.[22]

References
  1. Griffith, Erin. "Joor’s B2B fashion marketplace on track to do $350 million in transactions this year’", Pando Daily, New York, 5 April 2013. Retrieved on 13 March 2015.
  2. "About | Joor". jooraccess.com. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  3. Joor Inc. "Online Fashion Marketplace JOOR Taps Kristin Savilia as CEO’", Market Wired, New York, 6 March 2017. Retrieved on 6 March 2017.
  4. Weiner, Chaya (2019-09-08). "Startups and Downs: The Secrets of Resilient Entrepreneurs, with Mona Bijoor". Medium. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
  5. Andrews, Kelly. "Record MBA Class Pledge Creates a Legacy", Wharton Magazine, Philadelphia, 2005. Retrieved on 5 March 2015.
  6. Bourne, Leah. "The Innovators: Mona Bijoor Revolutionizes Wholesale Buying With Joor", NBCNewYork, New York, 12 August 2011. Retrieved on 5 March 2015.
  7. Frenkel, Karen A. "Dragging Fashion Wholesalers Into the Digital Age", Bloomberg Businessweek, New York, 21 December 2012. Retrieved on 5 March 2015.
  8. Wauters, Robin. "JOOR Raises $2.25 Million For Private Online Fashion Marketplace", TechCrunch, New York, 19 July 2011. Retrieved on 5 March 2015.
  9. Yang, Stephanie. "Online Fashion Marketplace JOOR Raises $15M In Series B Funding", TechCrunch, New York, 25 July 2013. Retrieved on 5 March 2015.
  10. Bolton, Dierdre. "Joor: Connecting Boutiques, Buyers and Brands’", Bloomberg TV: Money Moves, New York, 25 November 2013. Retrieved on 10 March 2015.
  11. Novellino, Teresa (2014-07-29). "Joor founder brings new meaning to fast fashion". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  12. Pasquarelli, Adrianne. "40 Under 40: Mona Bijoor, 37", Crain's New York, New York, 22 April 2014. Retrieved on 5 March 2015.
  13. Yaqub, Reshma Memon. "Company to Watch: Joor’", Inc. Magazine, New York, 30 April 2013. Retrieved on 13 March 2015.
  14. Fast Company Staff. "The World's Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Style", Fast Company, New York, 13 February 2013. Retrieved on 19 March 2015.
  15. Tepper, Nona (10 May 2016). "Wholesale fashion portal Joor expects sharp growth this year". B2B Ecommerce. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  16. Weisul, Kim (10 May 2016). "How This Founder Manages Her Fast-Growing Millennial Workforce". Inc. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  17. Grant, Rebecca. "JOOR modernizes wholesale buying for biggest names in fashion’", VentureBeat, New York, 15 May 2013. Retrieved on 13 March 2015.
  18. Yaqub, Reshma Memon. "Company to Watch: Joor’", Inc. Magazine, New York, 30 April 2013. Retrieved on 13 March 2015.
  19. Novellino, Sarah. "The reinventors: They re-did it their way’", Upstart Business Journal, New York, 11 February 2015. Retrieved on 10 March 2015.
  20. Fashinvest Staff. "2014 Fashpreneur of the Year: Mona Bijoor", Fashinvest, New York, 1 December 2014. Retrieved on 19 March 2015.
  21. Wharton Magazine Staff. "The Wharton #40Under40", Wharton Magazine, Philadelphia, 1 December 2014. Retrieved on 19 March 2015.
  22. Young, Vicki M. ", Women's Wear Daily, New York, 14 April 2015. Retrieved on 20 April 2015.
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