It seems if anyone can make s-commerce work in beauty it’s Julie Mahloch, Chief Executive Officer and founder of bloom.com. She’s founded several ecommerce sites, dating back to 1998, and in August 2011 she launched bloom, an s-commerce beauty platform taking the industry by storm. Here Julie discusses her path towards beauty’s newest online social store.

BI: Discuss your experience on the Internet.
JM:
My first foray into the Internet was in 1998 when I co-founded the first business-to-business gift certificate store, now known giftcertificates.com. In 2002, just as Google started to gain traction, I co-launched dozens of “e-stores” by product, leveraging Google’s search words, known as pay-per-click marketing. It grew to more than 300 home furnishing stores and is now called Hayneedle. In 2009, I left to spend time with my young children. However, as Facebook and social media gained steam, I saw an opportunity.

BI: What makes s-commerce so compelling?
JM:
What I love about social is that there’s all of these products and info. You ask yourself how are we supposed to curate but we do it by allowing this woman-to-woman curation that is personalized, so it becomes even more interesting.

BI: Explain bloom’s platform.
JM:
My goal with bloom is to provide a platform that brings all the information to a hub, yet it is being curated and distilled based on who you are. Eventually everyone’s Beauty Cabinet [members’ personal cabinets where they collect and review products they’ve purchased and tried] is unique just like someone’s Facebook page. When signing on, each member gives Bloom a little information about themselves, such as their age, skin type, complexion, hair type, and we match them with thousands of women like them to find the top-rated products that have worked best for those beauty matches. The brands provide the attributes of their products, which also is configured into our product recommendations, for example “for dry skin only”, based on who you are and what interests you have and what issues you have. Aside from the hyper-personalization of our product recommendations, our social Beauty Bios give experts and enthusiasts (bloggers, vloggers, etc.) the ability to share their blog url, professional websites, contact info and their social platforms right there on their bios, along with their favorite brands, video tutorials and inspirational photos.

BI: Where is bloom now in terms of officially launching?
JM:
We have more than 100,000 users and while our site officially launched in August, many of our social network features are still in beta, with new features being added every week.

BI: What social features does bloom implement that make it special?
JM:
Bloom, being its own social network, connects brands, enthusiasts and consumers in one place where they can share, discover new solutions, learn from each other and shop.

BI: How many products do you feature and what kinds of brands?
JM:
We feature 7,000 products and 150 brands, we are examining the vast majority of beauty brands and we are literally wanting to provide a platform so all brands can be involved, talked about, reviewed and sampled.

BI: How risky is the social aspect of the business?
JM:
You’re opening yourself up to the positives but it also serves as a platform for when users are unhappy or have a bone to pick. The standard is you need to take in all the good and address the bad head on. We don’t delete comments. Often times other members come and defend certain negative comments. Consumers have a voice, which empowers them and levels the playing field a little bit. I think it’s making companies better.

BI: What are realistic revenue stream goals for an online retail upstart?
JM:
As far as our goals we have been focused on the social aspect of the site and growing members. We are seeing sales grow every month.

BI: How is bloom financed?
JM:
In February we raised $5.4 million in Series A funding, led by Capricorn Investment Group, the investment arm of ebay’s founding president, Jeff Skoll.

BI: How do you make up for not having certain prestige beauty brands?
JM:
Many prestige beauty brands are selling direct on their websites today, and they are looking to be where the women are and where the conversation is happening and our goal is to facilitate that. How can you not be a part of online commerce?