The Blank Canvas of StandTALL

Ever since I was a little girl, shopping for clothes has been a nightmare. I am 6'3", and everything that I try on doesn't fit right. Any type of pants become high waters, waistlines are too high, and skirts are too short. My mom and I struggled all through my adolescence trying to find a place where I could find clothing that fit me correctly. Unfortunately, no place like this exists. We always dreamed of making an website that would make shopping for tall women more convenient.



Before this semester, making this dream into a reality seemed impossible to me. Along with Consumer Behavior, I am also in an entrepreneurship class. We were required to come up with a new venture to present to the class, and I used my idea of creating a tall women's shopping website. The class loved the idea, and it ended up being one of the ideas used for our final venture concept. With two of my classmates, we used the whole semester to pivot and iterate off of this idea.

By the end of this semester, we had created an entire business canvas around the idea of StandTALL. We decided to make StandTALL a search engine for tall women. This search engine will include customizable toggles that users can insure their height and exact measurements into. The site will then search all online stores and aggregate the results, making them customized to each and every customer. We will use a pay-per-click revenue model, and will also sell advertising space. We had an idea of blogging for the website as well to increase its awareness. We even had a logo designed like the one below.

I also had the chance to read Creative Confidence this semester. Written by Tom and David Kelley, this book emphasizes how creativity and innovation are not just for the "creative types", but rather anyone can do it. I loved what David and Tom wrote in Chapter 2, Dare, From Fear to Courage:

"Fear of failure holds us back from learning all sorts of new skills, from taking on risks, and from tackling new challenges. Creative confidence asks that we overcome that fear"

In order to conquer that fear, we must take action. My favorite saying of all times is "action cures fear". If we are fearful of something, the best way to cure that fear is to take action. The worst that could happen is we fail. But failing is often a good thing. Failing fast and often is what makes some of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time who they are. They didn't get to where they are without may pivots and iterations. Although it is scary because it's the unknown, I will continue to work on StandTALL, because it is something that I'm passionate about. By simply taking action and turning my blank canvas into a business model, I am that much closer to making my childhood dream become a reality.