Soraya Dabari and Maxine Bédat were teenagers when they first met in Minneapolis. As Dabari and Bédat moved into the professional world, the duo kept on connecting with each other. Dabari worked with the New York Times. She became a co-founder of Foodspotting. This photo sharing app was sold to OpenTable in January 2013 for $10 million.
Bédat, on the other hand, had a career in Tanzania as clerk at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. As Bédat was inspired by her experience in Tanzania among the local craftsmen who were always able but lacked the infrastructure for production, Bédat introduced the Bootstrap Project. Bootstrap is a not-for-profit organization organized for financing of artisan works worldwide.
In the context of Zady.com, “conscience” may mean locally made products made from ethically sourced materials. The items are judged using a badge that tells the shoppers about the product. The badges may include such information useful for consumers’ decisions as “This product is handmade” or “This product is made of organic cotton” or “A portion of revenues generated through this product will support a charitable cause.” Bootstrap products, usually produced through micro-financed projects, are also sold on Zady.com.
Over the past years, Zady.com were able to raise about $1.35 million in funding. The investors were led by New Enterprise Associates. From two friends, Zady.com now has six fulltime workers. Bédat expects growth in the future and she thinks soon, Zady.com will hire an employee with extensive background in buying. For now, Dabari and Bédat are both living in New York and they promised to look after Zady.com and act as the need arises.