Founder's Story
A personal journey that became a mission
The idea for ShopWithMe was born in Silicon Valley, California, but its story began much earlier.
The founder, Nara, had spent more than a decade building a successful career in the corporate world, working in multinational companies after earning an MBA in Texas. Like many immigrants, she came to the United States with a dream of building a better future for her family. With three young children and a demanding professional life, her days were structured around responsibility, stability, and long-term plans.
Then life changed in an instant.
A tragic family loss forced her to leave the United States for several months, traveling abroad with her newborn baby in her arms while her husband and two older children remained in the U.S. During those difficult months away from home, she began to reflect deeply on life, family, and purpose.
She realized how short life can be, and how important it is to spend time doing what truly brings joy.
For as long as she could remember, she had loved fashion, shopping, and helping other women discover pieces that made them feel confident. Friends often turned to her for advice on what to wear or how to style an outfit. She had a natural eye for fashion and creativity, but like many people, she had always treated it as a passion rather than a profession.
During those months abroad, she decided to explore that passion seriously. She immersed herself in fashion education, studying styling and retail through online courses, including programs taught by experts in Milan and other fashion centers.
When she returned to the United States and reunited with her family, she made a decision that would change her life.
She began working as a personal shopper and stylist in Silicon Valley, helping women in tech organize their wardrobes, discover unique pieces, and build personal style. Her business grew quickly through word of mouth. Soon she was helping dozens of women with closet consultations, personal shopping sessions, and styling advice.
But something was missing.
Her work was deeply personal, but it was also difficult to scale. She could only help so many people at a time.
To stay connected with her growing client base, she created a WhatsApp group where she shared fashion finds and recommendations. Women began shopping through the group, asking questions, and requesting items she discovered in stores.
That simple group chat revealed something powerful.
Women didn’t just want styling advice – they wanted to shop together, discover products through someone they trusted, and share the experience.
At the same time, her husband was building technology platforms as a startup founder. He had previously created a circular economy platform connecting recyclable material markets and had deep experience scaling technology products.
When he saw what his wife was doing organically through a messaging group, he immediately recognized the potential.
What if this experience could become a platform?
What if millions of women who loved discovering great finds in stores could turn that passion into an opportunity to earn income?
But just as the idea was beginning to take shape, the pandemic arrived.
COVID changed everything. The family moved from California to Texas, and the personal shopping business she had built through years of relationships in Silicon Valley suddenly disappeared overnight.
She had to start again.
She returned to the corporate world, working in the sustainability sector, while continuing to support her husband’s entrepreneurial projects. Together, the couple launched initiatives focused on reuse and circular economy solutions, helping charities sell donated goods and reduce waste.
Their work was recognized across the state of Texas. The couple received the Texas Environmental Leadership Award and later won a prize from the U.S. Department of Energy for their innovation in reuse and sustainability.
Yet the idea that had begun in that small WhatsApp group never left their minds.
They realized that millions of women around the world share a passion for discovering great products, shopping for others, and helping people find things they love. Yet most opportunities in today’s gig economy involve physically demanding work such as driving, delivering food, or cleaning homes, often requiring long hours for modest pay.
Today more than 70 million Americans participate in gig work, and more than 30 million are women.
Many of them are mothers, immigrants, students, or young families simply trying to earn extra income to support their households.
The founder understood this reality personally. She had started personal shopping while raising three children. What began as a passion project gave her both joy and the ability to contribute financially to her family.
The couple realized that if technology could scale that experience, it could create something much bigger.
So they built ShopWithMe.
ShopWithMe is a live social commerce platform designed for personal shoppers – women who love discovering products in stores and sharing them with their communities.
Through the platform, personal shoppers can post their finds in real time, and sell directly to their followers while managing orders, payments, and shipping all in one place.
What began as a small group chat has grown into a technology platform powered by AI and used by thousands of personal shoppers and their followers.
The ShopWithMe’s mission is simple:
“To empower women by creating economic opportunities for them to earn doing what they love.”
And for thousands of women discovering products in stores and sharing them with their communities, ShopWithMe is turning that vision into reality.
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