Slickr: A social network for the fashion world

This article is part of a series we are running ahead of the Mada Marketplace event to feature the participating vendors.

In late 2014, pictures of bright yellow arrows more or less took over Cairo’s social media feeds.

Images of impeccably dressed friends playfully posing with a neon yellow, circular arrow announced the coming of Slickr, and the teaser campaign resonated enough to give the startup the momentum it needed to launch with style. 

Co-founders Mohamed Tarek and María Muñoz set out to bring the concept of “social shopping” to Egypt. By doing so, the two created a social shopping network and e-commerce platform that has quickly become a hub for different players in the fashion industry, including designers, stylists, bloggers, models and photographers, along with everyday users.

Slickr spotlights the latest trends and products while allowing users to create a network that reflects their diverse sartorial taste. The full-screen images are a refreshing change from the mobile-sized or thumbnail pictures we are all used to scrolling through. It’s a little reminder of what fashion magazines used to bring us before we all started following their Instagram and Pinterest accounts in lieu of the actual publication.

On their website, Slickr explains that users, “via their personal profile, become involved in the shopping experience and share it with their friends. We use the latest technology to mimic the social interactions found in physical stores. On Slickr, users can enjoy the same social functions available on a social network like Facebook, Instagram or Tumblr: following friends, stores and blogs, uploading and tagging pictures, sharing inspiring posts, and others.”

To find out more about the idea behind Slickr and how it can impact the local fashion scene, Mada Masr spoke to Muñoz, who spent her pre-Slickr years working in Egypt’s public relations field and has a distinct yet subtle style of her own.

Amirah Salah-Ahmed: How was the idea of Slickr born? What was the inspiration behind it?

María Muñoz: Moe [Tarek] and I are entrepreneurs, and we are always looking for opportunities. Moe is especially keen on solving problems and improving things. We saw an opportunity in what's called "social shopping.” The combination between e-commerce and social networks was still not very user-friendly — no one had found the right recipe yet. And here is where we saw the opportunity. Slickr is the perfect combination between both, and it comes to disrupt the fashion industry and its online version.

Both founders come from very different backgrounds. Moe is a serial entrepreneur, and [I’m] a public relations guru. We believed we could build a very powerful team, covering all the necessary skills to launch a successful company.

ASA: What kind of changes happened in recent years in Egypt's fashion scene that led you to see a need for a platform like Slickr?

MM: When we started Slickr, we were not thinking about the Egyptian fashion scene in particular. Slickr is more of a global platform that can work in many other countries where social networks and e-commerce are already an established concept. Here we are proving that Egypt can be one of these countries.

Obviously, when talking about Egypt's fashion industry, we have seen a significant growth in the past years. There are plenty of new brands, designers, models and bloggers that are hungry for inspiration and other people with similar interests to connect with. Slickr provides them with what they are looking for — a space to share, discover and interact.

ASA: How does it work?

MM: Slickr is a very engaging network and quite easy to use. Users just go on www.slickr.co, sign up and starting filling up their profiles as they would do on Facebook or Pinterest. They can follow other users, blogs and stores. Very soon, users will be able to shop trough us.

ASA: What kind of change do you think it can have on Egypt's fashion scene, moving forward?

MM: Egypt's fashion scene is still very young. Although it’s moving fast, it still needs to consolidate its direction and personality. It is looking really good though, with local designers, brands, stylists and models now working internationally.

ASA: How is using Slickr different for stylists or designers as opposed to regular users?

MM: For stylists or designers, Slickr is not only a social network but also a great platform to display their work on a specialized, full-screen based website. They can have a public profile where all users can check out their work and connect with them.

As for brands, they can have a cost-free store on Slickr open to all users. Brands can sell through us. Best thing? We do not take any commission per sale. They can have all the visibility they want, a significant reach and an online space, all cost-free.

ASA: Tell us about the Slickr Connects campaign.

MM: Slickr Connects was our second big campaign where we connected some of the most talented people in the fashion scene in Egypt. We brought together photographers, models, makeup artists, stylists, brands and hairdressers in a series of photoshoots that then we launched all together on Slickr and on our social media channels.

The result of this campaign was beautiful, and it went viral on all social media platforms.

ASA: E-commerce is growing, and Slickr is also an e-commerce platform. Are you finding that a lot of people are using it in this way?

MM: Slickr is a social network with e-commerce integrated, as you know. E-commerce is booming everywhere and it will soon boom in Egypt as well, where the penetration of the internet is growing by the day. Although the level of awareness about e-commerce is not optimal yet, it is spreading fast among internet users.

We will activate the online shopping in the coming weeks, almost in parallel to the launch of our app, and we definitely expect big numbers on the e-commerce side of Slickr.

ASA: What is the secret of the yellow arrow?

MM: The sexy, circular, yellow arrow represents the connecting character of Slickr. Beyond that, it has a hidden meaning that we will be revealing little by little over time.

Read more about why Mada Masr is organizing a marketplace event here.