Search Is Dead: The Secret Sauce Behind Discovery

#sxsw #RIPSearch

Next Generation Recommendations: We live in a world where search is dead. Consumers are most responsive to personalized, content-driven and curated experiences and are no longer as willing to take the time to search and discover new brands, products, music, etc. on their own. How is curated content impacting consumption patterns and purchase decisions? How are retailers and vendors responding to this shift and enhancing their offerings to provide consumers the personalized experiences they want? What’s the secret sauce behind their method, who will come out on top and why?
This panel of diverse business leaders and industry experts will discuss the importance of delivering a personalized, content-driven experience for customers and why they chose to pursue a recommendation, rather than search, based approach.

Presenters

Hayley Barna

Co-Founder

Birchbox

Hayley Barna is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Birchbox, the ecommerce company changing the way women and men discover and shop for beauty, grooming and lifestyle products. Through its multi-channel platform, the Birchbox experience features personalized sampling, informative editorial content and a hand-picked online store.

After graduating from Harvard Business School in 2010, Hayley began her career as an entrepreneur with classmate and Birchbox Co-founder Katia Beauchamp. Their connection grew into a friendship that inspired the pair’s collaborative idea for Birchbox, which debuted in September 2010.

Hayley learned the foundation of strategy and psychology behind successful consumer businesses through her previous roles with Bain & Company, Christie’s and Amazon.com. Appling this experience to her current role at Birchbox, Hayley spends her days weighing a mix of analytical and creative, strategy and execution, keeping close to Birchbox customers and products.

Hayley has a master's degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Harvard University; she grew up in Armonk, New York and currently resides in New York City.

Katrina Lake

Founder & CEO

Stitch Fix

Katrina is passionate about helping women achieve everyday confidence. She founded Stitch Fix to help women everywhere discover and explore their style through a truly customer-focused shopping experience.

Prior to starting Stitch Fix, Katrina developed extensive experience at the intersection of fashion, retail, and technology. She managed the blogger platform at venture-backed social commerce company Polyvore and consulted with a variety of e-commerce and traditional retailers during her time at The Parthenon Group. Additionally, she has invested in and worked with dozens of entrepreneurs and start-ups at Leader Ventures.

Katrina holds a B.S. in Economics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Ruzwana Bashir

CEO & Founder

Peek

Ruzwana Bashir is Founder and CEO of Peek.com, the one-stop shop to discover and book amazing activities. She has been selected for Vanity Fair’s Next Establishment, Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Technology and Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People. Ruzwana started her career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs and in private equity at the Blackstone Group. Before starting Peek she worked at Gilt Groupe and was part of the founding team at Artsy. Ruzwana has an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Fulbright Scholar, and a BA from Oxford University where she was President of the Oxford Union.

Todd Yellin

VP of Prod Innovation

Netflix

Todd S. Yellin has enjoyed a career dedicated to film and TV entertainment. His current role as VP of Product Innovation for Netflix, revolves around changing the way people find great streaming content to watch over the internet on their TVs, computers and mobile devices.
He is responsible for leveraging vast amounts of data, sophisticated algorithms and best-in-class user interfaces across numerous viewing devices (PCs, smart TVs, tablets, smart phones, game consoles, set top boxes, etc.) to create a brain-dead easy way for Netflix members to find something great to watch. He also oversees member acquisition and how to best leverage social and messaging.
Todd received an MFA in film production from USC and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, where he directed theater and was programming director for the university's cable TV station.