How Margaux Avedisian and Deborah Metts Are Challenging the Fashion Industry

Margaux Avedisian and Deborah Metts, co-founders of Beyond the Runway, are on a mission to transform online shopping with virtual avatars.

Margaux and Deborah met at a masters program in fashion merchandising and started Beyond the Runway to combat the issue of excessive consumer returns. Beyond the Runway maximizes the efficiency of online shopping by allowing individuals to create a customized fit avatar and try on clothing before actually purchasing garments. Ultimately, Beyond the Runway is creating a more empowering shopping environment where customers have control of making decisions that align with their needs, goals, and values.

We asked Margaux and Deborah about the founding story of Beyond the Runway, what they’ve learned about building teams and supportive networks, and what they’re looking forward to next on their journey.

Q: Tell us the story behind Beyond the Runway’s founding: How and why did you start working on Beyond the Runway?

Margaux: My co-founder and I have known each other for 10 years. We met in graduate school while studying for our MFA in Fashion Merchandising. When the pandemic hit, we started talking about how online shopping was our only option. That led to us to start Beyond the Runway. We were both sick of ordering things online that didn't fit or look good and saw a bigger opportunity to make fashion more inclusive and sustainable. Beyond the Runway revolutionizes online shopping by empowering customers to try on clothes with a custom-fit virtual avatar.

Q: What problem does Beyond the Runway solve?

Margaux: In the current market, brands are bleeding money with excessive returns. Consumers lack the confidence to know what size or what a clothing item looks like on them before purchasing online. Also, 25 percent of returns, roughly five billion pounds, end up in landfills. Our technology greatly improves the chance that the customer ends up with the correct fit and dramatically reduces returns.

Q: What makes Beyond the Runway different from others?

Deborah: We are unique in that we are the only company on the market right now offering a digital try on SAAS platform that is fully cloud-based. In our development, we have fine tuned a method of transforming 2D images to 3D objects at a rate of unsurpassed speed, accuracy, and detail.

Q: Have you ever felt like you’re “different”? If yes, in what ways has this contributed to your journey as entrepreneurs?

Margaux: I don’t feel different but I know that I am. I’ve been an entrepreneur for more than 10 years in innovative tech and people always seem surprised. I’m not afraid of taking risks and am comfortable with learning while trying and doing. When you are starting something that hasn’t specifically been done before, you need these abilities or else you will be frozen with fear.

Deborah: Definitely! I feel different on a daily basis. I never envisioned that I would be a professional creative, much less an entrepreneur. I am a double minority as a woman and a BIPOC. This means that navigating the startup space as a tech co-founder in fashion e-commerce always presents some unique challenges. That said, I welcome these challenges and see them as my selling point. At Beyond the Runway, we are building a very practical SAAS solution that propels brands forward in giving a truly inclusive digital try-on experience to all. We are also creating a platform that allows us to employ and empower other professional talents of women in this space and others from LGBTQ and BIPOC communities. These pillars make up our core ethos. I don't think I would have been able to appreciate that vision without my own years of experiences being different.

Q: What’s been the hardest and most rewarding part of your entrepreneurial journey?

Margaux: The hardest part is creating something that didn’t exist before so there are no directions or places to go to to find the answers. That also makes it extremely exciting and rewarding because we are breaking new ground on something that is so needed.

Q: What’s been the most unexpected part of your entrepreneurial journey?

Margaux: Even though we talked to a lot of people in our market research and built a company solving a lot of issues with online shopping, it is still surprising to me when people are so excited to use our product. I thought clothing brands would be less open, but the pandemic has seemed to really push them to do something innovative regarding the returns issue.

Deborah: All of it! That is the bonus of launching your own business—the journey is full of surprises. You never really know what may happen day to day no matter how much you plan or strategize. This can be a beautiful thing because opportunities end up coming your way that supersede your expectations. For example, I can recall being in a meeting with the creative director of a very well-known brand. Toward the end of our talk, they called in the CEO to hear our pitch. This quickly led to a lightbulb moment and strategic pivot in our business model. It was a great shift and something that I didn't expect to happen the way that it did.

Q: Have you struggled with self doubt as an entrepreneur? How do you navigate this?

Margaux: Of course there are times of doubt, but you have to push through that and just know no matter what, it is going to work out. Knowledge and experience can never be taken away, so that in and of itself is an accomplishment. Staying focused on the present but also looking back at what we've already achieved helps me keep the doubt away.

Q: Has your definition of success evolved throughout your journey as a founder?

Margaux: Definitely. There is nothing too small that can be considered a success. It isn’t just something like signing a major deal. Having a great meeting or putting a presentation together are successes. Success doesn’t have to only be the ultimate goal—rather it is the small steps that lead you to it.

Q: What have you learned about building a team and a support network around yourself?

Margaux: If you don’t ask or reach out to people, then it won’t happen. That’s why we have such a great team and advisors. You have to dare to go after who and what you want. We joined a few women's groups and they have been extremely helpful in new connections.

Deborah: I've learned that it is unequivocally always about your network at the end of the day. There is more value in the people who you surround yourself with than in any check an investor can write. For instance, our Beyond the Runway friends and advisors have been lifesavers in guiding us along the way in everything from legal issues to vision projection. Ask for help from as many people as you need and do so often. You never know what you may learn. Also, it is important to start thinking about who you may want to hire for your business before you even have the budget to do so. Talk with people who you admire and get them excited about what you are doing early on. This gives you talent options and benchwarmers for when you are ready to hire.

Q: What would you tell your younger self if you were to start your entrepreneurial journey all over again?

Margaux: Sometimes what seems like a failure or a setback is actually needed to get to where you are going. A lot of the situations that didn’t work out were actually the best things to happen to us.

Deborah: If I could talk to my younger self I would tell her to focus on the journey as opposed to putting pressure on the end goal. The best thing that you can do as an entrepreneur is to be flexible, remain open to change, and consistently lead others toward your vision as it evolves over time. I think that my younger professional self would definitely need to hear that. Do not spend time worrying about the “perfect” next steps—stay in the moment.

Q: What’s next for both of you and your company?

Deborah: For me personally, the only guarantee about what is next is that of continued and rapid growth as I help to lead this company. As COO, it is my vision for Beyond the Runway to secure our first few key contracts in the next six months with top targeted brands. I know that the mere momentum from doing so will propel us forward as a leader in the fittech and virtual tryon space for e-commerce. I'm also very excited about building our dream core team stocked full of amazing women and diverse experts in both fashion and technology, both of which are fields where true diversity and inclusion is still lacking. We have a chance to build the workplace that we want to see and change an entire industry—that is huge!

Margaux: Hitting our next milestones, which is raising money and signing brands!

Deborah and Margaux are members of Dreamers & Doers, a private collective that amplifies the entrepreneurial pursuits of extraordinary women through thought leadership opportunities, authentic connection, and access. Learn more about Dreamers & Doers and subscribe to their monthly The Digest for top entrepreneurial and career resources.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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