Trading Up: How Haley Lieberman is Building a Digital Hand-Me-Down Network for Modern Parents

 Haley Lieberman, founder and CEO of Shop Tomorrows, has built a social recommerce marketplace for trading-up kidswear to tackle the textile waste crisis.

Shop Tomorrows was born after Haley spent nearly a decade working as a costume designer and stylist in the entertainment industry. She witnessed tons of clothing go to waste at a rapid rate, and felt the need to be a part of the solution, knowing she had been a contributor to the problem. It was after her twins were born that she observed how quickly children outgrow their clothes. Thus, Shop Tomorrows was built to keep kids' clothes in the hands of people and out of the landfills.

We asked Haley about the founding story behind Shop Tomorrows, how acknowledging her uniqueness has shaped her entrepreneurial journey, and how she has seen herself grow throughout the years.

Q: Tell us the story behind the founding of Shop Tomorrows. How and why did you start working on your company?

A: I started Shop Tomorrow after over a decade as a costume designer and stylist on big-budget projects for clients such as The Metropolitan Opera, Madonna, the Olympics, Pepsi, Johnson+Johnson, and more. After years managing six-figure budgets for projects in which clothes were worn once, I became dismayed by the amount of textile waste the fashion and entertainment industries were producing. So I began to teach, write, and speak on the subjects of fashion sustainability, resale, and fashion markets. Then, when my twins were born, I instantly knew that we needed a better way to clothe our kids that was stress-free for parents. So I built Shop Tomorrows.

Q: What problem does Shop Tomorrows solve?

A: Shop Tomorrows is the first social circular marketplace connecting closets around the country. Our members use their outgrown items as currency for tomorrows’ purchases on a trade-up model, with kidswear as our first category. The company was built to give parents an easier and sustainable way to give and get kidswear through their networks, neighborhoods, and beyond—whether from across town or coast to coast. Unlike the traditional consignment-based secondhand marketplaces with high commissions, we foster a circular economy that provides one-to-one value for the items one buys and sells. By selling a vest, members get another vest that fits, or multiple items of equal value, and never lose a dime of the resale value to steep commissions and take rates.

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

A: Growing up, I always felt different. I’ve always had this creative energy inside me that can’t be contained and permeates everything I do. From a young age, I’d look at something and think I could make it or build it instead of buy it—and I still do just that. I wasn’t afraid to pursue building a business. As a child, career options seemed binary: the creative life or the business life. But I was determined to find a way to make a life for myself that was comfortable financially and flexed my creativity. It’s no surprise that as a middle-schooler I sold hair accessories to an upscale NYC boutique, had a successful handbag line at 17, and now in my mid-30s have built a tech solution to exchange goods between people for a better planet.

Q: What’s one thing you wish you had known before starting Shop Tomorrows?

A: As a startup founder, I drank too much Kool-Aid about fundraising being the end all, be all. Everywhere I looked, everything I read, and every program I was in focused on milestones and metrics that needed to be achieved in the next round of funding.

“What are your necessary KPIs to get to the next capital round?” “What monthly recurring revenue do you need to deliver your investors a 10X ROI?” “What’s your exit strategy?” These were all questions that, in the formative years of the company, I spent far too much time answering and working to meet, rather than being deeply connected to my customers and the heart of the business I was building. In building a marketplace community, one must be obsessed with the customer experience and community growth. Stay dedicated to your business’s mission and the customers who you’ve built your product for and the growth—and capital—will come.

Q: What’s the biggest misconception that others have around entrepreneurship?

A: It can seem like everywhere we turn, everyone’s a founder of a startup. A SaaS company with 200 employees and a $500 million annual recurring revenue is a startup, as is the nascent side hustle jewelry business out of one’s kitchen. Thanks to household-name entrepreneurs and the coverage so many entrepreneurs receive from the media, there’s a broad misconception that entrepreneurship is easy and success can be achieved without tremendous sacrifice and ruthless day-by-day, year-over-year commitment. Idea, plus branding, plus social media marketing does not equal a business—it just doesn’t. The idea is the easy part. Making the idea come to fruition, then running and scaling it—that’s true entrepreneurship.

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

A: A week in the life of an entrepreneur feels like an emotional roller coaster. There are achievements and setbacks on a daily basis. Surround yourself with a team to take that ride with you to celebrate the highs and support you during the challenges. A founder friend of mine recently called me overwhelmed by the challenges she was facing with her new startup. She is an exceptional operator, and bootstrapped her first company all the way to the bank with a massive exit for her and her partner. I knew she didn’t need my advice on how to run the business. So the first question I asked her was, “Do you still believe in your mission?”

An entrepreneur persists through adversity when they are passionate about their company’s reason for existence and are deeply committed to solving the problem that keeps them up at night. I persist because I believe that Shop Tomorrows has the ability to change the world by being the global exchange platform for modern consumers. It’s a tall order, but three and a half years in, I still feel my heart jump when I articulate our mission.

Q: Have you discovered any underappreciated leadership traits or misconceptions around leadership?

A: There’s a lot of media surrounding that glass ceiling-breaking goddess whose ruthless leadership and sky-high stilettos get her to the top. That mode is just so outdated and I’d love to see it eliminated. Instead, we should lead with empathy and integrity. Employees are not machines, simply churning out work to meet the metrics. They are people with needs and emotions, families and commitments outside of the office.

As a mother and CEO, I am learning to get comfortable speaking about my children to our staff, thereby demonstrating that we are all complex figures with multi-dimensional lives that we should be proud to figuratively bring to work. When I first started the company and even now, when I pitch, I tend to keep this side of me hidden out of fear of judgement. But slowly that part of my life is becoming integrated into my narrative and I think it helps those who I work with embrace their lives outside of work, too. This ultimately makes them much happier and more fulfilled, leading to deeper engagement with their work and productivity.

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

A: It’s going to be 20 times harder than you expected, but you’ve got this and are 100 percent capable of making anything happen.

Q: How would you describe the journey you’ve had in a few sentences?

A: The journey from conceiving of Shop Tomorrows to building the platform and seeing it in use nationwide by customers in every state around the country is exhilarating. It makes me feel unstoppable, like anything is possible. And yes, some days all that we want to achieve in the lifespan of our company feels impossible but I would absolutely do it all over again. In fact, I know this is just the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey.

 

Haley is a member 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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