theEvents: Hukkster Launch Party #Hukkster @doughaley

Hukk It: Hukkster Launch Party

Written By: Doug Haley 

Ladies and Gentlemen, in 2013 we are all going to want to be familiar with the above tag. I'm pleased to share with you a concept and website that I think is revolutionary. Hukkster brings the items you love to your attention the minute they go on sale.  This means no more spending time browsing different websites to have to comparison shop, the website does the work for you.  You simply "hukk" what you love and when that item goes on sale...BOOM your email inbox will notify you right away.

Founded by former fashion merchandisers Erica Bell and Katie Finnegan (they met while digging through J. Crew sample closet) Hukkster was conceived from a mutual love of fashion, a good deal and the lack of time to shift through enticing sale emails.

I had the honor of helping to host the official Hukkster launch party in Los Angeles in December where I was able to interview Hukkster founders, Erica Bell and Katie Finnegan. Let's get ready to "hukk it".

Meg Vora of DelikateRayne & myself at the Hukkster launch party LA

Doug Haley: What was the initial inspiration [for] starting up Hukkster? Where did the idea come from?

Erica Bell / Katie Finnegan: Last December around the holidays, we sat down over coffee and were commiserating. We were working in management consulting at the time and no longer had access to our J.Crew corporate discount nor did we have the time to sort through our email inboxes for all the special offers and holiday deals. We felt like we were missing out on all the great deals and knew there had to be a better way to pull relevant content our way. Voila, Hukkster was born.

Hukkster is an online personal shopping concierge that tracks specific products across your favorite stores online and lets you know when they go on sale. The key word here is specific. You, the shopper, pin point the specific style and we let you know when that style goes on sale in real-time so only relevant information is sent your way. Just in time for the holiday season we launched the list and sharing feature so that all our members can share holiday wish lists with friends and family.

DH: Where do you see the company in 5 years?

EB / KF: We truly believe Hukkster will revolutionize the way people shop online. We could see people using Hukkster to organize all of their spending online, everything from clothing to electronics to grocery so that they can stay organized and track savings in one centralized location.

DH: What do you personally "hukk" the most?

EB: As a young entrepreneur I really must stick to a budget so I use Hukkster to track and save on my favorite styles season after season. I recently hukk’d a great Alice and Olivia dress at Shopbop for a wedding that I have coming up and saved 40% off the original price. Currently, I am hukking winter coat as I need a new one and I am bound to get a great deal now that the holidays are over and retailers are significantly discounting their cold weather inventory.

KF: I am constantly running around to baby showers and weddings, so I hukk my friends’ registries. This allows me to track the products they want and buy when the time is right. I’ve been privy to some amazing deals with this approach – saving $200 on a Kitchen Aid Mixer at Macy’s and scoring an adorable Ralph Lauren onesie at 25% off.

DH: Where did the name come from?

EB / KF: A Huckster is an old term for a peddler, someone who used to go door to door making deals. We revamped the spelling – as your modern day Hukkster we bring the deals straight to your inbox.

DH: What has been your biggest obstacle so far?

EB / KF: Prioritization. We see far reaching potential for Hukkster and just wish there were more hours in the day to execute.

DH: Please share your happiest moment or triumph through starting your own company together. What was the most thrilling part so far for you personally?

EB / KF: One of our most thrilling moments was our appearance on the Today Show. When we received notice the evening before the show that Matt Lauer would be interviewing us, we were beyond excited. It was a huge milestone for us as we had set that goal early on and really did not expect for it to come to fruition so quickly. It was a great opportunity to tell millions of viewers about Hukkster and the reaction was incredible as we had an outpouring of support and interest.

Good luck "hukking" everyone!  I will admit that I am certainly a fan.

-Doug Haley-

twitter : @doughaley

instagram : dothatdougie