Source: http://www.fastcolabs.com/3027944/how-a-...

Five years ago, Justin Stefano and Philippe von Borries launched what they call one of their stupidest ideas ever: a one-month pop-up shop at the grimy Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan. Somehow, the oddly placed little shop run by two fashion newbies generated nearly a million dollars in sales, helping add rocket fuel to the Refinery29 brand. It's now the largest independent fashion website in the U.S. with a value of $29 million.

“We were literally selling Alexander Wang in the armpit of New York City,” says Stefano. “Our logo was on all the trash cans. It was the weirdest mixture of ingredients.”

1

Stefano and von Borries say this is just one example of the “stupid, existential” experiments they’ve tried as cofounders of Refinery29.Their trajectory as fashion moguls wasn't a bold, well-intentioned path. Refinery29 is a story of trial and error, from two poli-sci nerds who loved discovering local restaurants and stores on the weekends.

“Our success is fundamentally due to the fact that we were outsiders,” says von Borrie