A trio of Austinites have acquired a New York-based beauty and fashion website, with plans to relocate to – and expand in – Central Texas.
Rank & Style, found online at rankandstyle.com, features a variety of “Top 10” lists, such as top natural sunscreens, top off-the-shoulder tops and top espadrilles, among other content.
The site’s new owners include former Facebook account executive Jamie Chandlee, Beth Newill and Dalton Young.
A purchase price was not disclosed.
Rank & Style was founded in 2013 and had been owned by Sarika Doshi, Pooja Badlani and Sonal Gupta. They will continue to serve as advisers, the site’s new owners said, but will no longer be involved in day-to-day operations.
Since its launch, the site – and its founders – have been recognized by Fast Company and InStyle magazines, among other publications.
“We have worked with some of the biggest retailers, best media companies and fastest-growing startups in the world, but the relationship that makes us most proud is the one we built with our users,” said Doshi, the site’s outgoing CEO. “We are thrilled to pass the torch to a group that understands that audience so well. We are confident Rank & Style’s new owners will move the brand in the right direction.”
Blake Chandlee, Jamie Chandlee’s husband and a current global vice president for Facebook, will serve as Rank & Style’s chairman of the board.
“Rank & Style set out to ‘rank the world’ using a platform that was revolutionary in terms of its objectivity,” Blake Chandlee said. “We are committed to that platform and will continue to build upon it, leveraging it in new social spaces and expanding it into additional verticals. We see opportunity for amazing growth. We are particularly excited about tackling the challenge from Austin, where the technology community is bursting with talent.”
As new CEO, Jamie Chandlee said she will work with Newill, who has a marketing background, and Young, an experienced operations executive, to grow Rank & Style both in the United States and globally. That will happen, in part, though partnerships with retailers, they said.
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