The Zaarly Blog

For a special event, a proper table setting includes at least three forks and spoons, and a variety of glasses and different sized plates. The tables at the Indian Hills Country Club, during the annual luncheon and auction of the Greater Kansas City alumnae chapter of Delta Gamma, certainly had that, but they had something extra special, too.

Zaarly Storefront Owner, Kelly Aaron, spent weeks crafting one-of-a-kind mosaic pieces to decorate the space and donate to the auction. The Delta Gammas hosts the luncheon every year, and have raised over $95,000 for sight-related charities.

Kelly has been crafting mosaics for seven years after discovering the art form at a local craft fair. She loves collaborating with clients to create custom work. Check out her Storefront and get to work on a creation of your own!

Zaarly does not actually sell a product.

We are a platform that allows the most talented people who we discover to start an online business - and those people ultimately sell the products.

Our marketplace only works if we find amazing people. 

So how do we find these amazing people?

Our Talent Team spends their waking hours searching for the most amazing artisans, makers, and creative entrepreneurs.

Sometimes they are referrals from friends and family. Other times we find them at farmers markets.

We are constantly searching for the best - and that discovery process is the single passion that brings our entire team together. 

When these talented people join Zaarly, our Content team helps them develop engaging biographies, listings, and photography.

This process feels very similar to a journalist interviewing an artist for a magazine article - we want the end result to feel honest and inspiring.

Once the content is finished, the entrepreneur is ready to start their business on Zaarly. 

This is the most exciting moment for everyone at our company.

It’s the reason we come to work - to help talented people create amazing local businesses and pursue their dreams. 

What does the first day of business feel like on Zaarly?

Opening a Zaarly Storefront is comparable to opening a physical retail store - except every transaction starts online and ends offline.

Our goal is to help each entrepreneur receive an order when they open their doors for business.

You can imagine what it would feel like to open a physical retail store and not sell a single item on the first day. 

We do everything possible to make sure that does not happen. 

How do we make sure the offline experience is amazing?

Our goal at Zaarly is to help every Zaarly Storefront owner build a sustainable business that meets our expectations for quality.  

This starts with Zaarly Tastemakers, a brand new program that we launched in mid-March.

What is the role of a Zaarly Tastemaker?

We release about 20-25 new Zaarly Storefronts per week in our four active markets.

When a Zaarly Storefront goes live, one Tastemaker volunteers to be their first customer - compliments of Zaarly.

Each Tastemaker offers feedback on the experience and leaves an honest review for the new Storefront owner.

Quality is a core component on the Zaarly promise - and our Tastemakers ensure that our marketplace quality remains high.

How do we measure quality at Zaarly?

Our quality expectations for Zaarly Tastemakers were inspired by Joseph M. Juran, a Western Electric engineer in the 1920’s who has been called the “father” of quality.

1. Technology: Is the Zaarly product serving Tastemakers needs and do our new Storefront owners understand how to use the technology?

2. Quality: Does the food taste amazing? Are the handmade goods beautiful? Do the services improve their lives?

3. Responsiveness: Is the Storefront owner reliable? Do they respond to communication in a timely manner?

4. Contractual: Does the Storefront Owner deliver on the promise of his/her products and services, as described on the listing page?

5. Customer Support: Does the Storefront Owner provide an amazing experience from start to finish?

How do you choose Zaarly Tastemakers?

In less than two months, we have built a passionate community which includes 150+ Zaarly Tastemakers in San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, and Kansas City.

Our Tastemakers come from many different backgrounds and professions. 

More often than not, Tastemakers are foodies, explorers, and makers — and they love farmers markets, art fairs, and book stores of the local variety.

Most importantly, Tastemakers are authentic people who give honest feedback that helps new business owners offer an amazing experience for Zaarly customers.

What are the benefits of becoming a Zaarly Tastemaker?

The benefits for Zaarly Tastemakers are pretty simple:

You get to experience the best local food, handmade goods, and services we find - created by some of the most amazing people in your neighborhood.

Beyond the occasional freebie, you are joining a community filled with people who care about your neighborhood and want to see local entrepreneurs succeed.

We are currently accepting applications in San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, and Kansas City.

If you want to join Zaarly Tastemakers, we would love for you to apply. 

-Jeff Morris Jr. (@jmj)

This past Sunday I had the best picnic of my life.

I love picnics. I’ve always loved picnics. And I probably haven’t been on five of them in my entire life. That’s about to change.

It’s hilarious to get too get excited about picnics as the CEO of Zaarly because the picnic industry is not exactly a booming industry that venture-backed companies are falling all over themselves to get a piece of. But I don’t care about that… what I care about is that I had a dream-like two hour experience with my wife, our 10-month-old son and our 13-year-old golden retriever. It felt like something from the movies. But it was real, and it was super easy thanks to Zaarly. I posted a request for a perfect picnic earlier in the week, got a few really nice responses and ended up choosing someone who just seemed genuinely excited about making this happen. She’s a third-grade teacher during the day, but a picnic wizard by night (and weekends). She’d love to do this more, and we’ll definitely be hiring her again.

We walked up to this…

And when we were done, we just walked away. She took care of everything. We didn’t even know what we were having until we arrived and everything from the strawberry salad to the homemade chocolate cookie sandwiches was perfect.

The full agenda from our end was watching Pierce (our son) feed our dog for the first time and lounging around for a couple of hours in the park eating delicious food. She even made Hot Dog Mac’n Cheese for Pierce.

It’s something that we’ll never forget and that we’ll definitely do again… and again.

Thank you Meghan for taking paying such close attention to detail and creating an incredible experience for my family. When we can easily link to seller profiles, I’ll be linking to yours often. 

— Bo Fishback (@bowman)