In the wake of Music Dealers shutting down, one founder is hoping to stay in the startup game with a new venture that looks to improve online shopping and wish lists.
For the last two years Eric Sheinkop, who left Music Dealers in 2015, has been working on Desirelist, a startup that lets people create an online list for anything they want, for any occasion. Whether it's a wedding registry, Christmas list, a graduation or a couple moving into a new home, Desirelist lets you list all the things you want and invite friends and family to view your list. Lists can be made private, available to a select group, or made public.
Where a wedding registry meets Pinterest
Sheinkop said Desirelist is like a combination of Pinterest and a wedding registry. The site lets you shop trending products and curated lists to save items you like, but Desirelist's biggest benefit is allowing users to list anything they want from any store on the web, Sheinkop said. For example, a wedding registry can include items from small boutique shops, so no longer does a registry just be from large brands like Bed Bath and Beyond and Crate and Barrel.
"We're making it incredibly easy to keep lists," he said. "[It's] turning people's phones basically into a registry."
Sheinkop launched the company publicly three months ago along with his co-founder Judith Snyder, a former Coca-Cola executive. In that time he says users have grown 30% and revenue is up 33% month-over-month. Desirelist makes money through an affiliate partnership with brands, and companies like Amazon, Walmart, Macy's and hundreds of other brands give Desirelist a percentage of each transaction that takes place on its platform.
Sheinkop added that Desirelist is seeing people use the platform beyond gifting, as users are listing all sorts of experiences on Desirelist, like things to do on an upcoming vacation, concerts they want to see, and hotel options.
Opportunity in the wake of Music Dealers' struggles
Earlier this year Chicago-based Music Dealers abruptly shut down, writing in a letter to its clients and creditors that it was closing due to “significant startup costs and several years of operating losses.” Sheinkop founded Music Dealers in 2008 alongside John Williamson and his brother Jonathan Sheinkop, and the company helped unsigned artists license and distribute their music to advertising, film and gaming companies. Sheinkop said he stopped running the company full-time in 2014 when a private investment group took it over. Sheinkop stuck around for a few months in an advisory role to help with the transition, but stepped away entirely last year.
In a July 2016 letter to clients the company wrote: “Despite management’s best efforts to restructure operations to profitable levels, the company’s largest client abruptly terminated their contract with Music Dealers resulting in a significant impact on liquidity, future revenues and the resignation of several key employees."
The abrupt closing meant some artist who worked with Music Dealers had not been paid.
"A private investment group came in to take it to the next level and scale it. They brought in managers to lead it," Sheinkop said. "They were not able to scale it the way they anticipated being able to."
Music Dealers had raised more than $9 million since it launched.
Now looking beyond Music Dealers, Sheinkop is hoping Desirelist can be the go-to platform for gift giving inspiration. The company plans to continue adding retailer partnerships, and connect brands to customers who list their products on Desirelist.
Images courtesy of Desirelist
