#StartupsEverywhere profile: Samantha Smith, Founder and CEO, Vishion
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
A Search Engine for Colors
Charlotte-based startup Vishion is a new mobile tool that lets users search for products from a variety of popular brands by color and hue. The app went live earlier this week, and is already positioning itself as a critical tool for interior designers and homeowners alike. We recently spoke with Samantha Smith, Vishion’s Founder and CEO, to learn more about the mobile tool, Charlotte’s startup ecosystem, and local diversity and inclusion initiatives to increase the voices of overlooked entrepreneurs.
Tell us a little about yourself. What is your background?
I’m originally from the D.C. area and attended school at Christopher Newport University. After I graduated I went to work for a startup that was acquired, and then I was pulled into working for a new startup. It was about a five year tenure, and then I went back to school to get my MBA because I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with my life.
In the summer of 2017, my husband and I purchased a new bed and we went out to dinner to celebrate, because it took so long for us to agree on something. So we were sitting in the restaurant, which had this beautiful green bar. And my husband said, “Wouldn’t it be great to get night stands in that shade of green to match the bed we just purchased?” And I thought, “That’s a great idea.”
So I went on Pinterest and searched Google, but I couldn’t find out what the color was called. I recognized after about two weeks of searching that there wasn't actually a way to find things by color. In my mindset of having a startup background, I thought “It’s ridiculous that this doesn’t exist.” I had four weeks until the next check was due for my MBA, so I spent those four weeks in Charlotte pitching non-stop, researching, and calling people in the industry to see if this type of business had legs and viability.
Tell us more about Vishion. What is the work that you’re doing, and how does the app you’ve created work?
Vishion is a mobile application for design lovers to have the ability to search by color across high-quality decor and designs. You can use a Sherwin-Williams paint color that you’re considering to find the nightstand you’re looking for in that matching shade, or you can find someone who’s used that color in their space. We currently have over 30 brands and over a million products on our app, which you can download in the app store.
If you’re an interior designer, you have the ability to dictate what your color palate is, save it on Vishion, and then leverage those colors to instigate a search. You can save those items to your Vishion board, which gives you that ability to mood board within the app, share with your clients, and then—once the projects done—share it with everyone else.
Just this week, we officially launched Vishion Social, a social platform that gives users the ability to follow interior designers and see how they’ve leveraged different color palates within their designs. Basically what we’re looking at is a full way to have color confidence from beginning to end -- from whether or not a specific color will work in a given space, to finding the specific product and bringing it home.
So our thought process is that color is one of those underutilized factors of search that has just as much of an important role as texture, style, and brand. All of those things you can search for on our app as well—we’re a complete search engine. We don’t just do color, but that’s definitely our differentiator.
I know you also started Collective Hustle, a Charlotte-based investor and startup coalition that’s working to improve the diversity of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Can you tell us more about the idea behind the coalition, the work you’re doing, and why this type of initiative is so important?
At the last startup I was at, I was very lucky to have a seat at the table and see what it was like to own a company and the work that went into it. When I started pitching my company in the Charlotte ecosystem in that four-week period that I was talking about, I went to literally every event in town. More often than not, I was the only woman there.
I initially created Collective Hustle to be a monthly meet-up, with the goal of having panels of investors and founders tackling a specific topic. I wanted to ensure that there was equal representation on the panels and within the actual audience, and what that really takes is just reaching out and inviting people. Women want to see other women in the room, because they assume if other women are there that it’s a safe environment where they have the ability to act like themselves and don’t have to prove that they deserve to be there.
Collective Hustle really took off in Charlotte, to the point that we hosted a larger event called Seed the South. It was basically the same structure for an entire day, with multiple panels and a pitch competition. We just had our second annual Seed the South, which went so well that next year it’s going to spread out into a weeklong event.
Charlotte doesn’t necessarily have a flagship tech issue yet. We’re not going to beat Silicon Valley, but what if we were known for our inclusion and diversity? What if we have the most female founders and the biggest presence of inclusion in the region, especially in the South? I think it would be awesome to be known for that.
What makes Charlotte’s startup ecosystem so unique?
What’s great about Charlotte is you have the ability within this type of environment to be a big fish in a small pond. Everyone knows everyone else, and people are willing to help each other out because we’re all in this together. I’ve rarely had a moment where I asked someone for help and they didn't say yes immediately. We’re definitely ready to become the next Austin or Boston, because we already have all the things to make that happen. Right now, we’re really setting up the fire and we’re about to cut some kindling and really light it up.
So the thing that makes Charlotte so special is definitely the community, which is eager to make something great. Because we’re one of the fastest growing cities, we also have the opportunity to be the next hub if we take the right steps.
What are some of the pressing startup-related policy concerns that you believe should receive more attention from state and federal lawmakers?
One area of concern is the ways in which cities interact with startups, and how that can improve. Cities were willing to offer Amazon tax cuts and incentives to drive the company’s new headquarters there, with the recognition that Amazon would bring in lots of jobs. If you applied those same elements to local startups or business generation, though, I think the benefits would come back tenfold. You could really build the kind of business culture that’s dedicated to Charlotte.
I feel like Opportunity Zones somewhat fill that void on the federal level, although that’s not the case for all of us. We need to have those types of initiatives to help small business owners grow their businesses, while also remaining in Charlotte.
What is your goal for the next year? The next 5 years?
Our goal right now simply is to get the word out about our company and grow at a rapid pace. We think there’s a high need and a market to be captured—not just for interior designers, but also for the everyday homeowner. We want to expand out to homeowners who are trying to build their own place and want a platform that’s dedicated to their home and fits their needs.
The future of Vishion, in terms of five years from now, is that we want you to be able to visit a store, see something you’re considering, and then use our search engine to find items that can enable you to pull your whole vision—if you will—together.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
Engine works to ensure that policymakers look for insight from the startup ecosystem when they are considering programs and legislation that affect entrepreneurs. Together, our voice is louder and more effective. Many of our lawmakers do not have first-hand experience with the country's thriving startup ecosystem, so it’s our job to amplify that perspective. To nominate a person, company, or organization to be featured in our #StartupsEverywhere series, email edward@engine.is.
