Jess swipes up success with Stashd app

WHEN a career adviser told Jess Wilson she had no future in the fashion industry, it didn’t stop her becoming one of the biggest names in the field.

SWITCHED ON: Jess Wilson developed a shopping app for some of the world’s best known brands. Picture: Contributed

WHEN a university career adviser told Jess Wilson she had no future in the fashion industry, it didn't stop the determined Coffs Coast local becoming one of the biggest names in the field.

The 24-year-old is the creator of a mobile phone clothing shopping app called Stashd which has thousands of users across the world and retailers such as David Jones on board.

The app allows users to swipe through millions of products and either "trash" or "stash" them as they search.

"We have users in 94 countries and we connect them to more than 4000 brands. It's kind of like Tinder for shopping," she said.

Jess - who was this year named by Forbes as one of the 1000 entrepreneurs under 30 to change the world - said her interest in the business world began at her family's Karangi farm.

"When I was 16, I started a business running formal after-parties on the farm - it definitely started me on my journey," she said.

"Working in the fashion industry was what I always really wanted but I had a career adviser tell me I wouldn't make and to pretty much give up. There was a lot of motivation that came from that."

Jess saw potential in developing new technology in the industry and booked a one-way ticket to Silicon Valley to learn the ropes.

Returning to Australia, Jess met a digital coder and released Stashd in 2013.

Jess's next port of call will be China to pitch technology to the market as she competes among 15 global finalists on a reality series called The Next Unicorn.

While the the opportunity to crack the Asian market is "immense", Jess says it is encouraging to see new opportunities in innovation developed in Australia.

"What the (Federal Government's) done with introducing coding into schools and creating different initiatives for investor start-ups I think is a cultural shift," she said.

"It's great that the government's encouraging platforms to grow and giving people the education to break into the tech space.

"It's booming now and it's only going to get bigger."

Jess said her advice for young people was to follow your dreams.

"Think as big as you can and don't give up on the first few failures because there will be failures as you grow," she said.