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Ariana Saunders
Co-Founder and President at Anya
Professional Background
Ariana Saunders is a well-respected figure in the fashion and retail industry, bringing over a decade of dynamic experience in planning, analytics, and leadership to her engagements. She is the co-founder and president of Anya, where she has successfully combined her passion for textiles and apparel with her deep understanding of data-driven strategies. With a strong educational foundation from Cornell University, where she studied Bachelors in Textiles and Apparel Management, Ariana has consistently leveraged her academic background in her professional endeavors.
Before embarking on her journey with Anya, Ariana held several significant positions at goop.com, starting from Senior Director to SVP of Data, Planning & Analytics. Her work in these roles involved maximizing operational efficiency through advanced data analysis and planning, thus transforming the company’s approach to retail and luxury brand positioning. Prior to goop, she spent a substantial amount of time at One Kings Lane, where she steadily advanced from Manager to Senior Director of Planning & Analytics. This role particularly honed her skills in customer analytics and inventory planning, providing her with the knowledge to thrive in a competitive market.
Ariana also has a notable history with J.Crew and Bloomingdale's, where she began her career in various purchasing and planning roles. This foundational experience equipped her with the essential skills in buyer behavior analysis, inventory management, and strategic planning that would serve her well in her subsequent positions. Ariana's trajectory illustrates a powerful blend of creativity and analytical proficiency, making her a driving force in the businesses she leads.
Education and Achievements
Ariana's academic accomplishments at Cornell University equipped her with a robust understanding of textiles and apparel management. The knowledge gained from such a reputable institution has been instrumental in her career development, providing insights essential for succeeding in the highly competitive retail sector. At Cornell, she gained exposure to innovative retail concepts and honed her skills in product lifecycle management, critical thinking, and operational strategies.
Throughout her career, Ariana has demonstrated a profound ability to adapt and lead in fast-paced environments. Her work at goop.com not only showcased her analytical expertise but also contributed greatly to the expansion of the brand during her tenure there. This scaling included enhancing their product offerings while driving increased customer engagement through data insights.
As the co-founder of Anya, Ariana continues to bridge her passion for fashion with strategic analytics, leading efforts to design apparel that resonates with modern consumers' sensibilities. Her leadership and vision for Anya suggest a commitment to sustainability and innovative designs, further validating her status as a respected leader in the fashion industry.
Achievements
Ariana's professional journey is punctuated by noteworthy achievements that reflect her strategic influence and leadership skills. Under her guidance at goop.com, the data planning and analytics team adopted cutting-edge methodologies, pushing for higher accuracy in demand forecasting and overall business performance. This resulted in impressive growth metrics and enhanced market positioning for the brand, showcasing her ability to deliver results.
At Anya, Ariana is at the forefront of steering the company toward redefining luxury fashion, utilizing her past experiences to inform customer-centric product strategies that successfully meet demand while maintaining sustainability. She is passionate about empowering others within the fashion sector to embrace data-driven decision making and foster innovative practices that elevate industry standards.
Ariana Saunders exemplifies the ideal blend of creativity and analytical skills, making her a key player in influencing the future of the fashion industry. As she continues her entrepreneurial endeavors, her extensive experience positions her as a leader worthy of recognition and respect. Her professional narrative not only emphasizes her individual success but also highlights the transformative power of strategic thinking in a constantly evolving marketplace.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.