Founder Friday: Marc Hostovsky & Shobhit Khandelwal, Co-Founders of Minoan 🏨🛒
Issue #19
Founder Friday is a content series from SuperAngel.Fund highlighting companies in our portfolio and the inspiring founders behind them.
In our 19th edition, we are featuring Marc Hostovsky & Shobhit Khandelwal, Co-Founders of Minoan, which is pioneering a new category of eCommerce called “native retail” that powers real-world shoppable experiences for brands and properties.
Marc and Shobhit had a head-start when it came to recognizing eCommerce trends. The two worked together at Jet.com, before its acquisition by Walmart, and each had a unique perspective of the retail giants’ omnichannel approach. Marc as a Senior Director of a high-volume consumer product category and Shobhit leading retail data teams.
It wasn’t until late 2019, during an Airbnb stay, that Marc fell in love with all of his accommodation’s furnishings and had his epiphany— “Brands are spending billions of dollars on Facebook and Google ads just trying to get their products in front of consumers and here we are having an authentic experience with these products enough to feel inspired to buy them when we leave.”
What stood out most was the realization that the best product experiences don’t happen on screens or on shelves…they happen authentically and organically “in the wild”.
Minoan’s vision is to make it easy to create shoppable spaces in the physical world, just as Shopify did for the digital world, to connect people and products in a more meaningful way. The idea caught on and Minoan quickly signed up more than 80 property partners, including short term rentals, boutique inns, hotels and resorts, and co-working spaces, along with 200+ brand partners. Through Minoan’s tech, property owners can enable guests to both use and shop the products around them. For brands, they can intimately connect with consumers where they are, access a new customer-base, and benefit from deep insights and analytics.
Not long after launch, the company announced its $5M seed round led by Accel. Whatever Minoan happens to be selling, we’re buying.
Describe your company in 5 words or less.
Marc: Real world shoppable experiences.
Shobhit: Naturally connecting people with products.
What was your primary motivation for starting your business?
Marc: After working at Jet.com and then WMT, I realized the best product experiences don't happen on shelves or screens--they happen in the real world. And great brands needed a new channel to get out in front of people in the real world (not on FB or GOOG) to create real moments of hands-on use.
Shobhit: My co-founder Marc actually sent me a draft business plan about Minoan; giving folks an opportunity to purchase products they stumbled upon in hotels. I met Marc at Jet where I was leading retail data teams; I created algorithms and frameworks that helped connect buyers with products, The idea for Minoan really resonated with me, it struck me as a refreshing way for consumers to discover products. It also helped that my wife has actually looked up and bought products we’ve discovered through our travels. It really was one of those natural ideas that just made sense and so I jumped right in with Marc on execution.
What piece of advice would you give an entrepreneur starting a business today?
Marc: Learn to love struggle and embrace adversity. That's really what you're signing up for. Entrepreneurship is a crucible. The challenges make you stronger.
Shobhit: Keep it simple. Look for problems that real people are experiencing and validate them strongly before starting a business. Ideally, some of those initial discovery calls should convert to early customers or partners.
What do you love to do in your free time?
Marc: Any sort of outdoor activities with my partner.
Shobhit: We love to travel and explore new restaurants, so that’s what we do in our free time.
What is the most interesting place you’ve visited recently and why?
Marc: Kinsale in Ireland. I was actually stuck there due to Covid, but it's a beautiful town in County Cork right on the water.
Shobhit: Where I was born; Ramgarh, Rajasthan. It’s a beautiful desert town with ancient and very beautiful architecture. The whole state of Rajasthan is fascinating - the craftsmen and women are world class. It inspires my work at Minoan a lot. Le Corbusier famously designed an entire city in Rajasthan as well. It’s a must visit!
What is your favorite app or tool in your work life and in your personal life?
Marc: I'm an avid ClickUp user. Creating to-do lists, logging thoughts, assigning tasks, etc.
Shobhit: My espresso machine. Reminds you that good products take time and to never cut corners. Also it’s delicious.
What do you believe is the most important skill or attribute of a successful founder?
Marc: Persistence.
Shobhit: Honesty. You need to be honest with yourself and those you work with. Even if it means admitting you made a mistake, or letting someone know they made one. It really fosters good culture where rational thought is valued.
SuperAngel.Fund is an early stage fund that invests in Consumer, PropTech & Future of Work. You can learn more at SuperAngel.Fund.
