How a fashion startup uses Quip
The SS/FW is an online publication covering the current trends in fashion, arts and lifestyle. The SS/FW team spans three different cities across the globe: San Francisco, New York, and Paris, with plans to expand to Milan and London. The team behind The SS/FW answers questions about how Quip has helped their team collaborate across continents.
Tell me about The SSFW. What is your team like?
The SS/FW was just an idea created in early 2010 meant to originally be a print magazine, but after seeing the way readers preferred the digital format, we decided to go purely digital first. After sorting out the details and recruiting talented photographers and writers, we launched in February of 2013 and have experienced tremendous growth and popularity across the world.
Our team is a group of passionate individuals who truly love fashion, music, art and culture. We wanted to capture not only fashion but the lifestyle that surrounds it from every angle.
We have a small team in California, New York and in France. We meet once a year in either France or the United States, so staying connected is of primary focus for us. Before Quip we had exhausted all other ideas on how to do so.
How do you and your team use Quip?
Having everyone on the same page is super important when a company such as ours is spread out across the globe, and Quip has allowed us to stay in step with one another.
We use Quip for almost everything, from planning future interviews, editorials, and meetings, to discussing ideas, concerns, and questions. It houses our weekly to-do list, and we use it to provide how-to documents that help our writers and photographers. We have a folder containing staff contact information as well as information on public relation firms, fashion houses, photographers and really everyone and everything relevant to our business.
What are the most useful features of Quip?
Our favorite feature is the chat section, where we can discuss meeting notes, suggestions, ideas, or updates. We also love the fact that folders and documents are easy to set up, allowing us both the ability to contribute individually and group-edit in real time. It's like we're in the same office, despite being thousands of miles apart from one another.
What did your process look like before using Quip? What about now?
Before Quip we used e-mail primarily to stay on the same schedule. Now, e-mails have become secondary to Quip. We did try other programs, networks, apps but they were either not user-friendly or cost far too much just to edit documents as a group.
Did anything surprise you about using Quip?
We were excited about the launch day buzz surrounding Quip and tried it right away. The easy-to-use interface and minimal but attentive design really took the cake. Our favorite part, however, was the iPhone and iPad apps that allowed everyone to be alerted of updates, new documents, and items that really deserve our full attention.
