Publications
Publications
- February 2024 (Revised July 2024)
- HBS Case Collection
Taffi: Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia
By: Paul A. Gompers and Fares Khrais
Abstract
Taffi was a tech-enabled fashion styling startup founded by Shahad Geoffrey in Saudi Arabia in 2020. Within three years of operating, Geoffrey had pivoted the business multiple times. In 2023, Geoffrey was attempting the business’s most ambitious pivot yet, shifting away from a consumer facing online fashion stylist marketplace to a B2B model offering an AI-powered fashion styling advisor. The timing seemed right as the AI market in the region was booming, backed by the Saudi government. There was also virtually no competition. Moreover, large businesses had expressed an interest in signing up. The trouble was the AI was not ready yet, it could not generate styling advice on its own and still partially relied on input from the freelance stylists that Taffi attracted through the marketplace. Was this the right time for Taffi to pivot? The case chronicles the founding of Taffi, the pivots it made and why, and describes the challenges Geoffrey faced during her journey of entrepreneurship and how she addressed them. The case serves to provide a founder’s account of setting up and operating a startup in Saudi Arabia. The case also explores how Saudi Arabia stimulated the development of a startup ecosystem through a multi-pronged approach, and provides a background venture funding in the region.
Keywords
Business Startups; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Fashion Industry; Technology Industry; Saudi Arabia; Arabian Peninsula
Citation
Gompers, Paul A., and Fares Khrais. "Taffi: Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia." Harvard Business School Case 224-052, February 2024. (Revised July 2024.)