Mariam Naficy, Founder, Co-CEO, and Chairman of Minted— “Great design lives and thrives in the hands of independent artists.”

What is design? Most people think design is about making things look pretty—a decoration. Art. But design is as much an art as a science—a cold and calculated process. Sometimes the detriment of pretty. Yet the design is not allowed to fail. Design is for everyone and no one in particular. Website and mobile app design, as well as design in general, is a complex yet subtle process. It’s more than making things pretty.

Good design is so much more than creating a good-looking product. It is about creating a positive experience for users at every touch point and with every interaction. Design influences what we think, the way we feel, and the decisions we make. And when it is exceptionally well-done, good design is virtually invisible. We don’t think about the creative effort or thought process that leads up to the final product. We know the experience is seamless and enjoyable. However, when we encounter poorly designed, we can usually pinpoint its failings, and we’ll go out of our way to avoid using that product, service, or environment in the future.

Minted— Enabling independent designers and artists to reach a global audience

Minted is a design marketplace and lifestyle brand connecting customers with the world’s best artists to create something one of a kind. Minted crowdsources artwork and graphic design from a global community of independent artists and sells these as products addressing the $10 billion global stationery market, $48 global billion art market, and $100 billion global home decor market.

As a design marketplace, Minted sources creative content from a global community of independent artists, then sells the best content as art, stationery, and home décor directly to consumers. As an early crowdsourcing pioneer, Minted has held art and design challenges monthly since April 2008. These challenges are open for submission and voting, customers curate Minted’s product selection by rating products, and Minted utilizes analytics to evaluate votes.

Minted’s core competencies are mobilizing and activating creative people and empowering them to monetize their art by identifying the products and industries where their art is most interesting to consumers. Minted produces and sells winning designs, paying the designer a commission on every sale. Additionally, winning artists and designers have stores on Minted. They can launch any of their creations into their stores, utilizing Minted’s fulfillment, manufacturing, and customer service capabilities to run their businesses.

Minted’s mission is to allow the design independence of consumers and artists worldwide, and the firm is a platform for emerging artists to be seen and discovered. The firm aims to build a lasting brand representing the world’s most commercially successful design community.

Minted’s story and its history

In 2007, Minted was founded by Mariam Naficy. The daughter of a development economist, Marian grew up in 5 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Having seen exciting art and design throughout her travels and the art created by her family members, she was fascinated in 2007 by the idea of hidden creative talent globally whose work was inaccessible to consumers and that the Internet could help surface. Could crowdsourcing design build an e-commerce company that stays in tune with its consumer audience forever? This was Mariam’s founding question.

Minted held its first “design challenge” in 2008, a save-the-date card design competition that attracted 66 entries. Initially, the firm balanced its crowdsourcing approach by also carrying stationery brands. This idea almost failed and was slammed by the media. Subsequently, Mariam raised $11 million in cash to last through seven years of operation, brought the firm to cash-flow break-even with a lean team by 2012, then raised Minted’s first considerable funding round in 2013.

Tens of thousands of art and design entries later, the firm has expanded into the home décor and the art business, and its products have reached nearly 40 million homes. Minted is backed by Benchmark Capital, Menlo Ventures, Technology Crossover Ventures, IDG Ventures, and Norwest Venture Partners. Minted has raised 190 million in capital. Mariam was named one of the 25 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company in 2013. LinkedIn named Minted one of 2014’s 10 Most In-Demand Start-Ups among job seekers.

The principles enabling Minted to reach its goal

Be transparent

Minted shares information broadly and bring people at all levels into our decision-making. The firm values its colleagues’ opinions and believes in learning from its history to drive growth.

Put design first

Minted bases its decisions on providing the best designs in the world to consumers and breaking the mold of what is considered technically or operationally possible to liberate designers’ creativity. The firm treats designers well, keeps its promises, and builds its company with them at the table.

Be an enabler, not a decider

Minted enables others to decide what great design is rather than what it is for them. Minted unleashes full human potential by listening carefully to our community and letting them make decisions.

Think long term

There is a limitless possibility as to which consumer verticals can be disrupted by the Minted marketplace of artists and designers. The firm is building one of the most impactful e-commerce companies in the world. It has the patience to make decisions that serve employees, its designers, and its consumers best in the long run.

Building a business to enable artists and designers to reach a global audience

Mariam Naficy is a Founder, Co-CEO, and Chairman of Minted. She had pioneered consumer Internet models since 1998, when she co-founded the first online cosmetics retailer, Eve.com, which was sold for over $100 million. Mariam sits on the Board of Every Mother Counts, Medium, and Minted, is a Trustee of Williams College and a Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council member.

Mellisa Kim is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Minted. Melissa previously worked in eBay’s Corporate Strategy group and The Boston Consulting Group. She received her BBA from the University of Michigan and her MBA from Stanford, where she graduated as an Arjay Miller Scholar.