Vivian Weng

Think you've got a buyer's eye? FashionStake, a new e-commerce/micro-finance site launching today, wants to give you the opportunity to make runway looks a reality. It's a complicated premise, but its founders, two recent Harvard Business School graduates, believe it'll work. Co-founders Vivian Weng and Daniel Gulati want to create a place both emerging and established designers can raise funds to produce new collections, and also a place to sell those collections. Users can either put in an initial investment, put in a pre-order for the soon-to-be designed collection, or wait until the collection is available to buy something. The goal is to spread the word about designers who mightn't have otherwise been able to spread it. And this New York Fashion Week, designers like Nicholas K will send pieces specifically designed for FashionStake down the runway. Consumers will be able to visit the site after the show and pre-order those pieces. Still a bit confused? I recently chatted with Weng about FashionStake's launch, its involvement in New York Fashion Week, and how it plans to make money. Hopefully she'll be able to clear things up: