Spootnik: a new site that mixes social media and shopping

By

Sophie Chaudey

Published
Jan 29, 2013

Co-founder of MyFab.com (a group-buying site for design products), Stéphane Setbon has launched Spootnik, a social media site allowing an international community to share favorite products from various sectors, including fashion, good, culture and home décor.

“Our aim with Spootnik is to establish a global ranking of the best products from various categories,” explains Stéphane Setbon. “We realized pretty rapidly that the best way to achieve this was via a social networking site, where every member could contribute and make their favourite brands known.” Once a photo is posted on the site, Spootnik seeks out the details of the brand so that other users are able to get their hands on the product. To make this happen, Stéphane Setbon profited from his experience at MyFab, which functions in a similar way.


Aimed at a community of “passionate amateurs looking to cross boundaries”, Spootnik is looking for quality over quantity. In order to preserve the selectiveness of the site, users have access to Spootnik upon invitation only. The site currently has 5000 users, from over 50 countries, with France, USA, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Brazil providing the bulk.

Each week the site offers special promotions based on focused cities around the world. There are no shipping fees or taxes, making the experience close to that of shopping the highstreet, explains Setbon. Several French names, such as Ariel Wizmanand Mademoiselle Agnès, have already been seduced by the site’s concept.

In 2011, Stéphane Setbon ceaded his position as CEO of MyFab to Gilles Villautreix and took over as chairman of the board. The reorganization allowed Setbon to focus his efforts on other projects, such as the creation of Spootnik.