Primary Job Title Founder & CEO Primary Organization Wanelo
Location San Francisco, California, United States Regions San Francisco Bay Area, West Coast, Western US Gender Female
Website www.siberianfruit.com Facebook View on Facebook LinkedIn View on LinkedIn Twitter View on Twitter
Deena Varshavskaya, is the Founder and CEO of Wanelo (“wah-nee-lo,” from Want, Need, Love), the first-ever digital mall on your phone, currently used by millions of people to discover, browse and buy products online.
Deena conceptualized Wanelo after feeling frustrated with the shopping options in traditional malls. Her personal style did not
fall within a simple category, and she knew there had to be a better way to find things that complemented her flair for the unique. Deena decided to create a single, social destination that would make it easy to discover amazing stores and the best products, and unite all of shopping in one place.
Before attracting Wanelo’s first users, Deena spent more than two years working on the social shopping platform using her own savings. In 2011, she moved to San Francisco and raised funding for Wanelo, though she initially received 40 investor rejections. Today, Deena oversees Wanelo’s team of 33 employees who make it possible for their users to peruse over 12 million products including clothing, accessories, home décor, beauty and more to create a universal shopping wish list.
Deena was named one of the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs for two years in a row by Goldman Sachs, appeared in Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business list and was highlighted as one of 15 “up-and-comers to keep an eye on” in Vanity Fair.
Deena lives in San Francisco and can be followed on Wanelo, Twitter and Instagram at @siberianfruit.