Local ‘numbers’ woman leaves corporate life to pursue a dream
By Alex Owens
A love of shoes and statistics led to Ana Bermudez becoming a burgeoning Internet mogul.
Bermudez, 29, a native of Logan Heights who now lives in San Carlos, is the creator of TAGit, a new app that allows iPhone users to tag cute clothes they see being worn by their favorite TV personalities and buy them.
She calls it a “social wishlist” and “a social-registry for discovering, ‘favoriting,’ buying or gifting products from your favorite TV shows.”
In just a few months, the app has grown in leaps and bounds.
Bermudez is confident enough in the product’s future viability that she stepped down as CFO from AWM Global Advisors, a wealth management company in Cortez Hill that she co-founded, in order to pursue her dream.
It was a dream that started with a pair of shoes.
“I was working 14- to 16-hour days and would fall asleep watching TV shows I prerecorded,” Bermudez said. “I saw a character selling a pair of shoes. I can’t tell you the show, but I loved the shoes.”
Getting ahold of the shoes in real life was a challenge, but Bermudez noticed many blogs where women were asking the same questions about similar products.
“I thought to myself, ‘How can I make easy to buy what I see on TV?’” she said.
So far, the app allows users to tag the clothes seen in shows like “Pretty Little Liars,” “Big Bang Theory,” “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” “Scandal,” “Modern Family” and “True Blood” — shows that are popular with women ages 13-35 — the demo she believes is most likely to use the app.
Although people can also purchase items through the site, Bermudez doesn’t see TAGit as an ecommerce site.
“I’m more interested in big data, and selling that to designers, retailers, and ultimately, the networks,” she said.
Bermudez said the information from a TV ratings service like the A.C. Nielsen Company works by aggregating a small amount of data and extrapolating findings based on that data.
TAGit’s approach is different: Not only can Bermudez tell what viewers are watching based on the items they tag, but the social network aspect allows users to promote a product they like to other people — even those who may not watch a show like “Keeping Up With The Kardashians.”
Right now, Bermudez and staff match up items on the shows with similar items they find through research, but greater technology is planned.
“We will have image recognition — where people can hold their phone up to the TV and tag the outfit then and there — in the future,” she said.
Bermudez also hopes to partner with production crews and networks to make sure items are easily available; especially if she can show a new revenue stream through the data she is collecting.
At a time when audiences for network shows are getting smaller, Bermudez believes networks and studios can make up the loss of income by marketing and selling the clothes worn by the characters.
“I thought there might be privacy concerns, but the people who are using the app aren’t as concerned about privacy,” she said. “If they get something like a T-shirt worn by Sheldon on ‘Big Bang Theory,’ they want to show it off.
That markets the show as well as the product.
“And you don’t have to watch the show to buy the product if you see it tagged by a friend.”
The app uses Facebook accounts for sign in and has coined the term “TAGging” as the method by which users identify their favorite items. The application is currently only available from the Apple App Store and compatible with the following products: iPhones, iPods and iPads.
To learn more about TAGit, visit Bermudez’ blog at gettagit.tumblr.com or getTAGit.com.
—Alex Owens is a San Diego-based freelance writer. He can be reached at [email protected].
