Sole female co-founder quits women-themed shopping site Orami

Shannon Kalayanamitr is the co-founder of Moxy and served as Orami Group’s CMO after its merger with Bilna. Photo credit: Shannon Kalayanamitr.

Shannon Kalayanamitr has quit as chief marketing officer and co-founder of Orami, an ecommerce site specifically catering to Southeast Asian women.

“Today marks the end of my journey with Moxy/Orami,” she wrote in a Facebook post yesterday. “This journey has been irreplaceable … and I will most definitely do it all over again in a heartbeat.”

She leaves Orami on good terms, Kalayanamitr told Tech in Asia. Her plan is to pursue new challenges in working with women and minority groups in Southeast Asia.

It’s not uncommon for startup founders to move on from their companies after some years, especially once it’s been acquired by another entity.

But for Orami, a woman-focused site which prided itself for being built on “woman DNA,” Kalayanamitr’s departure means it loses its only female co-founder.

Female DNA

Orami is the result of a sequence of startup acquisitions and mergers.

It all began with Moxy, the company Kalayanamitr co-founded with two male partners in Thailand in 2013. Prior to that, Kalayanamitr worked at global consulting firm PwC, Lehman Brothers, and Lazada.

When Moxy was acquired by another Thai startup, WhatsNew, it took on Moxy’s brand.

“Female content, community, and commerce is the future,” WhatsNew CEO Bounthay Khammanyvong told Tech in Asia at that time. “With the Moxy acquisition, we are adding a strong woman leader with a female-centric brand … [we acquired it] because of it’s woman DNA.”

Coincidentally, WhatsNew originally also had one female co-founder, Sarah Huang, but she quit the startup in 2014, with Khammanyvong taking over.

Moxy later merged with Bilna in Indonesia, relaunching as Orami.

Bilna was an ecommerce store for mom and baby supplies, which complemented Moxy’s range of products in fashion, accessories, and lifestyle.

The companies were drawn together by the customers they addressed: Southeast Asian women. They represent a large market opportunity.

Lacking women at the top level