Gab Waller, founder of SourcedBy, Photo Credit: Courtesy of SourcedBy
Over two years ago, I wrote a Forbes story titled, “The Future Of Fashion Is Sourcing: Ask Gab Waller, Who Went From Personal Shopper To Global Empire.”
The future is now, as Gab Waller’s all-in-one platform, Sourced By, is poised to revolutionize fashion by streamlining the entire sourcing process.
With AI as a catalyst, Sourced By is set to propel the industry into new territory—all while preserving its distinctly personal touch. One-to-one interaction and relationship building remain central to Waller’s business model and success.
Since launching her business in 2018, Gab Waller has established herself as a trailblazer, sourcing highly sought-after, sold-out items like The Row’s Margaux bag, Dries Van Noten sneakers, and Alaïa mesh Mary Jane flats at the peak of their popularity for an ever-expanding clientele.
However, being a pioneer in any industry comes with both challenges and opportunities.
As the original fashion sourcer, Waller had no proof of concept to validate her career path—or to demonstrate that it could even be profitable. The role simply didn’t exist before her.
“In the early days of Gab Waller, I had pivoted from a government job in Australia and was exploring the fashion industry as a stylist and personal shopper,” Waller recalls. “I kept wondering, where do I fit in? What am I truly passionate about? Styling felt like the most natural fit, but deep down, I always wanted to do something different.”
Initially, she started sourcing items as a side hustle, uncertain if it could generate stable income. “When I launched Gab Waller, I worked full-time for only three more months before realizing, I’ve got something here. I can support myself, I believe in this, and I can do it full-time.”
Everything changed for Waller when she landed high-profile clients like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, paving the way for a star-studded roster that now includes Hailey Bieber and Sofia Richie Grainge. The rest, as they say, is fashion history.
Six years later, Waller has built a global team of 10 and cultivated a strong Instagram presence, boasting 141,000 followers for her business and 84,000 for her personal account. The momentum continued—her sourcing business saw profits soar by over 305% between 2022 and 2024.
While Waller and her team work wonders sourcing elusive, hard-to-find items—and even securing access to products before they hit the floor or go online—the process behind the magic is anything but glamorous. In fact, it’s labor-intensive and highly manual.
The team currently juggles up to six different platforms, including Instagram DMs, Asana, Excel, WhatsApp, Xero, and Monday.com, to manage everything from client requests and securing the products, all the way to invoicing. This cross-platform system has caused inefficiencies, with some requests inevitably slipping through the cracks.
Over a year ago, she had a spark moment that led to Sourced By: what if she could create an all-in-one platform that centralized every aspect of the sourcing journey? The magic cherry on top: an AI capability that helps recognize items that are uploaded to the system.
To bring her vision to life, Waller has tapped Scott Davis as Chief Technology Officer. A founding engineer at StockX, Davis has an impressive track record in developing marketplace platforms and harnessing AI to drive innovation. He has also made significant contributions to global giants like Google and Snapchat, as well as startups such as Sandbox VR.
During his tenure as Vice-President of Engineering at StockX, Davis was instrumental in elevating the platform into a premier marketplace for luxury goods.
Davis draws a compelling parallel between StockX and Sourced By, highlighting the synergy in his collaboration with Waller:
“Both StockX and Sourced By tap into the universal thrill of the hunt—the emotional connection that comes with finding something rare and uniquely yours,” Davis shares. “Sourced By is redefining how we connect with the luxury items we’ve long dreamed of but couldn’t find—whether it’s that elusive handbag or the perfect pair of sneakers. By streamlining the sourcing process with technology and expertise, we’re meeting clients where they are and delivering a truly personalized experience at scale.”
While Sourced By uses AI—developed in partnership with Headstart—to streamline backend operations like logging requests, managing orders, and invoicing—the platform is firmly committed to preserving the human connection at the heart of the sourcing experience. “The AI will never touch the client,” Waller emphasizes. “Sourcing is about personalization and one-on-one relationships. Our technology is here to enhance those connections, not replace them.”
Sourced By MVP demo of the AI image and text recognition, Photo Credit: Sourced By
The joy of finding a sold-out handbag or the perfect pair of sneakers is a deeply personal experience, after all.
“By combining cutting-edge technology with human expertise, we’re bridging the gap between desire and discovery, making the impossible-to-find not just possible, but effortless,” Davis adds.
The Sourced By team is ready to “find more” (the platform’s tagline). Currently, Waller estimates she fulfills about 30% of the requests she receives. With Sourced By, she’s confident that number can reach 100%.
Yes, “find more” signifies discovery, but its meaning goes deeper. The platform is designed to help Waller’s team—and other fashion sourcers—unlock new opportunities, while fostering stronger connections through relationship building.
“The whole experience of personal shopping and fashion sourcing is that personalization factor. Connection is often lost now because I’m spending so much time trying to manually log requests and ‘in the weeds’. In some way, I’ve lost sight of what matters: connection to the client,” Waller shares.
Waller’s first-hand experience convinced her first investor, Emir Talu of Pentas Ventures, to get on board.
People often ask why Waller hasn’t reserved the platform exclusively for her namesake sourcing company, Gab Waller.
Waller isn’t just building a platform for her own business—she’s creating tools to empower the entire fashion sourcing industry. This stems from her belief that her success can pave the way for others:
“If I rise, I want us all to rise together. I feel a responsibility to support the industry I started and provide tools to help others grow and scale their businesses,” Waller explains.
No gatekeeping here.
Waller envisions SourcedBy’s technology being white-labeled for other industries, extending its impact beyond fashion.
The industry opportunity for fashion alone is tremendous: The personal luxury goods market is set to grow from €540 billion to €580 billion by 2030, according to Bain. Fashion sourcing makes up an estimated 5 per cent of the industry, as per Pentas Ventures’s estimation.
The potential and need for AI is also impossible to ignore: according to MMGNET and The Interline’s “Fashion & Technology in 2025 Report,” the top opportunity in fashion professionals’ sights for 2025 is exploring new horizons opened up by artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR).
Waller’s impact was recently acknowledged when she earned a spot on Glossy’s “50 2024: The People Who Shaped Fashion and Beauty This Year” list in the “Leaders” category. With the highly anticipated launch of Sourced By in Q1 2025, Waller is solidifying her status not just as a fashion innovator but as a tech trailblazer. This reputation will be further reinforced in January when she takes the stage as a panelist at CES, the ultimate platform for tech thought leadership.
Sourced By is more than just a platform—it’s a movement.
Waller revolutionized luxury fashion by making “sold out” pieces accessible to all. Now, with Sourced By, she’s breaking new ground by making sourcing a viable and accessible career path. Her dedication to accessibility, innovation, and human connection is setting a bold new standard for the industry.
“My dream is that one day, young people will say, ‘I want to be a fashion sourcer,’ just like they aspire to be stylists or designers,” Waller shares. “This industry holds so much potential, and I’m passionate about unlocking it. This is so much bigger than me.”
