Till Price Do Us Part

To grow its business, Zola CEO Shan-Lyn Ma built new services—and gave them away for free.by KATE ROCKWOOD

- Kate Rockwood

Since its launch in 2013, Zola has had one way to make money: wedding registries. The company makes registries easier and more efficient— for example, offering the ability to curate them from dozens of brands, to delay shipping gifts until after the nuptials, and to allow guests to pool funds into group gifts or honeymoon experiences. This has attracted hundreds of thousands of lovebirds to the site. Zola takes a 40 percent cut, on average, of gifts purchased directly from its marketplace and a smaller slice of items purchased through affiliates.