Online shopping sucks when refunds drag on to no end.
That’s why Jodie Lichtenstein, fed up with waiting weeks for wedding dress refunds, took action. In 2023, she launched Fastback Refunds to speed things up for consumers.
As CEO, Jodie’s role at Fastback Refunds encompasses a broad spectrum of responsibilities, including strategizing business deals, forging external partnerships, and managing investor relations.
In our interview with Jodie, she stressed putting power back in consumers’ hands. Download Fastback, tap a few times, and your refund’s in motion.
Here’s why she believes Fastback is the future for both online and physical business:
Q: What inspired you to tackle online merchandise refunds?
A: Fastback is the future of refunds. We’re a payments technology company in the consumer finance space. Fastback Refunds is a full shopping experience app that enables consumers to have access to their refunds, instantly. Simply, this means that consumers don’t have to wait for their refunds anywhere from 5-30+ business days from when they initiate their return.
My story is that I had around 25 weddings over the past few years. Some of those weddings had specific dress codes and multiple events. You can use your imagination to know how many outfits that equates to.
We are the generation of instant everything! You can stream a movie instantly, send money to a friend instantly, communicate with people instantly and even get your paycheck instantly without waiting for payday… So why not have certainty and control over your refunds? And why isn’t it instant?
Our free offering and the main reason people continue to use our app is the ability to track their returns in one place.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you faced while developing instant refund technology, and how did your team overcome them?
A: The biggest challenge that our team faced was where to begin because it’s such an inefficient market. There are so many needs. We understood that this would take a lot of brain power and creativity and that the technology doesn’t exist.
Fortunately, we have such a great team. We were able to create this new technology quickly, and in a way that is seamless and easy for the user. Our team has made it our mission to be able to reach the consumer and to get them their refunds instantly so that there is no waiting or uncertainty.
Q: Can you provide an example of a success story from a customer who benefited greatly from using Fastback Refunds, and how it impacted their shopping experience?
A: One of our users is a single mom who works full-time. She needed clothing for an event and bought a few different sizes, which ended up being very expensive for no reason since ultimately, she would be returning a portion of that charge.
She was able to get her refund instantly as soon as she shipped the item in order to buy other items she needed for her son.
Q: How do you envision the future of online merchandise returns, and what role do you see Fastback Refunds playing in that future?
A: Fastback refunds is a one-stop shop full shopping experience. We will be users’ favorite app for the following reasons:
- Tracking returns/refunds in one centralized platform
- Creating an instant refund so you don’t have to wait 5-30 business days for your refund
- Earning rewards and cash for purchasing on our app
At Fastback, we know that our users will download our app to keep track of all of their refunds in one place since that is our free offering. They will also be able to initiate instant refunds and get their money as soon as they ship their items back.
They can also use our app to shop and receive rewards and earn extra money.
Q: How do you maintain a strong company culture while scaling rapidly, and what advice would you give to other startups in a similar growth phase?
A: Our team is like a family. We have specific goals that we move around in order to accommodate different priorities.
We are able to grow quickly because we have similar mindsets and the ability to hear each other when needed. We all have different strengths and weaknesses and are able to play into those accordingly. Everybody also has different specialties, which helps to bridge gaps.
