Metail

In many ways Metail is still a startup company, moving quickly to develop products which delight our end user's, whilst also satisfying the needs of the fashion retailers we work with. Importantly, we are a well funded startup.

At its core, Metail is a fashion, technology company that allow online shoppers the chance to try on clothes digitally on their own 3D body model (we call these MeModels). By inputting three basic measurements, users can generate their MeModel which is between 92-96% accurate of their own body. Shoppers can personalise their MeModel too, with a variety of skin tones and hair styles. It's then about trying on new styles and experimenting with new looks. Basically, it's all about having fun and increasing confidence whilst shopping online. It works too with partners seeing an increase in engagement, conversion and sales of up to 22%!

How did it all come about? Well our CEO Tom set out to help his girlfriend (now wife) who loved shopping but hated shopping online - how could you ever know if something was going to fit or look right without trying it on?! After Tom teamed up with our co-founder and ‘R&D Guru’ Duncan Robertson, the two started to look at the problem using breakthroughs in advanced computer vision technology from Cambridge University. And so Metail was born, back in 2008.

Since then, our team has grown to around 60 (depending on how many interns we have visiting). We are an agile shop, with an engineering team based in Cambridge and a business team based in London.

As is typical with startups we've moved offices a couple of times as we've grown. The good news is that we've graduated from the dark garret of an office we had in our early days and now our office is bright, modern and located in the centre of Cambridge. An extra benefit is that we now have a communal meeting room that is large enough to support events for the Cambridge tech community. We currently host the Cambridge Non-Dysfunctional Programmers group, the DevOps Meetup and Data Insights Cambridge.

We have a close-knit, friendly team who support each other with pair programming, mentoring and code review. We also have a cocktail club to unwind on Friday evenings.

Company culture

Our Cambridge office has a great central location. We’re in the heart of tech community and regularly host multiple events in our office. A sociable bunch, we frequently enjoy an ale together at the Elm Tree or The Free Press and the office also plays host to the annual Metail Summer Party where punting is a particular highlight and bbqing has become somewhat a tradition.

London HQ is found in East Aldgate. We are within walking distance of Spitalfields Market, Shoreditch High Street and the vast array of food stalls and bars. Just like our Cambridge counterparts, we frequently enjoy a cocktail together at the office or a local bar. Each year our office also plays host to the Christmas Party where Metail’s Christmas Bake Off has become something of a tradition.

We may have 2 different offices, but we are definitely 1 team.

London
Home to Marketing, Products, Design, Photography, Business Development, Operations (daily meditations and Friday cocktails)

Cambridge
Home to R&D, Web Development, Data, Visualisation, Systems and Line of Business Tools
(weekly yoga, tech events and Friday cocktails)