Kentucky woman started with $300 on eBay and built Pink Lily into a $141 million business

In 2011, Tori and Chris Gerbig were not setting out to build a large fashion retailer. They were a young Kentucky couple with an interest in affordable women’s clothing and about $300 to put into a small online venture. Writing for CNBC in 2022, Tori revealed that she was still working in insurance, at that time while the clothing business ran alongside their jobs and family life. What began with listings on eBay gradually developed into Pink Lily, an online fashion company based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Ten years after that first investment, the business reported $141 million in gross sales for the year, illustrating how a modest online shop had grown into a sizeable retail operation.How a $300 eBay clothing side hustle became Pink LilyThe Gerbigs launched their eBay shop in 2011 after noticing that finding fashionable women's clothes at relatively low prices was not always straightforward. They put roughly $300 into their first batch of clothing and accessories, buying stock through a wholesale website.At that stage, the operation was deliberately small. Tori continued working her insurance job while she and Chris handled orders from their living room. There was little in the ...