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James chipped in: “We wanted to start a business together because between the two of us, we just about make a whole person-from a talents perspective-so it’s very knitted together.” Items from Paperless Post’s new collection with Rifle Paper (Photo: Courtesy Paperless Post).įor true stationery lovers, there is no end to how much one is willing to spend on headed notepaper, leather planners or embossed invitations.

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My job is to figure out how to let them buy it, customize it and actually work.” “James is good at knowing what the user is going to buy, and the creative world he’s buying them into. “I’m more user-experience and technology-minded,” Alexa says. James, with floppy dark hair and preppy leanings, handles the design and business side, while a fair-haired Alexa, who has spilled her work wardrobe tips to Elle and Cosmo, oversees the product and tech teams. At 29 and 31, the joint CEOs have this connect-the-dots formula for a flourishing startup, and their opposing expertise and appearances seem to be what makes the company roll. In all likelihood, you’ve either sent a Paperless Post invite yourself, or at the very least received one.įor all this success, James and Alexa, who grew up on both the Upper West and East Sides, are still enviously-scratch that, hatefully-young. Kirsten Dunst used it for her 30th birthday party, the Obama administration for events during the 2012 re-election campaign and-rumor has it-Will and Kate for Prince George’s christening. The website, which is known for its impeccably sleek design, has sent some 100 million online cards to date.

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The office, which features your typical startup staples-communal work areas, free snacks and a workforce that mostly appears to be under 30-is composed of 130 employees. Kirsten Dunst used it for her 30th birthday party, the Obama administration for events during the 2012 re-election campaign and-rumor has it-Will and Kate for Prince George’s christening.Įight years since their launch, James and Alexa are now running a company that has raised a total of $48 million, following an initial investment of $880,000. By the time his next birthday swung around, James was able to extend an invitation to his friends, via his own Paperless Post creation. They wanted to, in their own words, bring back the beauty of receiving and sending mail by combining it with the modern-day efficiency of the web. Two years his senior and a fellow Harvard alum, Alexa soon left her job as an editorial assistant with Katie Couric, and the pair set out to create their own digital stationery platform, working out of a dorm room and a tiny office. With this in mind, James turned to his sister with a proposal to start a company of their own. If people are using online communication for everything-from business to casual chatting-they should be able to use digital communication for important moments in their lives.”

“But when it finally came time to send the invitations, there was no way of using online communication that reflected how much I cared. “I rented 80 palm trees and made this cool sort of oasis in Boston-it was a lot of effort,” James told the Observer at Paperless Post’s downtown offices. Such has been the case for the Hirschfelds, whose story began back in 2007 when James-then a junior at Harvard-was planning an ostentatious bash for his 21st birthday. Such stories are proof that if you are lucky enough to get along with your brother or sister, perhaps teaming up together could be the key to success. The Winklevoss twins, although better known for suing Mark Zuckerberg than for their business acumen, nevertheless claim to be the true founders of Facebook. Meanwhile, Scottish designer Christopher Kane owes much of his fashion empire’s success to his older sister and business partner Tammy. Rodarte’s Laura and Kate Mulleavy, for example, cobbled together their first collection with savings earned from waitressing as 20-somethings. James and Alexa Hirschfeld, founders of the hugely successful digital invitation startup Paperless Post, are hardly the first siblings to venture into business together.

James and Alexa Hirschfeld, the founders of Paperless Post (Photo: Melody Melamed for Observer).