After recently spending time with the creative forces behind Gilt Groupe, I realized that if I were to personify the groundbreaking flash sale site, it would the kind of girl you’d want to hate—but just can’t. The site and the women behind it are smart, beautiful, thoughtful, talented and humble, despite Harvard MBAs and years of fashion experience.

This assignment started out as a straight-up story about the release of By Invitation Only, a book written by Gilt Groupe co-founders Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson.

But, somewhere between chatting with Wilson in the lobby of Hotel ZaZa discussing Tex-Mex, and later connecting with Gilt’s editorial director Melissa Liebling-Goldberg at Triniti, it became apparent that Gilt’s story is really about relationships. The relationship between two women honest enough to join their strengths and weaknesses like puzzle pieces and the understanding of the sometimes complicated, emotional and exhilarating relationship women have with shopping.

I met Wilson before an intimate book signing and Q&A hosted by the always stylish Houston Tidbits, and was ready with questions about the business of fashion e-commerce. Instead, I quickly learned that Wilson was connected to Houston through marriage, she couldn’t wait to check out Tootsies’ new location and she always hits the outlet malls and The Galleria when in town. She also never passes up Hugo’s, Ouisie’s Table, Brennan’s and Chez Nous when visiting her in-laws.

Dressed in a red jersey dress by Texan Abi Ferrin and black buckle heels by Roger Vivier (purchased at a sample sale), Wilson was blunt about the presence of women in entrepreneurial roles. It was one reason why she and Maybank wrote their book. With so many women receiving prestigious graduate degrees, Maybank and Wilson wrote a book they would have appreciated reading when Gilt was in the incubation stages.

“It’s really exciting to see this wave of entrepreneurial women coming out of Harvard business school, but it’s not easy. There are ups and downs, it’s challenging, exhausting, crazy and intense,” Wilson said.

She stresses the book is not a how-to guide just for women and there are lessons all business owners can learn from, but there is special care when entering business with a friend or family member.

“Our relationship is a conscious combination of complimentary skill sets,” she said.

When friends become business partners

In the chapter "Friends to Partners," the authors pose straightforward questions about risk and what to consider when friends become business partners. The women asked themselves things like, “Have you seen your partner handle difficult situations?” and “How do you fight?” and suggest being real is the best way to build a business relationship.

Come to think of it, relationships in general could benefit from these questions.

It’s easy to see why the women value relationships. It didn’t take long for us to slip into comfortable chatter and at some point during the interview Wilson expressed a desire to stay connected. It is part of her personality and it speaks to the success of Gilt, which has raised millions of dollars and there are rumbling of the company going public at some point sooner rather than later.

Understanding their customer was easy because they were their target demographic. They understand the euphoria at scoring something beautiful and exclusive for much less than what it retails for. Sample sales are common for New Yorkers, but for the rest of us, it’s the stuff movies are made of, and that’s why Gilt simply had to happen.

It made sense to designers, too, who were willing to be sold on the site. It started with Zac Posen, but since that first sale in 2007, Christian Louboutin, Diane von Furstenberg and Marc Jacobs have been sold on Gilt, and categories like home, children’s items, wine, food and travel have been added to the 36-to-48 hour sales.

A Gilt-ful lunch

Relationships were also at the heart of a lunch hosted at Triniti by Gilt’s editorial director Liebling-Goldberg and public relations manager Jill Meisner. Liebling-Goldberg is a native Houstonian who has earned her stripes in the fashion industry working for the New York Post, Teen Vogue and most recently, as style director for PeopleStyleWatch.com and People.com.

The luncheon was cozy, just 20 or so of us, but filled with familiar faces on the local style scene. Paper City fashion editor Kate Stukenberg, Roz Pactor of My Red Glasses, Houston Brides editor and national beauty writer Holly Crawford and Tidbits CEO Allison Bagley were among group at the gathering. Bloggers like Houstonista by Mishelle Echeverria and Katy Atlas of Sugar Laws were also in the mix and the whole feel was friendly and relaxed.

Houston is, not surprisingly, one of Gilt’s top markets and the company wanted to connect with fashion writers and editors to see what makes local style seekers tick.

“This is an excuse for a nice lunch,” Liebling-Goldberg said smiling, but the afternoon was really about connecting.

How can the site better serve media? What sales might best appeal to Houston shoppers? How can the experience be better?

“Gilt was founded on the idea of access and we want to keep providing new means of access to shoppers,” Liebling-Goldberg said. “We are always working on the next level of access.”

Just that day, Gilt teamed up with DVF in a sitewide sale, offering amazing deals on shoes, accessories and clothing by the iconic designer. It launched shoe designer Brian Atwood’s first ever handbag collection in late March with other exclusives on the way.

I had the good fortune to sit next to her (although, both she and Meisner made a point to move around the table and room) and she gave me some insider scoop on working the site.

“Put everything on your wait list. People will over shop or change their minds, so things come back,” Liebling-Goldberg said. “It’s a miraculous tool that I didn’t realize how important it was until I started using it.”

I currently have two DVF dresses on my wait list, fingers crossed. That's the kind of information that bonds girls for life.