Meet the Selleb Sisters

Hi Chloe and Claire, please introduce yourself.

We are the sister founders of Selleb, a receipt-based FYP for product discovery. How we spend our money represents who we are and how we present ourselves to the world. Submit your receipts to Selleb and we will connect you to users with comparable taste profiles who might just introduce you to amazing product ideas you’ve never thought of. Come for similarity; stay for divergence.

What are some brands you've recently spotted?

Hero Bread: We are croissant-obsessed (we revealed our favorite croissants in NYC here) and recently discovered Hero croissants (frozen no less!) that are out of this world. Yummy croissants are usually off-the-charts flaky and buttery but not necessarily healthy or nutritious but Hero checks all the boxes with 2g net carbs and 20g of fiber. They don’t taste like your traditional croissant but run with it. Warning: Hero’s aftermath crumb mess will be insane. And yes, they came out of your freezer.

Liis: We love fragrances that whisper, not shout, and this brand has captured the attention of our noses. Floating and Bo are in our current rotation. Their lingering scents will leave people wondering/guessing after you’ve whisked past them.

Tell us about your Substack, What I Actually Bought? Similar to the ethos behind Thingtesting, I sense that you both care about creating a space for honest, trusted shopping advice. Does that resonate?

What I Actually Bought is meant to give our readers a taste of what our app will look/feel like when it launches this year. And yes! It IS a space for honest shopping advice because on our app, receipts are the backbone of all endorsements. You want to recommend a product? Show us that you have skin in the game because we’ve all grown so tired of sponsored ads and influencer promotions. But even beyond that, there’s something so visceral/primal about seeing someone else’s receipts. It feels very raw and intimate because receipts reveal a lot about your shopping style (are you a savvy shopper who knows when TRR drops new items or an internet hound for coupon codes?) and your shopping values (animal-cruelty free/secondhand/ sustainably-sourced/ local business supporting?) which all reflect who you are. You are what you consume.

Given the rise in influencer culture over the past few years it’s often hard to tell if the people in our feeds are living lives subsidized by affiliate links and gifts, or their own wallet. Do you feel it is important to display physical receipts or proof of purchase in your newsletter?

Totally. Requiring receipts puts everyone on a level playing field where there’s an inherent sense of trust because proof of purchase backs every recommendation. You don’t have to question whether someone is being paid to promote or got the item for free. We want to arm users with as much information as possible so they can make the best purchase decisions for themselves. There is so much value in putting your money where your mouth is. Action speaks louder than words. Did you actually buy it? If so, we are interested in what you have to say.

As a reader of your newsletter, I learned that you are passionate about both croissants, and peanut butter. I too have strong feelings about both categories and am curious what else you are eating that has made you happy recently. A recipe? A dish from a restaurant? A pantry staple?

We are obsessed with our dad’s chili. He makes it from scratch - we are talking simmering chuck beef cubes in herbs and spices on low flame all day. His secret for fire chili? Chilies. Soaking, drying, toasting, grinding, and blending a medley of whole dried chiles instead of using packaged powders and ground spices. Absolutely no shortcuts with our dad. We also weirdly love pairing his chili with warm focaccia (instead of cornbread or tortillas).

What else is in your current rotation? (i.e. a hangout spot, a hobby, anything!)

AMC theaters. They had us at 3 movies per week @ $25 per month. We love a good bargain. There’s something about watching “dazzling images on a huge silver screen” with popcorn, candy, and diet soda to get your mind off of your daily woes for several hours. So decadent but still a cheap(er) form of escapism/therapy/mood-enhancer out there.

Who are some spotters in your community that you look to for new things?

Everyone featured in our newsletter ;) Major inspo in food, fashion, tech, you name it. We also started a private Instagram account where we post the coolest finds from friends and friends of friends. The account has grown to ~150 users and yes, they have to show receipts! Great recs often come from people we’ve never met — 3 degrees of separation and living abroad. We often find ourselves googling foreign exchange rates.

Spotted in the Selleb Sisters' living room...