MENA’s First “Try-Before-You-Buy” Software

In this edition of Founder's Hustle, we spoke with Hanan Shahin, co-founder and CEO of Bloomcart — MENA’s first "try-before-you-buy" software for e-commerce brands. What started as a fashion resale store during lockdown turned into a full-scale tech venture tackling one of online shopping’s biggest pain points: trials and returns. From launching an event planning company to pivoting into e-commerce, and ultimately building a SaaS product, Hanan walked us through her entrepreneurial journey and the lessons she’s learned along the way.

From Sketches to Startups: Hanan's Creative Journey into Entrepreneurship

Long before she launched Bloomcart, the MENA region's first "try-before-you-buy" software, Hanan was chasing something deeper than a career path , she was chasing the urge to create. "From a young age, I always wanted to create something, something that in my mind should generate money," she said. That blend of creativity and value creation would become the thread connecting the many chapters of her unconventional journey.

She started with architecture, drawn by the idea of bringing imagination to life. But the practical reality didn't satisfy her creative appetite. After brief stints in film and a return to architecture, she realized she was searching for something entirely different.

"I've done multiple things. I'm still on a journey. Because I think entrepreneurship is not a startup,  it’s a continuous  journey of self-exploration," Hanan shared. 

When Ego Isn't Enough

Hanan's first real business emerged from personal necessity: she couldn't find event planners for her ideal engagement, so she created her own. The result caught the attention of her cousin, who suggested they turn the experience into a business. With no formal background in event planning, Hanan jumped in and learned everything on the go. What started as a one-off solution became a thriving regional brand, attracting clients like Facebook, major banks, and embassies across Jordan, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.

But success brought unexpected lessons. "I learned the difference between having a specific skill and running a business," she said. Early on, she tried controlling everything. "You feel like managing it all is good, as it fills your ego. And in your early 20s, ego is everything." The cost was burnout and the realization that growth wasn't the same as scalability.

"I was growing, getting demand in different places, but it wasn't scalable," she reflected.

Eventually, she recognized that what she'd built was filling her ego, but not her purpose. So right before COVID, she made the hard call to walk away. The event planning business had run its course.

Discovering a Golden Insight

Hanan set new criteria for herself: whatever she built next had to be something she liked, was good at, felt passionate about, and believed in, because she knew how much time and energy it would take.

COVID lockdowns in Jordan sparked her next venture. With only online shopping available but no way to try items on, she began sourcing outlet deals and reselling them online. Despite having quality products, professional photos, and targeted ads, she struggled against established brands. "I had no competitive advantage," she said. "Shein and I were posting the same kind of pictures, but they had brand credibility."

Her breakthrough came with a bold experiment: "We launched a new campaign called 'Try Before You Buy' — customers could order items online, try them on at home, and only pay for what they kept." The results were immediate; average order size jumped from 2 to 7 items.

"I thought I was a genius. I felt like I'd landed on a goldmine."

But Jordan's infrastructure created chaos. With cash-on-delivery payments and manual processes, delivery drivers had to wait while customers tried on clothes, calculated payments, and managed returns. There was no streamlined way to track inventory, payments, or customer behavior, which created an operational nightmare that wasn't scalable.

The insight, however, was powerful: customers craved this experience, and it dramatically increased conversion and satisfaction.

The Pivot

After months of logistical struggles, Hanan realized her true competitive advantage wasn't the products, but the 'Try Before You Buy' experience itself. This sparked a complete pivot: "We went from being a store, to becoming the 'Try Before You Buy' software."

Inspired by platforms like BlackCart in Canada and TryNow in the US, but recognizing their inability to navigate MENA's complex regulatory and infrastructure landscape, Hanan saw her opportunity. "They can't expand to MENA because they've built platforms that follow U.S. or Canadian regulations. But the MENA market is special, every country has its own regulations, logistics, payment methods, and even consumer behavior."

That insight became the foundation for Bloomcart, a software solution that would allow online retailers in the region to plug in the try-before-you-buy feature. The team began building and testing it in Jordan, which Hanan described as “a great kitchen for startups.” The market was small enough to iterate quickly, closely connected, and rich with capable local tech talent. Jordan became their proving ground—a place to validate the idea before taking it to the next level.

Building the Technology

Product development was an entirely new battlefield for Hanan, one that tested her ability to adapt and relearn everything she thought she knew about building.

“When I first started as an e-commerce brand, product development meant choosing clothes and figuring out what would sell—something I was naturally good at,” she said. “Marketing came easily too, thanks to my experience with brands like Pinko and BCBG. But when it came to building tech, I was completely out of my depth.” She admitted it was intimidating at first, navigating a world of developers and engineers without a technical background. But she quickly understood that her role wasn’t to write code; it was to clearly communicate her vision in a way that the tech team could build on.

"First, I had to learn how to speak their language. Second, I started looking at other products similar to what I wanted to build, just to give the developers references and clarity." Most crucially, she discovered user stories. "You can't build a tech product without user stories. It's how you communicate with the devs—if you don't, you waste a lot of money."

The development process became iterative and customer-driven. Instead of building assumptions into reality, she learned to let the market shape the product. "You start with a prototype, not a fully functioning product. And iterate and evolve based on what the market tells you.”

After speaking with over 400 e-commerce brands, they focused on fashion retailers who most resonated with the solution. "The more you talk to potential customers, the more you start narrowing down your real audience."

For Hanan, the process felt deeply creative: "It's a design process. It mimics art. You build, you test, you iterate. Over and over." 

How Bloomcart Works

The platform automates what was once a manual nightmare. When customers place orders, Bloomcart authorizes the full payment amount without charging it. After delivery, customers receive a return portal link where they select items to keep or return.

Once the customer decides what he is returning, Bloomcart steps in with its logistics process. “You’ll get WhatsApp messages from us to coordinate the return. A driver comes to your door, picks up the items you want to send back, and delivers them to the brand.”

Once the brand receives and verifies the returned items, checking authenticity and condition, they accept the return in the system. Bloomcart then refunds the returned items (to the customer) and releases the remaining amount to the brand.

Redefining Returns

At first glance, "try before you buy" might sound like just another version of free returns, but as Hanan points out, it's something entirely different. "Free returns are actually an advantage for us," she said. "Today, almost no one buys online unless there's a return policy. And if the return isn't free, that becomes friction."

But here's the real issue: why do people return items? "Because they bought the wrong thing. And the only way to know that is to try it," she explained. That's the gap Bloomcart is solving for, by giving people the opportunity to try before committing.

Hanan emphasized that while return policies are legally required in many countries, some mandate 12 days, others 24, they create serious headaches for small to medium-sized brands. "For our target brands, the return process is a nightmare. It messes up their cash cycle, their inventory, and even their taxes," she said. "They might think they sold X amount, but when returns come in, everything changes."

With Bloomcart, that entire experience gets redefined. "We're not just helping shoppers try items, they're more likely to order more and find something they love. And for the brand, instead of a long open cash cycle that drags on for 12, 24, or even 30 days, they now close the loop in just 3 days." That's a game-changer for small brands, who often rely on tight inventory and cash flow.

Expansion to KSA

Bloomcart’s journey began in Jordan, a small but tight-knit market ideal for rapid validation. “Jordan helped us validate the idea and narrow down our target—fashion brands. That clarity was crucial,” Hanan explains. 

Saudi Arabia is next on the map for Bloomcart, but Hanan is approaching it with the same disciplined mindset she's applied throughout her journey. "It's one of the best markets, but also one of the most challenging." The potential is undeniable. But so are the risks of entering a new market blindly. "Before you decide to operate in a new market, you have to do your homework," Hanan said. "You need to study the best way to penetrate that market. Consumer behavior, pricing models, expectations, they're all different."

The Business Model

Bloomcart operates on a subscription-commission model: brands pay a subscription fee to access the software and platform tools, while Bloomcart takes a commission on items that customers choose to keep. In its early days in Jordan, the company had to build the entire experience from the ground up. “Since there is no great infrastructure in Jordan, we handled the whole logistics part on our own—hiring drivers to test, prove the demand, and understand how the whole model would work,” Hanan explains.

This hands-on phase allowed Bloomcart to validate customer behavior and refine the offering. Delivery and return fees, for example, are not dictated by Bloomcart but left to the discretion of each brand. “Some offer free delivery if you exceed a certain amount. What we found in Jordan, for example, is that if delivery was 3 dinars and try-before-you-buy added 1 more, people still paid extra for that option.” To her, that insight confirmed something deeper: the model is flexible. For some brands, it’s a conversion tool; for others, a marketing strategy. Bloomcart enables each brand to tailor the experience, while handling the tech and operational complexity behind the scenes.

In Saudi Arabia, Bloomcart will look to partner with logistics providers instead of operating delivery in-house, keeping the model lean while maintaining service quality. The pricing structure will also evolve to fit local dynamics. “We’re switching to yearly subscriptions instead of monthly,” Hanan shares. “Even the commission we’ll take from brands in Saudi is different from what we set in Jordan.” These aren’t just tweaks—they’re strategic shifts designed to match the behavior and expectations of a new market.

Fundraising and Next Steps

Bloomcart previously raised a pre-seed round as an e-commerce site, using that capital to pivot and build their software platform. Now they're raising again for market expansion. "This next round is all about market entry. We're gearing up to expand into Saudi, but we can't make that move without securing the funding to do it right."

The move to Saudi isn’t just about growth, it’s about scalability. While Jordan served as the perfect proving ground to validate the model, the limitations are clear. “We’ve maxed out what we can do in Jordan,” Hanan explained. “Everything is manual, so it’s not scalable. But that was never the goal. Jordan was where we learned. Now, we’re building for scale.”

With fashion as the foundation, the platform's potential extends to furniture, accessories, perfumes, and eyewear — anything customers want to try before committing. What started as personal frustration with online shopping has become the infrastructure for a new era of e-commerce trust in MENA.

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