Fashion

Shahad Geoffrey: Founder of TAFFI, the Gulf’s Personal AI for Fashion

Shahad Geoffrey turned a shopping struggle into TAFFI, an AI stylist reshaping how the Gulf shops with smart tech and cultural insight.

Shahad Geoffrey: Founder of TAFFI, the Gulf’s Personal AI for Fashion

Online shopping in the Gulf is booming, yet one problem remains: endless scrolls and irrelevant options. In a market eager for personalization but cautious about fit and cultural relevance, Shahad Geoffrey saw an opportunity. Her AI-powered platform, TAFFI, is rebuilding trust between regional consumers and online fashion.

As Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 pushes for innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic diversification, Geoffrey’s work sits at the heart of that transformation. TAFFI is a cultural reset on how the Gulf shops.

Backstory & Spark

Shahad Geoffrey grew up in Jeddah surrounded by the rhythm of startups. Her father’s tech venture gave her early insight into entrepreneurial resilience. After earning a business degree in Paris and working at a cosmetics startup through its acquisition, she entered the world of venture capital in Silicon Valley. It was there, while planning a vacation to Hawaii, that inspiration struck.

“I looked at Stitch Fix and Trunk Club and wondered, why don’t we have something like this in our region?”

That moment, born from a simple need for curated shopping, planted the seed for TAFFI.

Geoffrey returned to Saudi Arabia, blending her love for fashion with her experience in venture and tech. The goal: democratize personal styling and make fashion more intuitive for women across the Gulf.

Shahad Geoffrey (CEO) and Pradeep Bisht (CTO), co-founders of TAFFI
Shahad Geoffrey (CEO) and Pradeep Bisht (CTO), co-founders of TAFFI.

Execution & Growth

TAFFI launched in 2021 as a B2C styling marketplace. Users could connect with freelance stylists who built personalized looks. But Geoffrey saw something deeper: retail brands themselves lacked tools to personalize. In 2023, TAFFI pivoted to a B2B model, offering an AI-powered styling engine for brands.

With $2.1 million in seed funding led by Al-Rashed Group and Impact46, TAFFI began onboarding fashion retailers across Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Brands like Ounass and Farfetch were among the first integrated partners. The engine now generates hyper-targeted recommendations that align with users' budgets, styles, and lifestyles.

Product Experience & Innovation

The customer journey begins with a comprehensive style quiz: measurements, budgets, lifestyle, and aesthetic preferences. AI assists stylists by surfacing tailored looks. Customers can book 1:1 consultations via WhatsApp or video, or shop directly through automated suggestions.

Then came Amira, TAFFI’s breakthrough feature. Amira is a fully AI stylist that delivers instant, culturally aware outfit recommendations. No waiting. No scrolling. Powered by advanced machine learning and user inputs, it responds to natural prompts like:

Amira factors in climate, trends, and inventory in real time. Soon, it will be licensed to e-commerce platforms across the region, connecting directly to retailer stock and enabling precise, personalized shopping at scale.

Leadership Style & Culture

Geoffrey leads TAFFI with a hybrid mindset: data-driven but deeply human. She recruits diverse teams that blend technical and creative strengths. Stylists, data scientists, and engineers co-develop features. The product reflects both emotional insight and technical fluency.

She’s also intentional about building inclusive economic models. TAFFI empowers women stylists to monetize their skills, creating flexible income in a way that aligns with Saudi’s evolving gig economy.

Recognition & Global Relevance

Geoffrey’s leadership is gaining international visibility:

Her voice is shaping both the future of fashion and the future of business in the region.

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Key Lessons for Founders

- Build from a Real Problem
TAFFI emerged from a personal inconvenience, not a theoretical gap.

- Be Willing to Pivot
Shifting from B2C to B2B unlocked scale and product-market fit.

- AI Works Best with a Human Layer
Stylists + algorithms = trust and precision.

- Design for Cultural Nuance
Amira is trained to reflect local fashion and social norms.

- Speak Globally, Solve Locally
From Harvard to Riyadh, Geoffrey uses global platforms to scale a Gulf-born solution.

Shaping the Future of Fashion

Shahad Geoffrey envisions TAFFI as the AI fashion copilot for every major brand in the Gulf, and eventually, beyond. As more retailers adopt the platform, TAFFI’s insights will help shape how fashion is designed, discovered, and delivered.

In a region transforming fast, Geoffrey’s story is a blueprint: start with empathy, scale with intelligence, and never underestimate the power of culturally fluent tech.

Follow Shahad Geoffrey on Instagram and LinkedIn for her latest with TAFFI.

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