Yuli Ziv is the Founder & CEO of Style Coalition, a network of more than 50 independent online publishers in the fashion vertical. She is also a co-founder and Editor-In-Chief of My It Things, leading user generated fashion magazine and community launched in early 2007 and named by About.com one of the 7 essential social shopping websites. She organizes and leads the Fashion 2.0 discussion panels and networking event series in NYC, bringing together more than 1,400 members innovating the fashion and technology worlds. Yuli is an avid speaker on the topic of social media and technology featured on the panels at Social Media Week, 140 Conference, Early Stage East, Nolcha Retail Conference, IFB Evolving Influence, and is often invited as a guest speaker at NYU, FIT and LIM college. She has been quoted by WWD, Forbes, WSJ, Business Week, AP and featured in The New York Times and NY Observer.

Who is in your style hall of fame? Past: Valentina Sanina Schlee (1899-1989) - known professionally simply as Valentina, who was a fashion pioneer, dressing such luminaries as Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn and helping to invent American couture in the process. She arrived in NYC as a young immigrant and reinvented herself as the epitome of style, becoming a fixture in the fashion pages. I recently saw her retrospective exhibition at the Museum of New York and was simply amazed. Present: Rad Hourani - I love his conceptual and modular approach to fashion. I think he is the Karl Lagerfeld of our generation. Future: People who are inventing and producing high-tech textiles at this very moment, and will be shaping this industry in the next few years.

What are the 3 style must-haves you....must have? A pair of black skinny jeans, a big statement ring and a pair of dark shaded sunglasses (I can literally hide behind my Marc Jacobs', either when I'm having a no-makeup day or simply when need a moment to think)

Describe a regular day of work in one sentence. Waking up whenever I want (one of the pleasures of working for myself), then packed day of meetings, many of which are with ELLE - our new partner, then blogging, emails and calls, followed by even more packed evenings of fashion events, including our own Style Coalition events.

What are the best (and worst) parts of your job? The best part is that I get to build my dreams in reality every single second. The worst - there are too many of them and sometimes I have to scratch one or two...

What is your favorite city in the world? Why? Too many to choose from, but Rishikesh in India is the most special to my heart. It's so charged spiritually, vibrant and has its own very distinct character, smell, light - like no other place in the world. I make my goal every year to visit at least one new country or city and get inspired by the new culture.

What was the last piece of clothing or accessory you bought? I just got the Dry Martini clutch in Platinum by the lovely designers trio Magness Sisters, on their special Black Friday sale online. I try to support local NYC designers as much as I can!

Name one thing most people don’t know about you (until now)...I served 2 years in the IDF - perhaps the reason I could never connect to the military fashion trend ;)

Who is your favorite “It” girl right now? I'm still obsessed with Taylor Swift's recent makeover she debuted at the AMAs - the bangs and new straight hair make her very current looking. It seems like she passed the "princess" look stage and now is ready to become a perfect canvas for younger, edgier designers to dress.

What piece of advice do you have for those thinking about pursuing  a creative dream? Let your crazy dreams out, but always think who would buy them or how they could be sold. We creative people tend to despise excel spreadsheets and business plans, but what makes great ideas to realize and become successful on a large scale is a good business foundation. So if you can combine creativity with business savvy - you are a double threat!