Rent the Runway
10 Jay St, Brooklyn, NY, 11201, United States
Overview
Rent the Runway is an online e-commerce website that allows women to rent designer apparel and accessories. It is transforming the way modern women get dressed - and in turn, disrupting the $1.7 trillion fashion industry - through the concept of renting over buying clothing. Founded in 2009 by Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss, RTR pioneered the ‘closet in the cloud’ and believes that women everywhere will soon have a subscription to fashion, making renting an indispensable utility while also empowering them to feel like their best selves every day. RTR carries hundreds of thousands of pieces of apparel and accessories by 550+ designer partners with options for work, weekends, and special occasions. The company has built proprietary technology, one-of-a-kind reverse logistics operation, and retail stores of the future that bring the dream closet to life. RTR has raised more than $200M from top-tier investors, has more than eight million users, and prides itself on the entrepreneurial, dream-big culture at the company which employs 1,200 people -- 70% of whom are women and 71% are minority/non-white. In 2015, the co-founders launched the Rent the Runway Foundation, supporting tens of thousands of female entrepreneurs in building and scaling their businesses.
- Total investments
- 1
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 8
Sector focus
- Apparel
- Consumer Goods
- E-Commerce
- Fashion
- Retail
Investment portfolio
- EdSights
Participated · Equity · May 2020
Founded in 2018, EdSights offers an AI-driven platform that uses personalized, SMS-based conversations to surface real-time insights on issues such as mental health and financial struggles that can jeopardize a student’s success. The system translates millions of student interactions into actionable data for advisors and administrators, enabling targeted interventions that improve retention rates. The company currently partners with more than 240 colleges and universities, including Southern New Hampshire University, the University of Missouri, the University of Hawaii System, Oklahoma State University, and the College of Charleston. Opt-in and engagement rates on the platform are well above industry averages, demonstrating strong student receptivity. EdSights positions itself as the first AI-powered “student voice” platform designed specifically for higher education. The new capital will be used to enhance the product and expand the team so the company can serve more institutions nationwide. The business continues to focus on making higher education more student-centered by amplifying the student voice at scale.