• LePrix

  Participated · Seed · Aug 2015

  Snobswap operates a curated "luxury online mall" that helps brick-and-mortar consignment shops list and sell high-end secondhand items through a centralized e-commerce platform. The company vets boutiques for authentication and customer service and charges shops a 10% commission plus initiation and marketing fees. Since shifting from a peer-to-peer model to focusing on stores, inventory has grown 13x, inventory is growing 25% month-over-month, order sizes rose from about $200 to $325–$450, and the site has seen 1.5 million uniques with repeat business representing 40–50% of sales. Snobswap says it currently captures roughly 1–2% of its addressable market of high-end consignment shops (about 25,000 U.S. stores, 40% addressable) and is growing overall revenue at about 20–25% month-over-month. With the new funding the nine-person D.C. team plans to expand headcount and continue development of an iOS application arriving soon. Popular brands on the platform include Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Cartier and Louis Vuitton, and a partnership with Affirm has increased sales by 30–40%. Snobswap operates an online resale marketplace focused on luxury and designer secondhand clothing and accessories, combining peer-to-peer listings with inventory sourced from brick-and-mortar consignment boutiques. Its retail partnerships distinguish the service: boutiques represent under 10% of sellers but account for about 30% of sales, and the platform is working with roughly 100 consignment shops across the U.S. (and Canada). Since its official launch in spring 2013 after a year in beta, the site has attracted over half a million shoppers, with average transactions around $200 and top brands like Coach, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Chanel making up 65% of sales. Snobswap charges boutiques a 10% commission and peer-to-peer sellers 15%. The company is a Fortify accelerator graduate, is run by co-founders Elise Whang and Emily Dang, and currently has seven full-time employees. Planned use of new funding includes hiring an engineer, a designer, a business development hire, building a mobile app, and bringing more brick-and-mortar stores online.

• Buck Mason

  Participated · Seed · Sep 2014

  Buck Mason is a men's clothing brand that focuses exclusively on essentials—everything from basic white tees to chambray Oxfords and multiple styles of jeans—made in the United States. The company began with $10,000 in bootstrapped funding to remove the middleman and sell higher-quality clothing directly to consumers. Product pricing is positioned as relatively affordable: t-shirts retail for $24 and Oxford shirts for $88, while curated packages (the Bruce and Townes packages) are offered at just over $250 and almost $450 respectively. Buck Mason sells individual pieces and packages as one-off purchases rather than a subscription model. The brand emphasizes long-lasting quality in its garments, though extended wash testing is ongoing. The company recently raised $300,000 in seed funding and plans to use the new capital to expand the business to keep up with demand.

No current team members are available.