On a mission to make secondhand mainstream

SwapUp is a managed marketplace on a mission to make secondhand mainstream. We are making it as convenient as possible to shop and sell secondhand, so people will always think of buying secondhand, before they buy anything new. Sellers send their items to us using a SwapUp Kit, and we do all the hard work (photography), art work (curation), and smart work (AI for pricing and logistics). Buyers get the same experience as if they were shopping for new items. No sub-standard experience trading via online marketplaces today.

We are currently working on the fashion category. Think of it as laying the bricks for a multi-storey secondhand department store, all virtual.

Customer Focus

• Fashion category: women 27-55 years old, mid-market brands (excl. fast fashion and designer)
• Other categories: TBD
  

Challenges

Influencing consumer behaviour,  scaling up logistics-heavy operation‍

Highlights

• Revenue growing at 48% MoM since Dec-22
• Onboarded our second merchandiser
• Seeking a well-known personality who is passionate about fashion and the environment - could you offer an introduction? We are running a campaign this Earth Day (22 April) and would love to kick it off with a bang!

Report Card‍

Team:  Grew to six people. The most recent addition to our team Madita met Alifa at a clothing swap event. They bonded over the purpose of making secondhand the first choice for everyone

Product: We have some technology debt to cover off, before we continue to build

Market: Customers  love our offering. Over 1k people on the waitlist to sell with SwapUp. 250 glowing reviews from buyers, including “I can’t see myself buying clothes from anywhere else”

Momentum: We doubled our revenue from last month. Cost of customer acquisition is also lower, with higher turnover rate and  over 20% of sellers returning, improving our overall margin

Impact: Current run rate of 30 thousand pieces of clothing re-homed annually and saved from landfills, saving 150 tonnes of CO2 emissions and 60 million litres of water

Company Name: SwapUp

Themes:  Female founder, POC founder, Circular Economy

Summary:  SwapUp is a managed marketplace with the ultimate goal of building a secondhand department store. We are making it as convenient as possible to shop and sell secondhand

Product stage: Traction 

Founder: Alifa Putri, Adi Nagara

Capital raising: Currently self-funded

Company mission: To make secondhand mainstream, so people will always think of buying secondhand, before they buy anything new

Why the team wants to solve this problem:

1. Australia is the second biggest offender in terms of fashion waste behind the US. As emerging economies are becoming increasingly wealthy, the societal and environmental issues of textile waste will only grow
2. Our customers tell us that they choose to donate simply because it is convenient, despite being aware of the true cost of donating clothes where the garments end up and how they end up there
3. They also tell us, however, that they have items in the wardrobe that are ‘too nice to donate’
4. Marketplaces are not offering comparable experience as what we’d receive when we buy new items
5. Existing players dare to take on high-end items only

SwapUp your fashion today! 

SwapUp is seeking a well-known personality who is passionate about fashion and the environment - could you offer an introduction? We are running a campaign called #SwapUpSisterhood and would love to kick it off with a bang!