Summary

The Real Real is an online marketplace for authenticated resale luxury goods and currently has over 25 million members. The company provides a safe and reliable platform for consumers to buy and sell luxury items with a rigorous authentication process. The company takes care of the upfront work for consignors, including authenticating, using AI and machine learning to determine optimal pricing, photographing and listing items as well as handling shipping and customer service. The company has also started several brick and mortar stores around the country.

Story

Founder Jullie Wainwright was looking for the right business idea after a failed business outing with Pets.com going bust over a decade ago. She wanted to honor brands and make people feel good about buying resale. The sustainability angle and the importance of reuse and resale was illuminated for her when she went to a conference hosted by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, where she learned about plastic waste, and how the fashion industry was heavily contributing to this problem. The team worked with data and earth scientists to get the data to quantify the impact of recirculating goods, and added tools to measure the impact of reused items.

Pic Credit: Be Global Fashion Network (right) and BizJournals (top)