StyleCrush: Making Secondhand an Easy First Choice

StyleCrush is a member-owned, online resale marketplace that makes shopping secondhand an easy first choice. 

We believe everyone should have access to: 

1. Confidence elevating style
2. Affordable clothing
3. Choices that align with their values

More and more people are waking up to the harmful social + environmental effects of mainstream fashion, but they need easy alternatives. Many sustainable fashion brands leave people out because they don't fit their budget, style, or body type. And current secondhand options like your local thrift store or online giant Poshmark are overwhelming. 

Who has time to dig through thousands of pieces to find a simple button down?

Enter StyleCrush. It’s an easy, affordable, and practical solution for people who want to look stylish while staying true to their values.

We believe in uplifting our community so much we’re forming as a cooperative! This means that 100% of our ownership AND 100% of our profits stay within our community. That’s also why we’re here talking to you instead of out pitching to venture capitalists. 

Read on to learn more about our unique approach to style + business for all. Or just jump right in to support our campaign at any of the extra-special reward levels, and share this values-driven project with all of your well aligned friends!

StyleCrush will provide shoppers an integrated solution for accessing confidence elevating style while saving time, money, and ecosystems around the globe.

Shoppers who DON’T KNOW what they want to wear can:

1. Browse a diverse bank of outfit inspiration 
2. Get tips for recreating looks they love from clothes they already own
3. Seamlessly wishlist any missing items
4. Crowdsource exactly the secondhand items to meet their needs

Shoppers who KNOW EXACTLY what they want to wear can:

1. Filter available items by a detailed collection of standardized attributes (think: exactly the sleeve shape + neckline + length + pattern you want)
2. Browse only items highly tailored to their search
3. Seamlessly wishlist their ideal garment(s), even if none exist in the current inventory
4. Crowdsource exactly the secondhand items to meet their needs

We’ve spent years talking to people about the things that keep them from shopping secondhand first, and what gets in the way of feeling great about their style. Now, we’re building solutions to the most common complaints ~ reliable fit, easy returns, browsability, and personalized style support are just a few of the improvements StyleCrush will provide.

*You can learn more about the specifics of how the marketplace will work in the FAQs*

At StyleCrush, we know that a marketplace is only valuable because of the buyers and sellers using it. We believe that by making those transactions easier for everyone, the value of our market will expand. And! We believe that the people driving that success should also directly benefit from it. This is why we’re building StyleCrush as a member-owned cooperative.

What does it mean to be a cooperative?

Cooperatives can take many different forms. At the heart of ours is the idea that profits from a marketplace should flow back to the community driving its success. Unlike big decentralized platforms that outsource the liabilities of reselling to independent resellers, while extracting profits for outside investors, we’re building specific pathways for profit sharing into the very structure of the company.

What makes a coop platform better than venture funded platforms?

Whatever the best intentions of the founder(s) of any project, entering the venture capital space means getting involved with people/entities that have clear priorities for the outcome of your relationship:

1. Scale really big
2. Make a kabillion dollars on some kind of exit
3. Ride a rocket into space 🚀🚀🚀

And while there’s nothing wrong with making money - and who wouldn’t want to see the earth from orbit?? - it’s worth noting that important factors like user experience and customer satisfaction are simply a means to an end in this scenario.

In a coop, creating something that benefits its community of users IS THE DESIRED OUTCOME of its efforts. 

Whatever the priorities of a business, building tech platforms is expensive ~ we’re raising $10k now to help with some initial formation expenses, but we're budgeting $1,000,000 as the actual cost to build, launch + scale our marketplace with an 18 month runway.

It’s a big number, but we’ve got a plan to tackle it little by little with the help of Founding Partners! Is it crazy to try to raise $1,000,000 in $199 contributions? Maybe - but with the passion of the sustainable fashion community we believe it's possible. If you're trying to juggle zeros in you head right now, that's 5000 Founding Partners to achieve full community funding with this approach.  

We’re planning for a marketplace that uses a freemium model. When it launches, anyone can come to browse on the StyleCrush marketplace for outfit inspiration + shop available items that match their needs. For a more premium experience, users can pay a membership fee (likely $99/yr) for free/reduced rate shipping, returns, priority wishlist fulfillment, a sales page for cycling items out of your closet, and more. 

By participating in this crowdfunding campaign, you have the opportunity to become a Founding Partner and to enjoy benefits only available to our earliest supporters!

If you’re not quite ready to go all as a Founding Partner, but you’d still like to support bringing this project to life, the Launch Collection shopping credits are a win-win option that’s good for everyone! Get in early + double your money to put toward treasures from our launch collection. There will be options in a wide range of sizes and styles.