On October 28, 2021, Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, will emcee Retailers United’s third pitch event. In this report, we profile the five startup contestants and discuss the event’s structure and the judges involved.

Retailers United Pitch Event 2021: A Preview

The event will see five innovative US startups compete for a $10,000 grant and the opportunity to receive mentorship from industry thought leaders. The event will be hosted by Retailers United, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping retailers navigate through the challenges facing the industry by providing financial sponsorships, services and mentorships. The pitch session is sponsored by RevTech Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Dallas, Texas, that invests in startups at the intersection of retail and technology. RevTech Ventures has funded 51 early-stage startups to date, helping these companies to create more than 623 jobs with $5.45 million average cumulative funding per company and six exits to date according to the venture capital firm. Upon entering the RevTech program, startups receive small investments initially, followed by several larger investments if the startup demonstrates strong growth. The firm leverages its board of retail-tech thought leaders to provide mentorship to startups and invites select companies to Dallas twice annually for an intensive one-week accelerator program. During the “Help America Stay Open” pitch event, each of the five US startups will be allotted a total of five minutes—three minutes to present and two minutes for a Q&A session with the judges. While the judges deliberate, Jon Bolen, CEO of ENTOUCH, will give a 10-minute presentation on his RevTech-backed company. Founded in Dallas, Texas, in 2008, ENTOUCH is a pioneer in smart building technology and energy management as a service. The company delivers sustainability solutions that reduce energy usage, drive profitability and simplify facility management for multisite operators. ENTOUCH owns its entire technology stack and can take over heterogeneous systems and manage them from a single cloud solution. Judging Panel The judging panel comprises the following retail thought leaders:

• Jamie Drake—Co-Founder of interior design firm Drake/Anderson. Drake has held a spot for several years on the Architectural Digest AD100 list and the Elle Decor A-List. He also has been bestowed with Fashion Group International’s Night of Stars Award for Interior Design, inducted into the ASID College of Fellows, named to Interior Design magazine’s Hall of Fame, and was designated by House Beautiful as a Master Class Designer. Drake currently serves on the boards of The Alpha Workshops, the New York Community Trust and Parsons School of Design. He is Vice Chair of the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse, benefitting the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, and he is a recipient of a Partnership for the Homeless Director’s Award.
• Beth Keck—Distinguished Visiting Professor at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University. Keck has an extensive background in international business, sustainability, corporate social responsibility and public affairs. She was Senior Director of Women’s Economic Empowerment at Walmart and led the globalization of the company’s sustainability program, including its landmark sustainable agriculture strategy and China responsible sourcing initiatives. Keck has recently been the Volkswagen Visiting Chair in Sustainability at Schwarzman College and was affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) as a Practitioner-in-Residence for China Studies. Keck is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Committee on US-China Relations, and on the board of directors of ACDI/VOCA and Tanager, international development nonprofit organizations.
• Cindy O’Connor—Former Senior Vice President, General Merchandise Manager (GMM) of Seasonal, Home and Apparel at Sam’s Club. O’Connor received Walmart’s Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2016 for demonstrating innovation, excellence and service. She previously held merchandising roles at JCPenney and The Limited Store. O’Connor is an advocate for charitable giving and mentorship, and has been a United Way fundraiser for 25+ years. She was Sam’s Club Chairwoman for Susan G. Komen fundraising and is a mentor leader for the “Teen Girls-First Tee” program of Northwest Arkansas.
• Robert Wong—Alumni of Parsons School of Design. He is best known for his work as Design Chief of Starbucks and Co-Founder of Google Creative Lab. Wong has been honored as a Master of Design and one of the 50 Most Influential Designers in America by business media brand Fast Company. He is an elected member of Alliance Graphique Internationale and Board Director of The One Club for Creativity. Wong has been a member of the Parsons Board of Governors since 2020.

Five Competing Startups This year, the event will cover key topics in retail, including sustainability, inclusivity and charitable giveback. Below, we profile the five US startup contestants based on information provided to Coresight Research by the brands.

• Àuda.B: A luxury vegan beauty brand that bridges the gap between clean beauty and bold, fashion-forward experiences for beauty enthusiasts.
• FABRIC: A fashion incubator, business accelerator, design studio, academy and manufacturer that is sustainably disrupting, redefining and reshoring the fashion industry for the modern apparel entrepreneur.
• HILOS: A supply chain technology platform that enables brands to make circular product on-demand without inventory or waste.
• META Jewelry: A sustainable jewelry brand whose mission is to act on the billion tons of plastic that never reach a recycled state.
• Tough Cutie: An outdoor brand that makes premium hiking socks for women and is committed to supporting women.

Àuda.B Headquarters New York, New York Company Description Àuda.B is a luxury vegan nail lacquer brand that bridges the gap between clean beauty and bold, fashion-forward experiences for beauty enthusiasts. What Problem Is the Company Solving? Black consumers spend nine times more than non-Black shoppers annually (amounting to $1.3 trillion), but only a 1.4% share of targeted US advertising and brand activations focus on African Americans, according to Àuda.B. Women of color are often left out of beauty curation segments, resulting in a lack of inclusive shades and pigments for all skin tones. Àuda.B’s target market are consumers across various ethnic backgrounds and gender norms that are looking to experience clean beauty; the company has inclusivity at its core. FABRIC Headquarters Tempe, Arizona Company Description FABRIC is a nonprofit fashion incubator, business accelerator, design studio, academy and manufacturer that is sustainably disrupting, redefining and reshoring the fashion industry for the modern apparel entrepreneur, according to the company. FABRIC was created by experienced apparel entrepreneurs who wanted to make manufacturing and owning a brand more accessible and less challenging for others. It provides guidance, no-minimum manufacturing, business resources, product development, education, studio space, events and more to apparel entrepreneurs. FABRIC’s signature service is a roadmap that provides access to no-minimum manufacturing and digitally guides clients through business startup, branding, product development, manufacturing and marketing. Since 2016, the company has supported more than 700 apparel entrepreneurs and provided over $5 million to its community in the form of free and discounted programs to support apparel businesses. What Problem Is the Company Solving? According to FABRIC, the apparel manufacturing industry is set up for larger brands that have large budgets and make large quantities in overseas factories. Unrealistic consumer price expectations force these brands to over-produce overseas, using unsustainable methods and questionable labor practices. FABRIC is looking to disrupt the apparel manufacturing industry and help startup apparel entrepreneurs to overcome obstacles such as high minimum order quantities, large capital investment requirements, a lack of production management experience and physical proximity of resources, language barriers, long lead times, importing issues, loss of intellectual property, lack of quality control, unsustainable practices and unfair labor practices. HILOS Headquarters Portland, Oregon Company Description HILOS is a technology platform that completely replaces legacy supply chains, allowing brands to make circular product on-demand without inventory or waste. The company considers itself as its own first customer, with the HILOS brand launching circular footwear into the market that is made on-demand and recycled at the end of the product’s life. HILOS works with brands to launch new products in as little as 90 days, linking directly to their point of sale and making shoes only after a customer buys, thus eliminating overproduction and waste. What Problem Is the Company Solving? HILOS emphasizes that supply chains are slow, polluting, expensive and inefficient.

• Slow: It takes 12–18 months to go from design to a store’s shelves for footwear and apparel.
• Polluting: 24 billion shoes are made every year using 48 trillion gallons of fresh water and 720 billion pounds of carbon dioxide.
• Expensive: Upfront tooling costs ($350,000 for footwear) require large volumes to amortize costs. Inventory and carrying costs erode margin so that a shoe must be made for $15 to retail at $100.
• Inefficient: Demand planners must forecast the exact sizes and styles that will sell a year in advance, resulting in 20%–30% overproduction.

HILOS looks to solve the problem of overproduction and waste that is endemic in retail by empowering the concept of on-demand product that is made locally and sustainably. By enabling technology in the future of footwear and celebrating the craft of designing, it looks to drive a new kind of performance that promotes circularity. META Jewelry Headquarters Arlington, VA Company Description META Jewelry was founded in 2019 with the mission to act on the million tons of plastic that never reach a recycled state. The company partners with local coffee shops to upcycle used bottles, preventing them from ending up in landfills and oceans. The upcycled plastic is paired with recycled 14K gold and sterling silver metals for durability and quality. The company describes its jewelry as “timeless, joyful and versatile” and each product is created with a purpose: META Jewelry believes that wearing a cause is fashionable. What Problem Is the Company Solving? Every year, 300 million tons of plastic is produced worldwide, and an astonishing 91% never gets recycled while 25% of plastic waste ends up in landfills and oceans, according to META Jewelry. In an effort to remove post-consumer plastic from reaching landfills and oceans, META Jewelry collects and repurposes bottles to create everyday effortless jewelry and accessories. In an era of hyper-consumption and overproduction, the need for sustainable options has reached the fashion industry. Consumers are seeking more sustainable brands that are better suited for the lifestyle they are striving to achieve. META Jewelry holds sustainability at the core of its mission and purpose. Tough Cutie Headquarters Winston-Salem, North Carolina Company Description Tough Cutie is a women’s outdoor brand that claims it combines the ethos of Athleta, the social impact of Bombas and the environmental consciousness of Allbirds. Eve is Tough Cutie’s flagship hiking sock, which features 360-degree arch support for balance, pillow-soft cushioning for support, fortified spandex and flex grooves throughout the leg and ankle to keep socks from falling, a flat toe seam, and dual-tone mesh to keep feet ventilated and dry and reduce the sweat and bacteria build-up that cause smelly feet and blisters. Eve is made of Merino wool, a natural, biodegradable fiber that does not require any chemical treatments and is easy on the environment. What Problem Is the Company Solving? Tough Cutie supports working women from the ground up and is committed to contributing to a world in which women have an equal footing to men in all the places they work—on the field, on the trail, in the boardroom, and everywhere in between. Tough Cutie’s target customers are women who need a product that protects their feet during outdoor treks and want to buy from a brand that aligns with their values for gender equity and ethical, sustainable sourcing.