On December 8, 2020, Coresight Research CEO and Founder Deborah Weinswig will emcee Retailers United’s second pitch event, in which five startups will compete for a $10,000 grant and mentorship from industry thought leadership. In this report, we profile the three Rev Tech Ventures-backed US startups that will present their business models at the event but will not be competing for the prize.

Retailers United Pitch Event: Three RevTech Ventures-Backed Startups

The event will be hosted by Retailers United, a non-profit organization devoted to helping retailers navigate through the current challenges facing the industry by providing financial sponsorhips, services and mentorships. The three presenting companies have already received funding from 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 47 early-stage startups to date, helping these companies to create more than 560 jobs and generate over $135 million in revenue, 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 three RevTech Ventures-backed US startups will give a five-minute presentation on their business models. Below, we profile the startups based on information provided to Coresight Research by the companies.

• Topl: A supply chain transparency tool that enables businesses to share evidence of their ethical and sustainable practices with stakeholders.
• Singuli, Inc: A platform that leverages SKU-level data and forecasting to help retailers optimize inventory.
• Recurate: A platform that enables brands and retailers to integrate resale products directly on their owned platforms through their Shopify-powered store.

Topl

     

Headquarters

Houston, Texas

Company Description

Topl is an ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) technology company that enables businesses to prove their ethical and sustainable practices. The “Topl Blockchain” solution tracks provides full traceability of products in a supply chain in order to help companies prove their claims, offer producers alternative sources of credit and provide end-consumers information on where and how their products are made. Through its purpose-built technology, Topl aims to reduce an organization’s operational and certification costs.

What Problem Is the Company Solving?

Traditional supply chains are fragmented and muddied by intermediaries, fees and outdated practices; data handoffs leave gaps that allow for information loss or manipulation, which in turn prevents accessible, transparent and verifiable proof of sustainable, responsible practices.  Topl Blockchain acts as a “proof infrastructure,” enabling businesses to share evidence of their ethical practices with a broad set of stakeholders, including investors, partners and consumers.

Topl’s initial focus is customers in two markets: “food, fashion and farmer inclusion,” a term used by the company to describe the $2.08 trillion global sustainable agriculture market; and “precious gems and metals,” which is a $247 billion annual market worldwide, according to Topl.

The company further categorizes the supply chain and sustainability space into three main segments of potential customers: brands seeking to adhere to fair labor practices and environmental regulations (Compliant); brands that commit to sustainability and ethical sourcing as a key marketing strategy (Committed); and brands that place ethical practices at the center of their value proposition (Core). Topl’s initial focus is on Core customers, because it believes that it would see the least competition in this segment from existing technology providers, and these customers could leverage the most value from Topl’s technology. In addition, Topl aims to simultaneously cultivate a pipeline of Committed customers.

Singuli, Inc.

     

Headquarters

Brooklyn, New York

Funding Stage

Pre-seed

Company Description

Singuli is a platform that helps retailers optimize inventory—from initial buys to reorders/replenishment and markdowns, and everything in between. Founded by two PhDs with a decade of retail experience, the company’s approach is based on new machine learning models that are tied to modern retail datasets, including cohort behavior, site traffic, marketing events and detailed product attributes, according to Singuli.

[caption id="attachment_120353" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Singuli[/caption]  

What Problem Is the Company Solving?

Globally, markdowns and stockouts cost retailers in excess of $1 trillion annually, according to a 2018 IHL Research Study, driven in large part by poor-quality forecasting and data disconnects. Singuli aims to improve revenues and margins through smarter inventory buying decisions.  Singuli taps into the breadth of data that e-commerce retailers have (beyond just sales history) to provide accurate forecasts about existing and upcoming product releases—even down to the SKU level (style-option-size). Singuli claims that its customers see dramatic improvements in in-stock rates and revenue, as well as reductions in working capital tied up in slow-moving inventory.

Recurate

   

Headquarters

Washington, D.C.

Funding Stage

Pre-seed round, including investments from XRC Labs and RevTech Ventures

Company Description

Recurate integrates a white-label resale marketplace directly into Shopify-powered stores to enable retailers and brands to avoid losing customers to third-party resale platforms. Recurate believes that integrating a resale market into a brand’s or retailer’s digital store can help attract new customers, retain current customers interested in buying pre-loved clothing and help brands promote their sustainability narrative.

[caption id="attachment_120355" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Source: Recurate[/caption]  

What Problem Is the Company Solving?

The resale market is currently valued at $28 billion globally and is growing 21 times faster than traditional retail, according to a 2020 report by ThredUp. Buying pre-owned products is a more sustainable way to shop. Resale is extremely popular among millennials and Gen Z consumers, who are currently buying branded, used products on third-party sites such as eBay, ThredUp, Poshmark and The RealReal. Recurate helps brands take back the traffic, sales and engagement they are currently losing to third-party resale sites.