Introduction

The Coresight Research team is attending and participating in this year’s Shoptalk conference in Las Vegas, US. On March 27, 2022, Coresight Research hosted the “Shark Reef” startup pitch competition, which saw early-stage US retail-technology innovators compete to win the Sharks’ Choice and Audience Choice awards. In this report, we provide a recap of the pitch competition, with key insights from the presentations of the 15 participating startups.

Shoptalk 2022—“Shark Reef” Startup Pitch Competition: A Recap

Event Format and Judging Panel The Shoptalk 2022 “Shark Reef” startup pitch competition comprised three sessions through the day, across which the 15 retail-technology innovators gave a three-minute presentation to a panel of expert judges and the audience on how their solutions are solving key challenges in retail. The judges led a short Q&A following each presentation. Deborah Weinswig, CEO and Founder of Coresight Research, moderated the pitch competition. She was joined by three expert judges:

• Diana Melencio, Partner at XRC Labs
• Matt Nicholas, General Partner at Commerce Ventures
• Neeta Rastogi Singh, Chief Operating Officer at Activant Capital

[caption id="attachment_144287" align="aligncenter" width="700"] The judging panel (from left to right): Weinswig, Melencio, Rastogi Singh and Nicholas
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   The Competing Innovators: Pitch Highlights Coresight Research categorizes the 15 startups into four areas of disruption in retail: consumer experience and client relationship management; forward-looking physical experiences; groundbreaking digital commerce; and reducing waste and increasing sustainability. Read our event preview report for more detail on these areas of disruption. Below, we detail highlights from each of the innovators’ presentations, in alphabetical order. [caption id="attachment_144288" align="aligncenter" width="700"] The 15 speakers and four judges that participated in the Shark Reef pitch competition at Shoptalk 2022
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Calico

• Speaker: Kathleen Chan, Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Reducing waste and increasing sustainability

Calico helps DTC (direct-to-consumer) brands manage their supply chains. Chan explained that the company’s platform serves as a “single source of truth,” because it serves as a one-stop shop for retailers/brands to track their products, requests for quotes, orders and merchandising. Calico’s solution provides brands with increased visibility into their entire supply chain process through one central dashboard, Chan said. In terms of sustainability, the platform enables brands to communicate with Calico’s network of factories that have been vetted to meet their ethical and environmental standards. According to Chan, Calico sees its largest impact in factories. Since the majority of factories do not have computers on the factory floor, Calico was built to be mobile-friendly, allowing factory workers to leverage the services it provides.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Calico.

[caption id="attachment_144289" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Chan presents Calico’s supply chain management solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   EcoCart

• Speaker: Dane Baker, Co-Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Reducing waste and increasing sustainability

EcoCart’s proprietary algorithm calculates each of its client’s carbon footprints by looking at unique variables such as product materials, product weight, and transportation method and distance. The platform includes a sustainability carbon analytics dashboard that tracks carbon emissions to help brands fundamentally understand their carbon footprint, Baker explained. Bake said that by utilizing EcoCart, brands have witnessed a 19%–22% increase in conversion rate through its strategically placed banner at the point of checkout, putting sustainability at the forefront of the consumer’s mind at the point of purchase.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for EcoCart.

[caption id="attachment_144290" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Baker presents EcoCart’s carbon analytics solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Endear

• Speaker: Leigh Sevin, Co-Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Consumer experience and client relationship management

Endear is the “first CRM [customer relationship management solution] designed exclusively for consumer brands,” according to Sevin. Endear’s CRM and messaging platform enables retailers to effectively manage and track multiple store performances and communicate with clients by unifying all first-party data from across their favorite apps. Sevin explained how sales associates are leveraging Endear to communicate with online customers over text. As a result, online customers have spent about 20% more than their counterparts who are not able to interact with a sales associate via text, she said.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Endear.

[caption id="attachment_144291" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Sevin presents Endear’s CRM solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Glimpse

• Speaker: Akash Raju, Co-Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Forward-looking physical experiences

Glimpse provides emerging brands with the ability to test their product before they campaign. From ski hubs to warm getaways to locations as niche as upstate New York, retailers and brands can place their products in short-term rental settings for tourists to test-drive emerging products. Raju claimed that the brands that work with Glimpse have exhibited a 45% conversion rate across campaigns and a 3.5X return on investment as a result of tourists testing out products during their vacations.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Glimpse.

[caption id="attachment_144292" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Sevin presents Glimpse’s solution for product-trial experiences
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Humankind

• Speaker: David Weissman, Co-Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Consumer experience and client relationship management

Humankind provides a conversational commerce platform enabling brands and retailers to layer in a new one-to-one sales channel via SMS communication. Weissman explained that he spent two years of trial and error to perfect the Humankind experience. Sales associates are able to leverage Humankind’s SMS communication to speak directly with online shoppers, creating a personalized and customized online shopping experience to drive conversion, Weissman explained.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Humankind.

[caption id="attachment_144293" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Weissman presents Humankind’s conversational commerce solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Mavi.io

• Speaker: Cynthia Hollen, Co-Founder and CEO
• Disruption: Groundbreaking digital commerce

Mavi.io is reinventing the in-car shopping journey via its “OnMyWay” global e-commerce solution. “Imagine you are getting in your car and you say ‘oh car, I’m hungry,’” said Hollen. Mavi.io connects with any automated service to allow drivers to make grocery, fast food, C-store, supercenter or mall orders. The app then communicates with the vendor to share the driver’s arrival time and parking space, so that the purchased product is delivered to the car for the driver’s convenience.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Mavi.io.

[caption id="attachment_144294" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Hollen presents Mavi.io’s in-car e-commerce solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Max Retail

• Speaker: Melodie van der Baan, Co-Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Reducing waste and increasing sustainability

Max Retail connects retailers that sell similar products and brands, creating a marketplace to facilitate the fluid buying, selling and swapping of inventory. Max Retail helps brands liquidate globally, by granting them access to its network of over 1,500 companies, van der Baan explained. Max Retail can act as a supply chain for e-commerce websites, retail, resale and off-price marketplaces, she said.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Max Retail.

[caption id="attachment_144295" align="aligncenter" width="700"] van der Baan presents Max Retail’s inventory marketplace solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Nautical Commerce

• Speaker: Ryan Lee, Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Groundbreaking digital commerce

Nautical Commerce is an end-to-end multi-vendor marketplace platform. Lee explained that “the future of commerce is connected… Brands and retailers will share their catalogs and syndicate them across each other.” Nautical Commerce’s headless-commerce storefront structure allows vendors to adjust the front end of their digital store, enabling them to adapt to the latest consumer trends.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Nautical Commerce.

[caption id="attachment_144296" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Lee presents Nautical Commerce’s multi-vendor marketplace solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Niftmint

• Speaker: Jonathan Blanco, Founder and CEO
• Area of Disruption: Groundbreaking digital commerce

Niftmint provides retailers and brands with the opportunity to enter Web 3.0 (the third iteration of the Internet) by allowing them to mint and sell NFTs (non-fungible tokens) directly on their websites. Through Niftmint, customers have the opportunity to purchase NFT versions of the real-world products they buy online. In one of the more unique presentations of the event, Blanco answered the judge’s questions with his back turned to the audience, as he had a pictured on the back of his shirt. Upon scanning the QR code, audience members were able to register with Niftmint and collect a free NFT.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Niftmint.

[caption id="attachment_144297" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Blanco introduces Niftmint’s NFT solution before presenting with his back turned so the audience could scan a QR code on the back of his T-shirt to access a reward
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Ownit

• Speaker: Payman Nejati, Co-Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Consumer experience and client relationship management

Ownit is a shopping solution that allows shoppers to make purchases at the point of discovery, driving 30% higher conversion, claimed Nejati. Ownit integrates with Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Venmo, enabling consumers to make quick and seamless purchases at the point of discovery of a product. Furthermore, users do not have to log in or sign in with any account information; all they have to do is pay.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Ownit.

[caption id="attachment_144298" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Nejati presents Ownit’s e-commerce solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Re/tell

• Speaker: Joy Fan, Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Forward-looking physical experiences

Re/tell’s solution leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and open-chat technology to discover under-utilized physical spaces in high-traffic destinations. The tech-enabled marketplace takes excess real estate from existing small businesses and turns it into assets for online and DTC brands. In addition to helping online brands extend their marketing footprint to brick-and-mortar retail and capture a new channel for product discovery, Fan explained that Re/tell’s solution offers individuals or businesses with extra space an opportunity to share their operating costs and diversify their revenue to make renting more affordable.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Re/tell.

[caption id="attachment_144299" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Fan presents Re/tell’s solution for connecting online brands with physical selling spaces
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Returnmates

• Speaker: Eric Wimer, Co-Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Consumer experience and client relationship management

Returnmates provides innovation to make returns more convenient for both consumers and brands. Wimer explained that through the company’s solution, consumers will not need to print a label, find a box or drive their return to a courier. Instead, they can schedule a pickup through the portal and track their driver in ways similar to traditional ride-sharing apps. For brands, Returnmates is able to deliver returns back to a brand about two to three days faster than through a typical returns process, Wimer said. Furthermore, Returnmates has tracked a 17% increase in repeat purchases at brands that leverage the solution; making returns easier for the consumer prompts them to make repeat purchases.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Returnmates.

[caption id="attachment_144300" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Wimer presents Returnmates’ returns solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   ReUpp

• Speaker: Lauryn Vaughn, Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Reducing waste and increasing sustainability

ReUpp provides an online platform offering a buy-back program generating store credits and providing free return shipping labels. Vaughn explained that the solution aims to support sustainability in retail, helping good intentions to become reality: “79% of purchases are intended to be resold by millennials and have not been resold yet,” she said. ReUpp partners with Poshmark, listing items for resale on the platform as soon as the products are acquired. In addition to improved sustainability, ReUpp has a 95% sell-through rate within 30 days, Vaughn claimed.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for ReUpp.

[caption id="attachment_144301" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Vaughn presents ReUpp’s buy-back solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Sayollo

• Speaker: Jonathan Attias, Co-Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Groundbreaking digital commerce

Sayollo is inspiring a new market category called “in-game commerce” by providing an in-game purchasing platform, Attias explained. The solution connects brands to the 3 billion-plus gamers worldwide, with a focus on Gen Z. Sayollo provides fast checkout inside mobile games, integrating with Apple Pay and Google Pay to provide a seamless checkout experience.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Sayollo.

[caption id="attachment_144302" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Attias presents Sayollo’s in-game commerce solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   Via.Delivery

• Speaker: Mitchell Nikitin, Co-Founder and CEO
• Area of disruption: Forward-looking physical experiences

Via.Delivery is addressing high-shipping costs by adding an alternative to home delivery, called local delivery. Nikitin introduced the idea of BOPA (buy online, pick up anywhere). The company’s solution uses pre-existing residential shipping locations as opposed to commercial shipping locations, enabling a more effective, secure and sustainable last-mile solution that is cost-effective for both brands and consumers, Nikitin said.

• Read the full Innovator Profile for Delivery.

[caption id="attachment_144303" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Nikitin presents Via.Delivery’s last-mile solution
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]   The Winners An expert panel of judges selected the Sharks’ Choice winner as Nautical Commerce. As a prize, the company has been offered a $100,000 investment backed by Commerce Ventures. The audience voted for the Audience Choice winner, ReUpp. The company won the opportunity to feature in a future LinkedIn Live event hosted by Coresight Research, presented by Weinswig. [caption id="attachment_144304" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Lee of Nautical Commerce (Sharks’ Choice winner), Vaughn of ReUpp (Audience Choice winner), the four judges and Joe Laszlo, VP of Content at Shoptalk (second from the right)
Source: Coresight Research[/caption]