The Revivas -- SEIS available

Early stage, female founded, sustainability focused fashion marketplace - world class founding team

Hot deal summer has arrived.

Shout out to my old Deliveroo colleague and Dija founder, Yusuf for today’s great opportunity, which still has some SEIS available….

Introducing The Revivas 

• The Revivas is an early stage, female founded, sustainability focused fashion marketplace, connecting conscious consumers & sustainable brands. www.therevivas.com 

• The platform sells unused, new clothing from independent designer brands committed to sustainable and ethical fashion. The Revivas makes discovery process hassle-free for customers, and helps sustainable brands grow.  

• They have a rigorous sustainability assessment for the brands and next step is to develop their proprietary technology. They are working on developing an AI-enabled sustainability scoring and benchmarking tool, designed with subject matter experts. 

• The business has two co-founders: Fulya (ex-Goldman Sachs, Columbia MBA: LinkedIn), and Merve (ex-Google marketing: LinkedIn) 

The Team 

• The co-founders have a complementary, 20+ years combined experience in finance and marketing: they have the skillset to grow the marketplace with an effective marketing strategy while maintaining healthy unit economics. They have a strong network in the sustainable fashion industry, and they are two persistent, driven founders with the right team to make The Revivas a global go to sustainability platform 

• The team has 5 full time employees: an e-commerce manager, two sustainability and marketing interns and the founders.  

• On the technology front, the team also has technology teammates: An experienced Shopify expert and an AI technologist from Stanford University 

The Problem 

Fashion is the #2 polluting industry in the world, and consumers are changing preferences. On the demand side, 65% of fashion consumers want to shop sustainably but they face accessibility, knowledge gap, and limited assortment barriers. On the supply side, most sustainable brands are designer-led with limited resources & expertise and struggle to scale in today's digital world. 

The Solution 

The Revivas is a one-stop destination for sustainable shopping, making it more accessible, reliable and desirable for consumers. With The Revivas’ marketing know-how, sustainable brands are finding a platform to reach the right customer base and strengthen their positioning as a sustainable designer.  

The Revivas has a multi-channel marketing strategy including paid marketing performance marketing and organic marketing SEO, e-mail marketing, PR and influencer marketing. The platform is launching pop-up stores in key locations in London and building partnerships with premium yoga studios, vegan and organic food stores, and membership clubs committed to a green, healthy lifestyle.

The Business Model 

• The Revivas has a dropship model (no stock) hence it is asset light and highly scalable 

• The platform charges commission on sales.  

• Majority of the marketing campaigns are run with brand partners, making it cost effective for The Revivas  

• The business will incorporate subscription based revenue models in exchange for offering: i) performance data analytics based on the site traffic, ii) marketing & branding consulting, and iii) sustainability guidance to brand partners 

• The AI based sustainability framework is an upside in the business plan as it has the potential to be offered as a service not only to brand partners on The Revivas, but also to the broader fashion industry  

Traction  

• The Revivas was launched in December 2023 and is on a high growth trajectory:  

• Onboarded 70 sustainable brands 

• Processed 300+ orders 

• 1K+ customer base

• Grew GMV at ~1.5x on a MoM basis since launch  

• Mentioned by premium media outlets such as SheerLuxe, Whoworewhat & sustainability influencers such as @londonchatter, @curiouslyconscious

• The founders’ vision is to enter new categories in addition to fashion, and new geographies in addition to the UK, and become a global go-to platform for sustainability. 

Fundraising 

The Revivas is raising £200,000 at a valuation of £4.0 million.

This funding will help the business keep up with customer demand, convert customers faster, and grow the monthly recurring revenue; ultimately contributing to the founders’ goal of reshaping the fashion industry for a greener future.  

• The business has already raised ~£250k and received close to ~£150k commitment. The largest investor to date is an angel investor from the sustainable fashion industry.  

• They are looking for a few final value-add angels and aim to close the round by mid-June.  

• The business is SEIS / EIS approved and the SEIS limit is mostly available for newcomers.  

• They make SAFE agreements with investors therefore can move quickly.  

As always, if you’d like to see the full investor deck - sign up for the Shaman List below: