Serena Williams’ Starfire Ventures is an investor in a newly launched presale fashion marketplace.
Trace is a presale marketplace available as a mobile web app or a native app founded by Katie Pfleger, previously of Etsy, and Ella Rubin, who was part of the Walmart Online Grocery launch. Both are Harvard Business School graduates, WWD reports.
The Trace website features the taglines “Sell it before you buy it” and “Same wardrobe, a fraction of the commitment,” according to its website. WWD notes that the marketplace allows someone interested in purchasing a fashion item to put feelers out to see if others have the same interest and wish to rent or own it after them — the benefit being that they can share the cost.
Users can copy and paste a product link into the app to create a listing within seconds. AI gathers product details from the link to put the listing together.
Users can list an item before buying it, and then let others “call” to rent or buy it. Each “call” reduces the lister’s cost to purchase. According to WWD, buyers pay a 10% service fee and a $3 buyer protection fee, while listers pay no commission on the product. Renters pay a 10% service fee and a $5-$12 protection fee, with listers paying a 15% commission, WWD reports.
“Traditional resale is built around what people already own and are ready to part with. But in fashion, demand often peaks much earlier, when a piece is new, in season or suddenly everywhere because a creator wore it,” said Pfleger and Rubin, according to WWD. “By the time it reaches resale, that moment may have passed and some of the most desirable pieces never make it onto resale platforms at all.”
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Trace Raises $3M Seed Round
Williams believes that “Trace is transforming the way people shop.” Starfire Ventures, the venture capital firm that she co-manages with general partner Beth Ferreira, led Trace’s $3 million seed round, with participation from Shakti VC, WWD reports. Williams told WWD that her firm (formally named Serena Ventures) invested in Trace because of the market opportunity, its unique approach, and the founders.
“We are thrilled to announce the launch of TRACE! Congratulations to Katie Pfleger and Ella Rubinc … SV backed TRACE because we believe in the power of making resale easier,” Starfire Ventures wrote in a LinkedIn post.
