Everybody loves a very good deal! Off-price retailers promote branded or designer merchandise at considerably decrease costs than full-price choices and sometimes function fashion-oriented or home items. Yaysay is bringing the reductions of off-price retailers to shoppers on to their telephones with its gamified procuring app. The app, obtainable on iOS, creates a tailor-made procuring expertise utilizing AI to curate a customized feed of things obtainable at deep reductions. The offers are solely provided for five minutes, encouraging shoppers to finish the transaction, minimizing the possibility of cart abandonment, whereas permitting manufacturers to eliminate overstock stock rapidly and seamlessly as Yaysay purchases and takes duty for the stock. Solely 3% of the $100B per yr off-size market is presently on-line and the app, based by retail specialists from Casper, Gilt, and Sew Repair, seeks to bridge shoppers with the manufacturers they love at costs they will afford. The app is in public beta with a waitlist to hitch and options premium manufacturers like Zits, ALC, Chloe, Isabel Marant, Ganni, Loewe, and Vince.
AlleyWatch caught up with Yaysay CEO Lindsay Ferstandig and Chairman Philip Krim to be taught extra concerning the enterprise, the corporate’s strategic plans, newest spherical of funding, and far, rather more…
Who had been your traders and the way a lot did you elevate?
We raised $10.3M throughout two phases of funding. We raised $2.3M in a Pre-Seed spherical that had traders together with A* Capital, Shrug Capital, Afore Capital, Raven One Ventures, Montauk Ventures, Pink Antler, and others. And we raised $8M in a Seed spherical that was led by Lightspeed Ventures and included further participation by many of the Pre-Seed traders.
Inform us concerning the services or products that Yaysay presents.
Yaysay is a digital procuring app presently solely obtainable on iOS and solely presents brand-new objects from well-known manufacturers at deep reductions. Yaysay is a totally customized expertise – centered on an AI-powered customized every day feed. This allows a extremely related expertise, the place clients are served the fitting types on the proper costs to unlock the “win” for the shopper, once they uncover one thing unbelievably excellent, at a worth that’s too good to be true. These objects are introduced to customers on a restricted foundation (assume lower than 100 objects per day) and a totally new set of things can be found to discover every day within the custom-made procuring feed. There is no such thing as a incentive to desert your cart with Yaysay – you both seize an merchandise once you see it, or it’s gone without end.
What impressed the beginning of Yaysay?
We began engaged on Yaysay as a result of we acknowledged how large the off-priced retail class was, how a lot enjoyable it may be when procuring offline, and the way nobody had cracked the code on how you can carry it on-line. TJ Maxx is likely one of the largest, most profitable retailers in our nation and we have now been so impressed with how they’ve grown their enterprise. Utilizing AI and different applied sciences developed over the previous couple of years, it’s now lastly potential to recreate that distinctive treasure hunt expertise on-line for the primary time.
How is Yaysay totally different?
Yaysay is a first-of-its-kind procuring app. We’re solely centered on new objects from nice, well-known manufacturers that we’re capable of purchase at deep reductions, and we current these objects to our customers in a enjoyable, gamified, restricted foundation. No extra countless scrolling and search-based procuring. Our AI selects a restricted variety of objects per consumer per day, and our customers have to purchase the objects earlier than others do. The whole lot we purchase has very restricted portions due to the deep reductions we safe. All of this creates a digital procuring treasure hunt not like something earlier than. We consider procuring must be enjoyable, not simply useful, and have drawn inspiration from social media, courting apps and video games – the apps that customers love to make use of and interact with regularly – to construct a brand new cellular procuring expertise that seems like a every day, bite-sized deal with.
What market does Yaysay goal and the way massive is it?
Yaysay targets the off-price retail phase, an enormous market that strikes over $450B in income globally annually. The market is over $100B within the US alone, however lower than 3% of these gross sales occur on-line right now. We see big white area to carry off-price procuring on-line.
What’s your corporation mannequin?
Previous vogue enterprise mannequin of promoting objects we purchase from our model companions. We personal the stock you see, and we’re the service provider.
How are you getting ready for a possible financial slowdown?
Financial uncertainty is inflicting shoppers to hunt out low cost alternatives in areas like attire. Off-price retail is an anti-cyclical and recession-resilient class. We consider we’re launching the enterprise on the excellent time to capitalize on a possible financial slowdown.
What was the funding course of like?
We’re extremely grateful for our traders who share our perception that procuring must be extra enjoyable once more and that an AI-fueled customized, gamified procuring expertise can efficiently carry the joys of off-price procuring on-line.
What are the most important challenges that you simply confronted whereas elevating capital?
Whereas not all traders are enthusiastic about our area, we’re thrilled to have discovered companions who share our perception that there’s a large white area out there and a possibility to ship a massively profitable enterprise if we crack the code on bringing the joys of off-price procuring to cellular procuring.
What elements about your corporation led your traders to put in writing the test?
Our traders share our enthusiasm for the large phase of the retail market we’re taking part in in, coupled with the shocking lack of e-commerce gamers within the area. We collectively consider {that a} new and novel cellular procuring expertise that makes use of AI and gamification to make procuring really feel like a sport can crack the code to carry big success on this area. Coupled with the recession-resilient nature of off-price and the present macro circumstances, we consider that the time is now to carry innovation to the class.
What are the milestones you intend to realize within the subsequent six months?
We launched our beta on 9/27 and are thrilled to broaden the pool of shoppers we’re serving. We’ve tons of concepts on how you can proceed to construct upon the MVP expertise to make procuring on Yaysay much more enjoyable and addicting.
What recommendation are you able to provide firms in New York that shouldn’t have a contemporary injection of capital within the financial institution?
Take heed to your buyer, keep your focus, keep scrappy, and transfer rapidly.
The place do you see the corporate going now over the close to time period?
We’re thrilled to have launched our beta on 9/27 and are centered on persevering with to construct an much more enjoyable and addicting app expertise and proceed to onboard much more of essentially the most covetable vogue manufacturers to our platform.
What’s your favourite fall vacation spot in and across the metropolis?
We love Central Park within the fall – having fun with the crisp air and the leaves beginning to flip.
