Sure the latest initiatives from the Teslas, Apples and Googles of the industry tend to dominate the tech news space — and with good reason. Still, the tech titans aren’t the only ones bringing innovation to the sector.
In an effort to highlight up-and-coming tech companies, Built In launched The Future 5 across seven major U.S. tech hubs. Each quarter, we will feature five early-stage tech companies, nonprofits or entrepreneurs in each of these hubs who just might be working on the next big thing. Read our round-up of rising startups from last quarter here.
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Clothing brands often struggle to sell their merchandise, whether it’s because clothes go out of style, fashion seasons change or they don’t sell as well as the company hoped. This can be a massive problem for brands as they have to clear out retail or warehouse space to showcase their latest fashion lines. Often they will destroy clothes or ship them to other counties to be sold elsewhere.
To help combat clothing waste, two Chicago entrepreneurs came together and founded The Dibz, a platform that helps clothing brands sell their excess merchandise.
The Dibz is an online shopping platform that integrates with Shopify to sell a brand’s products at a discounted price to The Dibz members. People can join The Dibz on their website, where customers input their sizing information and are notified via text when new clothing is listed for sale.
According to The Dibz co-founders Autumn Schultz and Brock Jones, the startup initially began by partnering with smaller brands but now teams up with both smaller companies and prominent brands that sell on Shopify. Currently, its lineup of products ranges from independent clothing brands to recognizable labels like Thousand Fell and Steven Alan, among others.
We’ve been able to see monthly sales grow 10x and are ready to continue to grow and build on that momentum.”
“The brands give us a very killer price point. And if we sell it, we get a cut of that, so we only make money if the brands make money,” Schultz told Built In. “Shoppers can feel confident they’re getting the best price possible.”
Schultz and Jones launched the platform to the public in September.
“We’ve been able to see monthly sales grow 10x and are ready to continue to grow and build on that momentum,” Jones told Built In. “Hopefully, over the next 12 to 24 months, it means growing the team, working with bigger brands and making a mark here in Chicago.”
Besides assembling its current team and brand partnerships, The Dibz has made several additions to its platform since its launch and is planning more soon. Schultz and Jones said they are currently working on adding home goods products to the platform.
