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Every fashion enthusiast knows there comes a time when you have to sort through your closet and reevaluate your wardrobe, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t benefit from it… Grailed is the premier reselling platform and community marketplace for men’s clothing. Its unique collection of curated inventory makes Grailed a growing, global hub for men’s style and fashion.
AlleyWatch spoke with CEO Arun Gupta about how he turned his passion and expertise in the high-quality, resale market into a full-fledged business.
Tell us about the product or service that Grailed offers.
Grailed is a peer-to-peer community marketplace for men’s clothing. We are the premier reselling platform in our space and offer engaging editorial and special projects geared toward educating our users and helping them along their style journeys.
How is Grailed different?
What makes Grailed unique is our inventory and our community. We curate our marketplace and highlight an exhaustive catalog of some of the highest quality and most unique men’s clothing ever produced. We are more than a commerce platform however; we are building the site to become a global hub for the men’s style community. We want to foster conversation, learning, and inspiration.
What market does Grailed target and how big is it?
Our target market is anyone interested in men’s clothing; our catalog ranges from menswear basics to some of the rarest pieces ever produced. This market is global, and our plan is to serve as many consumers worldwide as possible.
Which is growing faster Grailed or Heroine?
Grailed has a quite a head start on Heroine, but both sites are thriving. Grailed has garnered significant traction amongst menswear enthusiasts and collectors. Heroine is gaining momentum with women who enjoy wearing vintage designer clothing, newer pieces from popular brands, and streetwear.
What is the business model?
Our platform charges a transaction fee to sellers of 6% taken from every sale.
What inspired the start of Grailed?
A collective love of men’s clothing and style. The site was born from online menswear forums, Reddit, Tumblr, and eBay. We were buying and selling clothing informally through some of these channels and recognized the demand for a centralized marketplace.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
We are working to improve our buyers’ ability to find amazing items within our catalog and to streamline our sellers’ ability to move items quickly and safely. We also want to release a full-featured Android App, and pursue a number of community-centric brand marketing activations that will allow us to directly engage with our consumers.
We are working to improve our buyers’ ability to find amazing items within our catalog and to streamline our sellers’ ability to move items quickly and safely. We also want to release a full-featured Android App, and pursue a number of community-centric brand marketing activations that will allow us to directly engage with our consumers.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
Focus on hiring before you think you need to. Building the right team is the most important part of creating a successful company.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community, who would it be and why?
We’re lucky to have an incredible network of friends and contacts within the New York tech and fashion communities. However, I’d love to meet Michael Bloomberg!
Why did you launch in New York?
There is no better city in the US (and possibly the world) to build a company centered around men’s clothing.
Where is your favorite fall destination in the city?
The North Brooklyn Farms on Kent.
