Minimist, a Vienna-based machine-learning startup, has raised €350k in a pre-seed funding spherical geared toward remodeling second-hand e-commerce – funds can be used to additional develop their platform and accomplice with extra retailers throughout Europe.
The funding spherical contains contributions from notable traders resembling Hanno Lippitsch (founding father of Eversports), Michael Pötscher (CMO of Bitpanda, TourRadar, and Paysafe), and Matthias Heimbeck (founding father of e-commerce agency Findologic).
Affect-focused traders resembling Sebastian Sessler and the Duit Household Workplace additionally participated, alongside help from the Vienna Planet Fund of the Wirtschaftsagentur Wien.
“Present e-commerce instruments usually are not designed in any respect for the distinctive challenges of second-hand, and we’ve labored intently with our prospects first in Austria and now throughout Europe to create an easy-to-use working system for anybody who sells numerous second-hand objects and needs to avoid wasting numerous time whereas rising their gross sales,” mentioned Stephan Hofmann, co-founder of Minimist.
Co-founded in 2024 by Stephan Hofmann, an ex-Google and Spotify product supervisor, and Henrik Feldt, a serial entrepreneur and machine-learning engineer, Minimist is designed to simplify and improve the promoting course of for second-hand shops {and professional} sellers.
In line with Minimist, their goal is to deal with a major hole within the second-hand retail market. Whereas 93% of second-hand shops at present lack a web-based presence, 80% of European consumers start their discovery journey on-line.
Minimist’s platform seems to be to bridge this divide with its mobile-first “co-pilot for promoting.” The system leverages superior machine-learning applied sciences for object recognition and pricing ideas, lowering the effort and time wanted to digitise used objects by 95%.
Inside 4 months, the startup has secured partnerships with 14 second-hand shops throughout Europe, together with a take care of one of many world’s largest second-hand chains. The platform allows various sellers, from classic shops and refurbishers to charities and influencers, to determine a powerful digital presence rapidly and effectively.
The funding will gasoline Minimist’s efforts to develop its operations throughout Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands, and additional improve its platform.
Present options embrace streamlined product onboarding, Google visibility optimisation, stock administration, and buyer communication—tailor-made particularly for the complexities of second-hand e-commerce.
The European second-hand market has skilled important progress in recent times, pushed by rising shopper curiosity in sustainability and cost-effective procuring choices. As of 2021, the second-hand vogue market within the European Union was valued at €16 billion, with projections indicating it might double by 2025.
Past vogue, the broader second-hand items market in Europe can also be increasing. In 2024, the market measurement is projected to be about €69.9 billion, with forecasts suggesting it might attain roughly €153.2 billion by 2034, pushed by a Compound Annual Development Charge of 8.2%.
These figures underscore the rising prominence of the second-hand market throughout numerous sectors in Europe, highlighting a shift in direction of extra sustainable and economical shopper behaviors.
Minimist’s deal with eradicating obstacles for second-hand sellers helps to unlock the untapped potential of this rising European market, or as they put it, “Giving superpowers to second-hand sellers.”
