Fashion startup, Troquer, lands US $600 thousand round from Redwood Ventures

Contxto – Seems like it’s Fashion Week in the Latin American startup ecosystem. Well, not quite, but we have enjoyed covering Karün and GoTrendier’s merger with Chicfy over the past few days. Latin America’s entrepreneurial community has never looked so stylish!

Now let’s talk about Troquer.

The newest addition to Redwood Ventures’ portfolio is Troquer, a Mexican leading startup for second-hand fashionwear in Latin America. Earlier this month, the venture raised US$600 thousand in a pretty impressive capital round.

Troquer now joins Ares Materials, Billpocket, Gurú de Viaje and Yotepresto in the VC fund’s network. Based on Redwood Ventures’ emphasis on technology, this certainly follows its track record for supporting digital ventures.

What makes Troquer special?

On top of Troquer’s authentic proposal and traction, Redwood saw special in the online marketplace founded Lucía Martínez-Ostos and Ytzia Belausteguigoitia.

These two entrepreneurs founded the company in 2013. Since then, they have succeeded in leveraging artificial intelligence for 2 million users. Sellers monetize while buyers purchase quality items.

Today, the forum has grown 200 percent in transactional volume and operates with astronomically optimized unit economics within its respective industry.

What will Troquer do with the new capital?

Reports say that funds will be allocated to improving Troquer’s commercial strategy in addition to technological development. So far, everything I’ve read about this startup shows its commitment to becoming the leading online marketplace for thrift apparel.

“Troquer is proof of how the talent and vision of two entrepreneurs can build a disruptive, high impact and highly scalable company,” said Alejandro González, fund manager at Redwood. “We are proud to join the history of this platform and are confident that it will be another successful firm in our portfolio.”

What does Troquer’s success mean for the industry?

By now, it’s evident that there’s some disruption going on in the second-hand fashion industry. What we can deduct from Troquer’s ascent in the retail market is that collaboration and circular models are becoming new status quos.

Most likely, we’ll see more ventures replicating this model in the near future. Understandably considering the industry could be worth US$40 billion by 2022.

-JA