In-Seam, a Sourcing Platform That Supports Personal Shoppers and Stylists, Raises $2 Million
In-Seam, a private sourcing platform that supports the connectors, such as personal shoppers, stylists and sales personnel, has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding.
Founded in 2020, In-Seam partners with luxury designers to connect their collection to private clients through a vetted network of connectors (personal shoppers and stylists) by leveraging their personal relationships (and consignment model) with very important clients. These personal relationships drive the majority of sales transactions at luxury retailers.
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Ann Wehren, chief executive officer and founder, said the funds will be allocated for key hires in tech, partnerships and growth — “tools for our connector partners to streamline all of their client orders through our platform,” she said.
In-Seam’s technology facilitates and amplifies the business already being done through personal relationships, often in real life, and streamlines these omnichannel partnerships for brands, personal shoppers and clients. Through In-Seam, the personal shopper can manage the client relationship and at the same time, provide the opportunity for brands to connect and increase their brand awareness and loyalty with their most valuable clients.
In-Seam currently supports more than 125 personal shoppers and personal stylists, estimated to have a $125 million annual wallet capture. The platform has more than 100 designer partners including Dior, Khaite, Altuzarra, Adam Lippes, Lapointe, Monse, Rosetta Getty, Rosie Assoulin, Peter Do, Marina Moscone, Cecilie Bahnsen, Brandon Maxwell, Sea, Cara Cara, Ciao Lucia, Ganni, Dover Street Market NYC and vintage collections of ready-to-wear and fine jewelry.
The $2 million in pre-seed funding was led by Jack Greco, cofounder and general partner of Far Out Ventures, the lead investor. Greco is also the founder of ACV Auctions, a unicorn company that had an initial public offering, and was previously executive director at Techstars.
“Overly focusing on automation threatens to eliminate the human element of commerce,” said Greco. “A customer’s preferences are not fully defined by algorithm and satisfaction requires more than robotic responses. In-Seam is creating a way for technology to complement human-centered experience, marrying together a marketplace of desirable brands to the influencers and connectors that drive fashion, style and luxury sales. The future of commerce doesn’t remove the human, it empowers them,” he said.
In-Seam makes money when connectors sell items to their clients. They don’t handle inventory. They pay brands for products sold and earn revenue from brands to launch and promote their collections. By pooling the designer labels onto one platform, In-Seam can centralize functions such as shipping and payment.
Among In-Seam’s investors are Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, formerly of Gilt Groupe and Glamsquad; Techstars; Capital Eleven; Josh Kapelman, managing director, executive vice president of Hilldun Corp.; Cris Wassner, managing director and executive vice president at Hilldun; Michele Prandi, vice president, sales at Salvatore Ferragamo, and Andrea Tocco, executive at Staud.
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