The post was originally published in Russian on Startup of the Day. Alexander kindly agreed to republish what we think is of great value to our readers.
Picking the right clothes online is tough, but I can’t imagine what it’s like to find the ultimate option for a child. The problem is solved easier at an offline store, but one must walk there with one’s feet, and millennials don’t like that.
Kidbox, the American startup of the day, helps American shoppers out in this difficult situation. The user fills a little survey about the sizes and fashion preferences – what style do the child and the parents prefer, which colors they avoid, at which stores they prefer to shop. There aren’t too many questions, they look simple, it seems like even grandparents could find their way around. Or at least they will think they did it.
Based on the survey, the reaction to previous purchases, and smart algorithms, Kidbox puts together a set of clothes and ships to the intended receiver. The parcel costs 98 dollars for 6-7 items, this is around the middle tier by American standards. If there’s something you didn’t like, the startup returns the money in proportion with the amount of the returned items.
Naturally, the business can be repeated. Kidbox protects itself from clones by creating its own trademarks. It adds a couple of its own items to five items from regular brands – it decreases the prime cost and ties the users better because such items aren’t for sale anywhere else. However, there is a competitor who will not be stopped by such obstacles: Amazon has already launched a similar service and it’s clear who will win a one on one battle. On the other hand, what Amazon launched Walmart or Target will buy, so investors do give money. Maybe even more willingly than they would if the market was empty. In three years of its life, the startup brought in USD 28M of investment, 15M of which came in its latest round in April.
—
This is a rerun from 2018. Neither Target nor Walmart purchased it, and Kidbox didn’t have any other perspectives. There wasn’t an official announcement, but apparently the project seized its operations this Spring.
Translation: Kostiantyn Tupikov
Alexander made his career in Russian internet companies including Mail.Ru, Rambler, RBC. From 2016 to 2018 he was Chief Strategy and Analytics officer in Mail.Ru Group. In this position, he worked on M&A, investments, and new project launches. In 2018 he became Deputy CEO in Citymobil, a Russian Uber-like company that was invested by Mail.Ru Group and Sberbank (the biggest Russian bank), then he left the company to launch his own projects. Now Alexander is a co-founder of United Investors – the platform for co-investments in Russian early-stage startups. His blog #startupoftheday (#стартапдня) is one of the most popular blogs about startups in Russia.
