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.
Suppose a marketplace knows about 1000 models of printers. The cheapest one costs 100 dollars, and the most expensive one is 100k. Alright, a reasonable person won’t go to extremes, let’s limit our budget. In the range between 250 and 350, the marketplace will offer, say, 90+ variants. And each is probably viable – there are no apparent scam instances.
Choosing from such an abundance is a difficult task. One has to read some articles, research reviews, be aware of the needed and unneeded features. Not everyone can do it, not everybody wants to do it. And for those who either cannot or don’t want, there is Vetted, the American startup of the day.
The startup’s interface is a single search bar. The person enters the product category and receives a response with several variants that smart algorithms deemed a smart choice. If necessary, the basic request can be clarified with additional parameters – not just a printer but a Canon that supports wireless connection, Vetted will still suggest something precise.
The sources of information that the startup uses are reviews from independent websites. Vetted doesn’t have a lab of its own. It earns from partner links: stores pay for users who buy the chosen product from them.
The startup brought in USD 14M of investment in its August round.
#rounda #usa #tech #store
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.
