AirRobe 2021 Wrap Up and What’s Coming in 2022
AirRobe 2021 Recap
With 2021 now in the books, we’d like to give a massive shout out to all our AirRobe customers, fashion brands partners (our Circular Fashion Network), investors and supporters.
Before looking ahead, I wanted to look back on the year that’s been and highlight the big wins we’ve made as a team.
As a seed stage startup, we’re only at the beginning but we move fast and have come a long way this year in building an incredible team and launching a unique product that’s already changing the re-commerce game.
Our mission at AirRobe is to be the leading platform and driving force for the re-commerce movement. We believe in a future where re-commerce is front of mind and everyone has the tools at their disposal to make it easy and fun to share their wardrobe. We are building the tools and infrastructure to power that future state.
Team
Being a Founder is hard — but it’s the most fulfilling job I could ask for and a huge part of that is coming to work each day and being surrounded by passionate, clever and interesting people that have chosen to spend their time working towards AirRobe’s mission. In 2021 we grew our team of “AirRobies” from 4 to 22. We work across 3 continents and several timezones. The hustle and energy of our team is truly contagious and I am so proud of everything they continue to achieve, every day.
So what have these superstars been up to?
- Raj, Michal, Otavio, John, Edwin, Wayne, Eli and Judy have helped create and iterate upon our Circular Wardrobe offering and built our AirRobe platform from scratch.
- Hayden, Jody, Judy, Ariel, Nat and Romy have brought our brand, experience and voice to life through beautiful design, photography, socials, emails and user experience.
- Cam, Sophie, Kendra and Xavier have evangelised AirRobe and brought in some incredible partnerships.
- Heather, Barbie, Ronna and Wilma have been our operations engine room, keeping our marketplace humming and customers delighted.
- Mal and Kareena have taken our marketing and distribution game to the next level.
We have some really exciting folks coming on board in the new year, including the outstanding Beth Glancey, who is joining us as Global Head of Partnerships and General Manager, ANZ. Beth is a force of nature who joins us from her previous role as General Manager ANZ at Sephora.
Product
In 2021 we hard launched the Circular Wardrobe. This was a pivotal moment for us as a young company. The Circular Wardrobe is a unique idea — one that brings together all stakeholders in fashion to improve the sustainability outlook for the entire industry. I’m proud of what our team has built and the incredible partners we are now working with to get this baby out there.
Entering the US
With increasing demand from our US customer base, amid covid lock-downs we decided to forge our way into the US market. I packed a bag (and my fiance) and made the move to the Bay Area. We hired and onboarded our first two employees in the US, with another commencing in 2022.
As part of the move, we raised fresh capital to bring in some incredible investors in the US including Sugar Capital, Tidal Ventures and Domm Holland, and gained further support from our early backers and first believers. These folks have industry expertise that is helping us level up our game and take AirRobe global.
We also participated in AusTrade’s San Francisco Landing Pad, spoke to customers, ate yummy tacos and brought onboard our first 5 US-based brand partners.
Enterprise launch
We launched with Australia’s biggest online retailer as our first enterprise merchant.
This was no small feat (and at first seemed pretty crazy 🤔). But with a few months of hustle, hard work and dedication from everyone in the team we made it happen without a hitch!
Ferris Bueller learnings
After months of hard work, one thing we learned together was the importance of taking time for ourselves and focusing on mental wellbeing.
Despite the big and never-ending deadlines at the time, we turned to one of life’s greatest teachers, Ferris Bueller and had AirRobe’s inaugural Leisure Rules Day — yes, some of us tried to steal a car and join a parade. We’ve also had the team take two weeks off over the festive period to rest and rejuvenate and spend time with family.
What’s next?
I am excited about 2022 at AirRobe. We have big plans on the global stage to change the face of fashion and make AirRobe the best place to work.
AirRobe’s vision is to power the world of re-commerce and reimagine a resource-wise world. We have plans to bring on board some of the best fashion brands globally and to power our global Circular Fashion Network. Over the next year there will also be a key focus on improving our product through further integrations and making our one-click re-commerce experience even more seamless. We will focus on building out our incredible team, especially as we grow into the US market.
Thank you for all our supporters, our AirRobies, our merchants, our customers on the AirRobe platform, our investors, our mentors and advisors, the amazing startup community in Australia and San Francisco and last but definitely not least, my local coffee shop.
Bring on 2022, we’re excited for another huge year!
