When rock climbing enthusiast Chap Grubb began buying and selling used gear out of a vehicle a couple of years ago, the entrepreneur found a problem: there was no easy way to sell large quantities of equipment and no easy way for the consumer to know exactly what they were purchasing.
That was two years ago. Today, his business looks a lot different, after taking on the task of building a system to allow users to post, sell and buy items with less effort. The company, called Rerouted, is working to develop a platform powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning that would use photos of gear to automatically post, categorize and distribute item postings.
Rerouted is currently training its system with mechanical inputs made by its workforce. The platform would also send notifications to members for specific items for sale — putting advertisements in front of prospective customers. In addition, Rerouted's automated system would provide a more in-depth categorization of items than other reselling services.
“I want our used shopping experience to feel like you're shopping on REI," Grubb said.
Rerouted has been mostly self-funded to date but has also received contributions from friends and family, according to Grubb.
Two months ago, Rerouted released a version of its mobile application, which has a photo feature. The automation technology remains in development. So far, Grubb said the mobile app has roughly 250 users with 600 to 700 items posted as of Nov. 17 and that 1,300 members have signed up on the website.
Grubb said he and his wife moved to Albuquerque from Durango, Colorado in early November. He hopes the move to a larger city would offer more opportunities to make connections that would help grow the business.
“Looking at all the stuff that’s happening with the [state's] outdoor industry… it ties up with everything we’re doing."
An economic analysis from the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis shows various outdoor activities accounted for $1.9 billion in gross domestic product for New Mexico in 2020 and helped support 25,916 jobs.
