John Paul DeJoria, one of Austin's most successful entrepreneurs, has cofounded a new startup that uses artificial intelligence to help retailers instantly channel returned products to buyers in secondary markets.
The new company, called Vendidit, will be based in Austin. It is a spinoff of Austin-based asset recovery and reverse supply chain company Renew Logic. Vendidit, which secured an undisclosed amount of funding from DeJoria, is led by Renew Logic CEO Gary Stephens.
The aim is to make better use of retail returns, which can reduce the time that products spend sitting in warehouses and also prevent many items from ending up in landfills.
"It is not only an enormous business opportunity, it is truly doing good for the planet," stated DeJoria, a business luminary who previously cofounded Paul Mitchell hair products and the Patrón Spirits Co.
In a Bloomberg TV interview, DeJoria said he first got involved with Renew Logic about seven years ago as a way to reuse components of electronic products. Vendidit is an evolution from that, and DeJoria said he invested millions of dollars putting the new company together.
DeJoria also noted that one out of six retail products are returned, equating to a trillion-dollar business opportunity and a chance to reduce carbon discharge.
"It eliminates tens of thousands of trucks hauling stuff back and forth," he said in the Bloomberg interview.
Stephens, meanwhile, previously cofounded TechZilla.com and was an IT leader at Motorola. He cofounded Renew Logic with DeJoria along with Eloise DeJoria and Justin Harvey in 2016.
