Editor's note: In our 2023 Startups to Watch feature, the Silicon Valley Business Journal and San Francisco Business Times present startups and founders doing unique things in the Bay Area. Dispatch Goods is one of 15 we profiled this year — to read more about our mission and the other startups we're featuring, click here.
- Founded: 2022
- Founders: Anya Cheng, CEO; Phoebe Tan, COO
- What it does: Operates a menswear rental subscription service
- HQ: Hayward and Redwood City
- Employees: 7
- Total funding: $2.3 million
What’s your elevator pitch in seven words? Helping men look good without buying clothes.
What was your “aha” moment? I wanted to look good to achieve my goals (getting a job, dating, promotions). I considered Stitch Fix but didn’t want to own that much stuff. I tried Rent The Runway but didn’t want to spend hours browsing through thousands of items. I realized that most of the fashion services on the market are for people who are into fashion, not for people who just want to look good to achieve their goals. I also thought of that when I was leading e-commerce teams at Target and Sears — 30% of inventory went directly from factory to landfill, and Taelor’s model can provide data to help them better predict trends and support sustainability.
Who is your target customer? Men 25-45 years old in the U.S. who are busy and want to look good but also don’t want to spend time chasing after clothes.
Are you already thinking of an exit strategy? What would it be? Possibly an IPO. Maybe sell to an e-commerce company like Amazon to help them get into sharing economy space. Or sell to a brand like Banana Republic which could help them transform to circular fashion, or any brands that need customer lifestyle data on a regular basis.
Are you profitable? In unit economics, yes. But not overall considering other overhead costs.
