Retrofit

What do they actually do

Retrofit is an online vintage clothing store that curates secondhand pieces and sells them directly to shoppers in a standard e‑commerce flow (browse collections, filter by size, add to cart, checkout). The site highlights a “Get My Picks” personalization entry point alongside themed collections and clear shipping/returns policies Retrofit homepage.

The company positions itself as the curator selecting inventory (not a peer‑to‑peer listing site) and says it uses AI to sift large secondhand supply to surface on‑trend items and tailor recommendations. They also describe an emerging “ask us to find it” capability, where agents look for requested items, though public materials emphasize discovery and personalization on the current storefront experience YC company page Retrofit homepage.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Social‑first trend chaser (young, discovery‑led shopper): They want the latest Y2K or niche trends surfaced quickly; large marketplaces feel noisy and time‑consuming to sift through. Retrofit’s curated collections and “Get My Picks” aim to reduce the scroll and surface relevant pieces Retrofit homepage YC company page.
• Time‑poor professional who still wants unique outfits: They don’t have hours to hunt across multiple resale apps; they want a quick browse→buy flow with reliable fit/returns to avoid guesswork Retrofit homepage.
• Specific‑item seeker (event or rare piece): They need an exact look or era and current marketplaces require constant manual searching; Retrofit claims agent‑style sourcing to find requested items on their behalf YC company page.
• Quality‑ and fit‑worried secondhand buyer: Inconsistent photos, condition notes and sizing deter purchases; a vetted, curated storefront lowers the risk of disappointment Retrofit homepage.
• Sustainable/minimalist shopper who wants fewer, better choices: They prefer a smaller set of high‑quality options aligned to their style to reduce decision fatigue and impulse buys Retrofit homepage.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Hand‑recruit early users from the team’s network and social followers; run a concierge onboarding where founders use “Get My Picks” and manual agent searches to fulfill requests, collect feedback, and capture permissioned testimonials and UGC clips for the site and TikTok/Instagram Retrofit homepage YC company page.
• First 50: Seed 5–10 micro‑creators to produce try‑on/haul content and lightly boost the best clips to trend audiences; post curated finds in vintage communities (Reddit/Discord/Depop groups) and use onboarding to capture style/size data for lookalike targeting Retrofit homepage.
• First 100: Launch a simple referral program and a limited “request it for me” workflow (request→notify→pay) to test the agent promise; run weekly creator‑curated drops, improve photos/fit guidance/returns to lift conversion, and add small local pop‑ups that funnel to repeat online buys.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Global secondhand apparel is roughly $227B in 2024 and growing; online channels are approaching about half of spend, implying $100B+ online GMV today ThredUp 2025 Resale Report Statista overview.

Bottom-up calculation:

If curated vintage/resale represents ~5–20% of online secondhand, the global online curated‑vintage TAM is roughly $5.5–$22.5B (5–20% × ~$113B online). In the U.S., third‑party forecasts suggest online resale could reach ~$40B within several years; applying a 10–20% curated share implies roughly $4–$8B U.S. TAM on that horizon ThredUp 2025 Resale Report.

Assumptions:

• Online accounts for ~50% of secondhand apparel spend in the near term.
• Curated vintage/resale captures 5–20% of online secondhand GMV.
• “Curated vintage” includes vetted marketplaces/retailers beyond pure P2P listings.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Depop: Social‑first peer‑to‑peer marketplace popular with Gen‑Z; strong trend discovery but noisy seller‑driven listings versus Retrofit’s single curated storefront Depop Explore About.
• The RealReal: Curated luxury consignment with authentication and logistics; overlaps on vetted inventory but focuses on high‑end designer resale and consignment operations The RealReal.
• Poshmark: Large social resale marketplace where community and closets drive discovery; broad secondhand audience with less centralized curation than Retrofit Poshmark About.
• Grailed: Marketplace for men’s designer and streetwear with some editorial curation/authentication; strong for niche, high‑demand items but seller‑controlled listings Grailed About Authentication.
• ThredUp: High‑volume online consignment/resale with intake, inspection, pricing and fulfillment; optimized for scale over trend‑led curation and personalization ThredUp Clean Out.