We sat down with Vendoo’s CMO, Josh Dzime-Assison, to talk about Vendoo’s vision, COVID-19 and what the future holds for online reselling and marketplaces.
Describe what your company does in 256 characters (a Tweet’s length)
Josh Dzime-Assison: Vendoo is a software for online resellers that allows them to manage and grow their businesses by helping them easily crosspost to multiple marketplaces, store and manage their inventory, and learn from our sales data and analytics.
How did you get involved in this industry?
Josh Dzime-Assison: I have always been an entrepreneur, and after opening a sneaker store in my early 20’s, I transitioned into selling items online. Up until starting Vendoo, I was a full-time reseller for over 10 years.
We quickly discovered that there was a massive reseller community who all identified with these same problems and were anxious for an innovative solution.
What made you think of the idea/what inspired you to create your technology?
Josh Dzime-Assison: Our CEO, Thomas Rivas, came up with the idea after problems he encountered while trying to sell items on multiple marketplaces. When he approached me with the idea, I immediately related to the pain points that he was aiming to solve because I was experiencing them in my business as well. We quickly discovered that there was a massive reseller community who all identified with these same problems and were anxious for an innovative solution.
How is this going to benefit people/society?
Josh Dzime-Assison: Vendoo helps resellers save time and make more money, and also gives them the tools necessary to turn a hobby into a profitable business. It provides businesses with the resources necessary to expand their visibility and increase their revenue. In addition to helping resellers, it encourages the upcycling and recycling of secondhand items (specifically clothing), by keeping them out of landfills to benefit the environment.
What’s innovative about your company and technology?
Josh Dzime-Assison: We’ve been able to simplify the differences between the marketplaces in a way that allows simplicity and ease-of-use for the sellers. We have also come up with an intricate and innovative technical solution to working with marketplaces that don’t have APIs. For example, each marketplace has their own separate list of brands and categories that are not compatible, different listing regulations and requirements, and their own mandatory fields. We’ve been able to alleviate the pain points of dealing with those inconsistencies.
How, in your opinion, has your industry changed in the past 5 years?
Josh Dzime-Assison: The reseller industry has exploded over the past five years. New marketplaces are emerging quickly and the concept of reselling is becoming much more mainstream. Reselling is becoming a legitimate form of secondary (or even primary) income for many Americans, similar to the emergence of Uber and AirBnb. Large fashion corporations like Levi’s and Gucci have also begun to move into the second-hand and vintage space, which is an indication that this industry is set to skyrocket in the near future.
What has COVID done to your company/industry? Has it been affected? Does your solution assist with the pandemic?
Josh Dzime-Assison: We were initially concerned about the effects COVID would have on our company and the reselling community especially because we had only launched months earlier. We quickly realized that our software was able to provide relief for resellers who needed stable and reliable income during uncertain times. People were stuck in their homes, but online reselling gave them the ability to continue working even though the rest of the world was shut down. The uncertainty of the pandemic also created new sellers because the reselling industry has such a low barrier of entry and can be lucrative even with little to no monetary investments. Being stuck at home gave people the time to begin selling by using unused items around the house as their initial inventory.
Describe the future of your industry. What does the future hold? What is society going to look like?
Josh Dzime-Assison: Reselling has primarily been an American phenomenon, but the global focus on sustainability and the emergence of more marketplaces will continue to drive new sellers into the market worldwide. The second-hand clothing market will also keep expanding because fashion is cyclical and vintage designs frequently come back in style. As reselling becomes more mainstream, brands will be able to use information from marketplaces and reseller tools to better understand their target customer.
People were stuck in their homes, but online reselling gave them the ability to continue working even though the rest of the world was shut down.
What plans do you have coming up?
Josh Dzime-Assison: We’re currently beginning to partner with various marketplaces to work together to offer our users an even better seller experience. In the upcoming months, we plan to start expanding Vendoo’s services outside of the United States as well as beginning the development of our mobile app.
What would your advice be for people trying to get into your industry?
Josh Dzime-Assison: I would advise anyone looking to get into the reselling industry to start selling items themselves. The only way to fully understand the intricacies of this industry is to experience them on the ground level as a seller.
Josh Dzime-Assison is CMO of Vendoo, a minority-owned startup consisting of four young entrepreneurs from Washinton, DC. Vendoo offers online tools to help cross-list reseller items, on multiple marketplaces in a matter of minutes.
