A fully-automated UK online fashion marketplace has secured investment to grow its business in Europe and beyond as it looks to ‘matchmake’ budding and established apparel brands with global manufacturers.
Sewport, which launched at the end of 2017 and was founded by Latvian entrepreneur Boris Hodakel, has secured GBP650,000 (US$848,100) in funding from a venture capital fund. It currently has over 500 manufacturers on board and over 4,000 brands.
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The company connects small to medium sized fashion brands and designers with manufacturers at all stages of development. Hodakel started the company after working with luxury high-fashion brands and realising there was a gap in the market for a ‘one-stop-shop’ manufacturing marketplace for both established brands and new designers.
Sewport will be using the investment from Fuel Ventures to fund new staff, marketing and growth. The company is looking to hire team members to help with technical development and customer success, as well as create free and publicly available educational material for emerging brands.
Around 90% of Sewport’s customers are based in the UK and US, and the company will be using the investment to replicate this success within other countries, particularly in Europe.
“We started this company because there are millions of people out there who are constantly searching for products and items of clothing that they need, but just can’t find,” says Hodakel. “Whether it be maternity lingerie or tailored clothes for different sized people – we give everyone a chance to create anything they want in the easiest way possible. One of our biggest goals is to make the fashion and design world accessible to the masses, as well as to help educate emerging brands.”
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By GlobalDataFuel Ventures is a venture capital firm that specialises in providing seed funding to early stage technology companies. It provides entrepreneurs with expertise and insights in business development, marketing and brand-building through its experience of building, scaling and exiting global companies.
