- Dream Assembly third cohort consists of seven start-ups that are focused on shaping the future of fashion and retail
- Burberry, which has partnered with Farfetch on Dream Assembly since its launch, returns for the third time
- To date, 19 start-ups have become Dream Assembly alumni and have benefited from the accelerator program
London 24th October 2019 – Farfetch (NYSE: FTCH), the leading global technology platform for the luxury fashion industry, has announced today the third cohort of start-ups for its Dream Assembly program. The seven companies who are part of the latest cohort are focused on shaping the future of fashion and retail and were selected from targeted applications from around the world.
Continuing on the successful first two programs, which led to partnerships with Dream Assembly alumni Upteam, Good On You and Thrift+ amongst others, Farfetch is pleased to announce the seven new companies that will take part in the program this time around. These are: BECOCO, Brandpoint Analytics, Change of Paradigm, Inline Digital, Mirow, Personify XP and Springkode.
Global luxury fashion brand Burberry, which has partnered with Farfetch on the Dream Assembly program since its launch in April 2018, returns for the third time.
Stephanie Phair, Chief Customer Officer of Farfetch, said: “We are thrilled to be launching Dream Assembly once again with Burberry as our partner. The mentorship and insight they have given each of our cohorts has been invaluable, and we are looking forward to this next batch of companies. We have seen outstanding start-ups coming through the program, and it has been fantastic to be able to support the next generation of technology companies dedicated to shaping the future of e-commerce.”
Cipriano Sousa, Chief Technology Officer of Farfetch, commented: “I am very proud of what we have accomplished in such little time, giving back to the community, sharing knowledge and expertise, and concretely helping promising companies to scale and become solid businesses. We are lucky to have incredible partners helping with this journey to trigger the start-ups’ full potential.”
Mark Morris, Senior Vice President of Digital Commerce at Burberry, said: “We are delighted to partner with Farfetch again on Dream Assembly. Open innovation and collaboration are the cornerstone of our approach to digital at Burberry and we are looking forward to working with this year’s cohort of start-ups on their ideas to help develop the next generation of industry disrupters.”
The start-up accelerator program was first launched in April 2018 to provide a cohort of start-ups access to mentorship, networking opportunities and early-stage funding.
Based in Lisbon, the seven-week program will include a series of workshops, one-to-one sessions with senior leaders from Farfetch and partners, as well as mentorship meetings covering topics including e-commerce, marketing, technology, fashion, logistics and operations, giving the start-ups direct access to Farfetch’s expertise in the luxury fashion and technology industries. Starting in October 2019, the program will culminate in a Demo Day in London, where the companies will have the chance to pitch their projects to a selected pool of leading-external investors for follow-on funding, luxury brands and industry leaders. Last year, in its inaugural year, Farfetch welcomed 11 tech-based start-ups, from nine different countries. The second Dream Assembly program was focused on sustainability, which welcomed eight for-profit companies driving social or environmental benefit, including businesses working in the donation, resale and rental spaces, as well as manufacturing.
In addition to the program, on the 8th October, Dream Assembly launched a 1-day start-up bootcamp in Lisbon; an intensive training day with masterclass sessions and practical workshops focused on business growth. Applications were open to tech companies in the fashion/retail industry and gave them the opportunity to learn from Farfetch professionals, who shared their knowledge in the fashion and retail space.
Meet the 2020 start-ups:
BECOCO (UK) www.becoco.co.uk
BECOCO is an AI driven platform enabling retailers to scale personal styling. Through a unique approach that combines deep expertise in machine learning, fashion styling and consumer behaviour - the company's solution offers an innovative way to predict what consumers like and won't return. BECOCO's technology can be made available directly to consumers and stylists alike, online as well as in-store, driving more engagement and conversions across multiple channels.
Brandpoint Analytics (US) ) https://brandpoint-analytics.com
Brandpoint uses blockchain and AI to help retailers recoup some of the $4B lost annually to discounting; our solution allows consumers to exchange their data for micro price adjustments and helps retailers eliminate discounting, increase sales, and achieve greater supply chain transparency.
Change of Paradigm (France) http://changeofparadigm.com/
Change of Paradigm creates 3D CGI Simulation and Content Production as a Service and digital commerce and event-based X-Reality (AR, VR, MR) apps development for fashion. The objective is to enable business partners (fashion brands, retailers, etailers) to attract, engage and retain millennials and Generation Z customers with content in line with their cultural references and unique interactive and immersive user experiences to increase conversion rates and ROI. They believe that 3D CGI offers unlimited creative possibilities and unique opportunities to develop new functionalities as well as new usages in the consumption of fashion on digital platforms.
Inline Digital (US) https://www.inlinedigital.io/
Inline is building a cloud-based, wholesale ecosystem. Inline is a wholesale management tool built to optimize wholesale sales cycles and offer vital data insights in real-time. Brands and retailers can simplify and centralize their wholesale operations with Inline by digitizing product offerings, organizing clientele, and automating previously manual and error prone tasks.
Mirow (US) http://www.mirowtech.com/
Smart mirrors-as-a-service for fashion retail and hospitality that improve quality of service, drive additional sales and collect unique customers data.
Personify XP (UK) https://www.personifyxp.com
Personify XP is pioneering how to convert anonymous shoppers using machine learning and AI. Personify XP uses unstructured visitor data, to automate 40+ customer experiences in real-time. Ranked by Gartner as 'Cool Vendor' in May 2019, Personify XP is the first to market in solving the 'cold start' problem in personalisation where 97% of website visitors are anonymous. Personify XP delivers millions of real-time behavioural interactions daily for the likes of Pentland Brands, Lovehoney, Hawes & Curtis, Figleaves and Vitabiotics delivering up to a 30% increase in revenue.
SPRINGKODE (Portugal) https://www.springkode.com
SPRINGKODE is a fashion marketplace that offers exclusive high-quality capsule collections, produced by some of the best textile manufacturers in the world with unused excess fabrics that would otherwise slowly turn into deadstock and eventually go to waste.
For more information please visit www.dreamassembly.com
ENDS