Tise, an Oslo-headquartered social platform which enables environmentally conscious consumers to exchange second-hand items such as clothes, accessories, homeware, and tech, has raised USD11 million in funding.
The funding, which comes just six months after the company raised USD7 million, was led by VNV Global ), a Swedish investment firm which has previously led rounds for companies including Avito (the most popular classifieds site in Russia), scooter-sharing company, VOI, and BlaBlaCar, the leading long-distance carpooling service globally. Therese Angel will be joining the Tise board on behalf of VNV.
Tise is revolutionising the way consumers – or “Tisers” – engage with the second-hand market in its native Norway, as well as in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. The company will use the latest funds to strengthen its position as the market leader in the Nordics, while beginning to look towards expanding into larger European territories such as Germany, France, and the UK. Including this new round of funding, Tise has now raised USD25 million to date and is currently valued at USD60 million.
In the accelerating tech space for second-hand items, Tise is unique in the way it combines the best aspects of a social network with the functionality of a classifieds site. Notably, it rewards its sustainably-minded users with in-app incentives (such as free access to entertainment streaming platforms and VOI trips) which encourages them to engage and interact with the platform and other Tisers who share the same positive ethos. As a consequence, Tise has been able to quickly build a passionate community of active and conscientious users which, as a collective, is helping to champion a more ethical and sustainable way of shopping.
Eirik Rime, CEO and Co-founder of Tise, comments: “We are incredibly excited to introduce our platform to consumers outside of the Nordics. The fast fashion sector is one of the most polluting industries in the world, but recycling clothing, buying and selling items second-hand, and repurposing garments gives items a new lifecycle which helps to end the environmental damage. At Tise, we want to promote, encourage, and incentivise sustainable practices and our recent funding will enable us to reach new markets and consumers who share the same passion for the environment as we do. We’re looking forward to seeing how our new users, ‘Tisers’, interact with our platform, which is another great step towards tackling the wasteful issues within the fashion industry.”
Per Brilioth, CEO of VNV Global, comments: “Tise fits the profile of a company with genuine potential to become global leaders in its space, with a fantastically strong founding team, inherent network effects and huge scalability. It’s clear to see that consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about how and where they purchase their clothes and everyday items, and the Tise platform is perfectly positioned to tap into this new movement by helping people make more sustainable choices. We’re very proud to be part of the Tise journey and we look forward to supporting Eirik and the team through the next stages of growth.”
Tise, which has gained almost two million users since its consumer launch in Norway back in 2016, is combating the fast fashion industry by incentivising and inspiring users to reframe their spending habits by making second-hand fashion social, fun, accessible, and more sustainable. According to the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, for every one kilogram of clothing saved, reused or recycled, five kilograms of CO2 are saved from entering the environment, which significantly lessens unnecessary water use, chemical waste, and greenhouse gas emissions.
