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SoleSavy secures $12M in funding to help you buy sneakers more easily
The growing platform is trying to make a community out of sneakers again.
SoleSavy has quickly emerged as a useful platform for sneakerheads who have to compete with resellers for the hottest releases. Today, it announces $12.5 million in new funding less than six months after it raised $2 million in its initial seed round.
SoleSavy uses community-based groups to provide users with information, direct purchase links, and time-sensitive alerts on sneaker releases. As resellers enlist bots to gobble up pairs of the most covetable sneakers, the layman consumer can use all the information they can get just to have a chance in the rabid market.
The company says 90 percent of its user base is active on a daily basis and has reported a 200-percent increase in revenue just since December. More than 35 employees have also been hired from a range of leading companies in the sneaker space, including Jordan Brand and Complex.
A return to community — Since its founding in 2018, SoleSavy’s mission has been to combat the influence of the rapidly increasing resale market on the sneaker game. What was once a niche subculture that largely centered on building connections at local sneaker shops and on forums has now given way to a faceless pursuit of fast profits — which can be off-putting to early sneakerheads and intimidating to newcomers.
“SoleSavy aims to solve the current challenges of the sneaker industry — one that has evolved from people enjoying their passion to being exploited for profit,” Dejan Pralica, co-founder and CEO of SoleSavy, said in a release. “With explosive member growth that has translated into a highly engaged community, we’re clear on the problems that must be solved, and how we can help make sneakers better for all types of enthusiasts. This new round of investment will help accelerate our mission, as we invest more into technology, hire the best talent, and launch new products and services.”
Earlier this year, SoleSavy launched a women’s only group on Slack to provide female sneakerheads with a safe space to exchange information on releases and connect with each other on a personal level. Cries of the sneaker community being male-dominated are almost as old as the community itself, and the women’s only group is still one of the few moves made to actually do something about it.
While forums are no longer the central meeting space for sneakerheads, SoleSavy is bringing back their spirit as it seeks to make the game more accessible again — and more inclusive than ever.
