99dresses

99dresses operated as an online marketplace tailored for the second-hand fashion market, allowing users to trade, buy, and sell apparel. The company was founded in 2010 in Sydney, Australia, by Nikki Durkin, who started the venture at the age of 18, fresh out of high school. The founding concept was born from Durkin's personal frustration with a closet full of clothes that were rarely worn more than once. She envisioned a platform where women could trade these items, creating a perpetually refreshed, "infinite closet."

The initial business model was centered on a virtual currency called "buttons," where the value of an item was determined by its original retail price; users could then trade items or purchase additional buttons. This model was later adjusted to use real money, with the company taking a percentage of the transaction cost. After initial traction in Australia, Durkin relocated the company to the US and was accepted into the prestigious Y Combinator accelerator program in 2012. This move helped secure seed funding from investors including Y Combinator, Fenox Venture Capital, and Tim Draper. At its peak, the platform was handling over 1,000 exchanges per week.

Despite its promising start and significant media attention, 99dresses faced a series of compounding challenges that ultimately led to its shutdown in June 2014. The company struggled with persistent technical issues that hampered the user experience and brought sales to a halt. These problems were exacerbated by the departure of co-founders and the lack of a stable technical team. Financial instability was a critical factor; the business model failed to generate sufficient revenue as transaction values decreased. The company also faced difficulties in securing further investment rounds, co-founder disputes, and visa complications for its Australian founder in the US. A final pivot failed to achieve product-market fit in the American market, leading to a sharp decline in transactions and the eventual decision to cease operations. Keywords: fashion marketplace, clothing trade, second-hand apparel, online consignment, virtual closet, Nikki Durkin, Y Combinator alum, peer-to-peer fashion, sustainable fashion, pre-owned clothing, apparel swapping, e-commerce fashion, circular economy fashion, women's clothing exchange, startup failure, fashion tech, online marketplace, used designer clothes, clothing resale, buttons virtual currency, infinite closet