“I started working as a graphic designer in '95, and then opened a small agency with my brother in '98. The agency remained small because, in the meantime, we decided to open a magazine to give space to the most interesting designers and stylists. From the magazine, which was called Pig, the idea arose Of pop, a market place where to buy and sell i second hand clothes”. Talk like this Simon Beckerman, born in 1974, Milanese, designer of Superfuture eyewear, who just ten years ago took the big step: to create a site to buy or sell second-hand clothes, to save money. So he founded the site and then the Depop app that allow the sale of unusual, particular objects, generally safe used items at an advantageous price.
Depop, ten years later, has transformed into a platform that matters today 30 million users distributed over 150 countries in the world, takes over 400 employees in the London office and in offices in Manchester, Los Angeles, New York and Sydney. On Depop, a product is uploaded every half second and a fashion item is sold every three seconds. In 2020, Depop transacted a billion items, all in a virtual environment, without physical stores or warehouses, but putting seller and buyer in contact. In 2020 gross merchandise sales were approx 650 million dollars, while revenues amounted to 70 million dollars, both increasing by more than 100% year on year thanks to the attendance of stylists, designers, creatives, sellers of vintage items, serial collectors of sneakers and much more. Including or young people who may aspire to sell their first creations.
A phenomenon that has not escaped the Big Usa. And so, at the end of May, Depop has been acquired by Etsy, the American marketplace listed on the Nasdaq for 1,625 billion dollars which encourages the sale of quality used goods by allowing artisans and small shopkeepers to present their products, from jewelery to toys, from clothes to books, up to garden furniture and wedding gifts.
IN RONCADE, A CAMPUS THAT ENVIES SILICON VALLEY
This exceptional success story was made possible by meeting an exceptional structure, the one created by Riccardo Donadon, president and founder of H-Farm, the Roncade incubator for innovative entrepreneurial ideas which in 2011 understood the potential of the project so much as to offer a basis for building a business from the initial idea of the co-founder of Pig magazine and Retrosuperfuture sunglasses. “Donadon – says Beckerman – is a great visionary, far too advanced for the Italian market, which is only now beginning to really understand the value of his educational projects”.
Founded in January 2005, H-Farm is today the only reality in the world that unites in one place investments, business services and training. Structured like a campus, a stone's throw from Treviso and Venice, it covers 51 hectares, 20 of which are woodland, and is the most important innovation hub in Europe. It has over 600 people working in Italy and is considered unique at an international level.
“I am very happy for Simon, who in these 10 years has become a great friend - comments the president of H-Farm - His is a beautiful story, made up of humility, great vision, enormous sensitivity for design, the ability to think big , and an incredible ability to know how to interpret today's society. In 10 years, Depop has done something extraordinary, reaching numbers that many industrial groups reach in two generations".
Il title H Farm, listed on the AIM, jumped 12%, attracting investor interest in the world's first "venture incubator" focused on the world seed, supporting the creation of over 120 digital startups. The Depop operation, thanks to the earn out clause provided for in the agreements, will generate for H-Farm a return of 15,5 times compared to the initial investment (792 thousand euros) for a total of approx 6 million making it possible to exceed in advance the targets, relating to startup exits, outlined in the entire 2020-2024 business plan. But it will also offer the resources to support the development of the entire H-FARM Education business unit, whose curricula cover the range from 12 years up to university.
THE SCHOOL OF IDEAS LISTED ON THE AIM
Yes, because the school has a strategic value in a project that doesn't stop with the sale of Depop. "This sale is only the beginning of an enormous creation of value", adds Donadon with a hint of regret Donadon. “The pure accelerator business model with the need to demonstrate exits to the market, associated with the difficulties due to the delay of the Campus, forced us to exit Depop prematurely. The result achieved is still very satisfactory and it was also for all angels investors who have followed our suggestions and invested with us”. And now? “In the coming years, the goal will be to repeat this story with our students. Every day I hear amazing ideas: now we want to make sure that the next Unicorn comes out of our university, our school or our courses”.
