Why we backed Atelier 💚
TL;DR 🌱
We’re tremendously excited to announce our PreSeed investment in Atelier, led by CEO Andrea Orrego: building a Sustainability focused startup HQ’d in Colorado, with ambitious goals to bring artisan and ethical home furnishings to the everyday consumer — disrupting the fast-furniture market for good. They are a remarkable team of Founders and Developers/Designers focused on the home-furnishing market, making interior design accessible for all.
Vision
Sustainability is a niche that is eating up the world. They are the platform go-to for sustainable and community-abled design.
Our Thesis
We’re the first VC check in this startup and very proud investors. They are helping to create a brand new vertical aligned with a broader trend we see in Human Centered Design —an experiential technology which is also beneficial to people and planet at scale:
The Four Principles of Human-Centered Design
- Understand and Address the Core Problems
- Be People-Centered
- Use an Activity-Centered Systems Approach
- Rapid Iterations of Prototyping and Testing
Within the fast-furniture category, IKEA is one of the pioneers historically, with many other contenders who don’t practice with the same environmental rigor — as highlighted by their implementation of The Natural Step. We believe that Atelier can massively disrupt the DTC fast-furniture space — as one of the early low friction competitors in this massive market, with a unique ethical consumption model.
Why Now?
The EPA estimates that 9 million tons of furniture are tossed every single year. That’s roughly 5% of everything brought to landfills (a sizable chunk, especially when you consider the amount of food waste and packaging materials thrown away). Not only is it wasteful, but it’s also not a good investment.
There’s a recurring trend we’re seeing in both Millennial and GenZ shoppers, who are shifting toward Sustainable Retail options across product swaps, p2p marketplaces, rentals, resale/consignment, and subscription boxes — according to a recent study by FirstInsight in 2020 — with 58% of millennials agreeing that resale value is a significant point in their purchasing process.
The company sees what Amazon and Wayfair are leaving behind, as a big environmental mess with fast-furniture. The new consumer is savvy and wants to do things their way but they need help with the process, according to the company.
Their go-to-market solution is an interior design platform to visualize, manage, and purchase-all for design projects integrated with a curated marketplace open to eco-friendly makers to reach consumers directly.
The Team
We’re proud to back this remarkable team, on their mission.
