Vilnius-based startup Tingit, a zero-effort repairs market, has secured a pre-seed funding of €500k, led by Firstpick, a Lithuanian VC fund, and accelerator for tech startups within the Baltics, with participation from BADideas.fund (Latvia), PurposeTech (Czech Republic), and Heartfelt Capital (Germany).
With the contemporary funding, Tingit plans to launch the Service Supplier Gateway which is able to allow any restore specialist to independently provide their providers by way of the platform. An upcoming API will permit any model, e-commerce web site and market to plug Tingit’s repairs community into their web sites and seamlessly combine a restore service into their operations. After a profitable begin in Lithuania, the startup plans to develop to different nations in addition to introduce further industries akin to sports activities items, toys, and client electronics.
By connecting shoppers with restore specialists, the app gives a seamless restore expertise with service reserving, fee and transport absolutely built-in into the platform.
“We personal lots of issues and every thing breaks sooner or later. Our possessions want and might be maintained to stay in use. We wish to make repairs so easy it turns into a behavior, identical to brushing your enamel,” commented Indrė Viltrakytė, Co-Founder and CEO of Tingit.
Simplify the method
Tingit has already accomplished over 600 orders and dealt with over 2,500 restore requests, many from returning purchasers. What units Tingit aside from different restore platforms is the simplified course of.
“Customers add a fast video and we offer a quote for the very best restore providers tailor-made to that particular merchandise. This fashion, we take away the trouble of choosing a service upfront, as many individuals aren’t certain what’s even attainable in the case of repairs,” mentioned Tadas Maslauskas, Co-founder and CTO at Tingit. Earlier than becoming a member of Tingit, Tadas was main engineering groups at Kilo Well being, the second fastest-growing firm in Europe.
The VC traders acknowledge the worth of tech-driven companies that stretch the lifespan of products and assist customers lower your expenses. Lithuania’s first unicorn, Vinted, is an internet market for secondhand garments and has turn out to be the highest C2C second-hand trend market in Europe. In 2023, it had 105 million registered customers worldwide and reached virtually €600 million in income, proving the demand for sustainable consumerism.
Jonė Vaitulevičiūtė, Managing Companion at Firstpick, added: “There’s nonetheless a void of information in the case of leveraging expertise to boost sustainability. That’s the reason we’re tremendous excited to see how Tingit will educate shoppers and assist them create sustainable habits.”
Using the restore financial system wave
Viltrakytė co-founded Tingit along with three different companions in 2023 after 15 years within the trend trade, the place she noticed overproduction and overconsumption firsthand. Globally, 92 million tons of textile waste are produced yearly, with objects typically worn solely seven to 10 occasions earlier than being discarded. Retaining these garments out of landfills is a serious enterprise alternative: round enterprise fashions are projected to succeed in a market of $700 billion by 2030 and seize 23% of the worldwide trend market.
“We’re getting into the restore financial system. Manufacturers like Zara and Uniqlo have not too long ago launched after-sales repairs,” said Viltrakytė. “There are over 300,000 clothes retail companies in Europe that may ultimately be a part of this transfer in the direction of extra sustainable consumption. With Tingit, we’re dedicated to being on the forefront of this societal shift.”
In the long run, the CEO envisions Tingit as a worldwide sustainability market the place manufacturers, restore specialists, and shoppers come collectively for frictionless repairs.
