Women in E-Commerce: Paving the Path to Sustainability
The Artemis Fund believes technology can create prosperity for all, but it’s not possible without diverse perspectives. Artemis leads seed rounds for diverse tech founders with wild ambitions in fintech, commerce, and care building the economy of the future.
The Artemis Fund believes the future of commerce is digital and sustainable. Across our pipeline, we’ve seen founders building the next generation of sustainable production and consumption, from Sharpei (circular economy) to Ergo and Offe Market (moving inventory) to Hemster (extending product life). This month, we’re featuring women who have created impactful solutions in digital retail and e-commerce.
Current resource consumption exceeds the planet’s regenerative capacity and will lead to increased waste, pollution, and social inequalities. By 2050, a population of 9.8 billion will need the resources of nearly three Earths to maintain current lifestyles. Sustainable consumption means achieving more with fewer resources, prioritizing efficiency and sustainability. Consumers today increasingly prioritize sustainability, using their purchasing power to support it.
Reducing waste is crucial for SMBs, which employ nearly half the US workforce and face significant economic pressures such as inflation, supply chain issues, and rising labor costs. Efficient waste management can lead to substantial cost savings, directly impacting their bottom line. By minimizing waste, SMBs can allocate resources more effectively, enhancing their financial stability and resilience.
SMBs are often more adaptable to customer needs compared to larger corporations. This agility allows them to capitalize on purchasing power by quickly adjusting their operations and offerings based on market demands. Efficient waste reduction practices can enhance this adaptability, enabling SMBs to respond swiftly to changes and maintain a competitive edge.
Below, we highlight a few Artemis portfolio companies in commerce and digital retail driving sustainability and improving customer bottom lines.
Innovative Solutions in Our Portfolio
Max Retail: Turning Unsold Inventory into Profit
Max Retail is a company that helps brands and independent retailers sell unsold inventory through a global B2B network, founded by Melodie van der Baan and Morgan Hatin Bodström.
Max Retail enables small businesses to increase their cash flow and move inventory by matching liquidators with off-price retailers. Of their customers, 95% are women-owned businesses making an average of $12K in additional income annually with some as much as $250K all while keeping clothes out of landfills.
In 2023 alone, 60K items of clothing were resold, and $4M was recouped by SMBs. They’re on their way to becoming the largest supply chain that holds no inventory, and recently raised a $15M Series A.
Gemist: Transforming the Jewelry Industry
Gemist, a vertical SaaS solution for the jewelry industry, founded by Madeline Fraser, licenses their unique technology to allow jewelry brands to engage consumers in a more personal buying experience.
Considering that 85% of jewelers are small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), many of which are diverse, multi-generational, and family-owned enterprises, their lack of access to technology that solves their unique needs is hindering their ability to compete effectively.
The biggest win for brands and retailers is Gemist’s no inventory philosophy- collections can be created and scaled with renders. The result is that virtually no finished inventory is needed, a huge win for waste reduction.
Paloma: Revolutionizing Social Media Sales
Paloma, an e-commerce platform for social-first selling, founded by Kelsey Hunter, takes customers from comment to checkout on Instagram Lives, Story, Feed, and DM sales — with no website required.
Paloma offers a suite of features, like live listings (where a seller can tag a customer in the comments of a live sale, and Paloma will deliver a checkout link right to the customer’s DMs), group live sales, customer acquisition reporting, and more.
DRESSX: Fashion’s Sustainable Future is Digital
DRESSX, founded by Natalia Modenova and Daria Shapovalova, is a digital fashion company offering a more sustainable, accessible alternative to physical clothing. DRESSX allows consumers to shop sustainably, decrease overconsumption of textiles, and access luxury brands.
Brands use DRESSX’s technology to run their campaigns sustainably and replace one-time-use items. Fashion is the second-largest polluter on our planet. Producing a single shirt requires nearly 3,000 liters of water, yet 80% of clothing items are worn only once, and 85% of textiles end up in landfills or are incinerated annually. In 2023, DRESSX saved 10M liters of water and 68K kg of CO2 equivalent.
Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Future Together
In 2023, our portfolio generated $310M in revenue for SMBs, created 13K jobs, and served 410K families. Over the next decade, Artemis plans to generate $50B in revenue and financing for small businesses, create 100K jobs, and serve over 10M families. These companies are reflective of the resilient, mission-driven founders with unique insight into massive, misunderstood markets that we back. Read more about our portfolio’s impact in our Annual Impact Report.
At The Artemis Fund, we are not just investing in businesses; we are investing in a future where commerce is sustainable, inclusive, and driven by innovative technology. Our portfolio companies are at the forefront of this transformation, proving that it is possible to achieve both economic success and positive social impact. By empowering diverse founders and supporting small and medium-sized businesses, we are proud to foster a more resilient and equitable economy.
Learn more about the companies in our portfolio on our website. If you’re a founder innovating in fintech, commerce, or care, pitch us here!
