More Than a Closet
Today’s featured startup is helping users sell clothes they weren’t even planning to by making ownership social and dynamic.
Project Overview
Haz is an app that turns your wardrobe into a smart, social resale platform. Users can catalog everything they own — and sell items they no longer want, directly through the app.
You can start from scratch or upload your existing wardrobe. To simplify the process, Haz lets you connect your email: its AI scans your inbox for purchase confirmations and automatically adds those items to your virtual wardrobe — with photos, descriptions, and original prices. From then on, any new purchases are added automatically.
But the real magic lies in two standout features:
Social feed — add friends and see their recent purchases in a live feed.
Real-time resale pricing — Haz’s AI engine regularly updates the estimated resale value of every item in your wardrobe, using millions of signals tailored to the item’s category and brand.
You can mark any item as "For Sale" and let others make purchase offers. If you accept, the app asks you to record a short video verifying the item’s condition. The transaction only proceeds once the buyer confirms — and Haz takes a commission from the sale.
The startup launched last year, released its app in late March, and has just raised its first €1.2 million in funding.
What’s the Gist?
There’s a third standout feature — not on the website, but revealed by Haz’s co-founder in an interview.
Friends can see each other's wardrobes and bookmark newly added pieces. That opens up a surprising mechanic: they can make a private offer on something that hasn’t even been listed for sale.
And since Haz’s AI is constantly estimating resale values, this opens up a natural price dynamic:
If you list an item, buyers will likely offer below market value. But if someone wants to buy something you haven’t even listed, they’ll likely have to offer above market value to tempt you.
That dynamic fits perfectly with a growing generational behavior:
According to resale giant ThredUp, 82% of Gen Z shoppers now estimate an item’s future resale price before making a purchase. Haz supports that mindset throughout the lifecycle of ownership — by tracking value in real time.
Another startup, Croissant, taps into this same mindset — but at the point of sale.
When you're shopping online, Croissant gives you an instant buyback offer: they’ll repurchase the item within a year at a fixed price. If you accept later, they’ll resell it themselves and keep the profit. That’s a huge value-add for retailers:
Increased conversions — buyers know they can resell easily if they change their minds
Fewer returns — instead of sending it back to the store, users just resell it to Croissant
Given that return rates in fashion average around 20%, Croissant’s model addresses a real pain point — and investors took notice, pouring in $24M in their first funding round.
Haz’s friends feed also echoes another use case. Last year, Claim, a startup aimed at students, raised $6M with a similar mechanic: a social app that shows what your friends are buying at local cafés and shops — with discount coupons attached. You can use your own, or trade coupons with friends.
Same mechanic, different market — but the principle is universal: social signals drive intent.
Key Takeaways
The secondhand fashion market is forecast to hit $350B by 2028, growing 3x faster than new apparel
Millennials and Gen Z are significantly more likely to buy used clothing
2 out of 5 clothing purchases over the past year were secondhand
On average, nearly 50% of fashion spend last year went toward pre-owned items
Traditional marketplaces struggle to attract sellers and buyers — and spend heavily on both
Haz and Croissant embed directly into the ownership lifecycle, lowering acquisition costs and increasing retention
Automatic resale pricing + social mechanics = more ways to engage and monetize
If you're exploring this space, don’t just build a resale app. Build something that fits into the full journey of shopping, owning, and reselling.
And if you don’t have an original idea yet — no problem. Start by borrowing one of the mechanics from this overview.
Company Info
Haz
Website: haz.co
Last round: €1.2M, 21.05.2024
Total Investment: €1.2M across 1 round