This post is also available in: Danish
53 groups were randomly assembled in a joint subject project at VIA University College. The assignment was to work with sustainability in the fashion industry.
Louise Linde was in one of the groups. She was studying for a bachelor’s degree in marketing and branding and was paired with a retail designer and multimedia designer, among others. Together, they worked to create a greener fashion industry in a new way.
“Instead of making companies greener, we really wanted to look into how we can make it fun for consumers to be a little greener – more fun and playful,” she says.
The solution was a digital wardrobe app called CAPSULE. Here, you can put together and plan your outfits. You can see what your friends have in their wardrobe, mix and match with a digital overview and get other users to style your wardrobe. This way, users can get more out of their current wardrobe – instead of buying new clothes.
From idea to 100,000 users
After the project course, three group members chose to intern in CAPSULE while studying. At the same time, the startup became part of VIA Studentervæksthuse, where they were assigned a mentor and received training in, among other things, pitching the company. This landed them an Innofounder grant in September 2022, which meant they could work full-time at the company after their studies.
CAPSULE proved that there was a demand for the digital wardrobe solution when they opened up the app at the end of 2023 after a year and a half of development:
Shortly after the launch, they quickly got 10,000 downloads. Two months later, they raised an investment round of DKK 3 million; in March this year, they raised another DKK 2.5 million. In the meantime, they’ve gained 100,000 users from 180 countries, who have collectively added two million pieces of clothing to the digital wardrobe app.
And it all started at a chance meeting at VIA in 2021:
“I never thought I would be an entrepreneur. I’ve had the idea for a digital wardrobe since I was 14, but if I hadn’t met Emilie and Nadia, I probably wouldn’t have jumped into it,” says Louise Linde and adds:
“If we hadn’t been put together back then, there wouldn’t be anything called CAPSULE today.”
About VIA Væksthusene
Væksthusene is a free offer for bachelor students at VIA University College. It creates the framework for them to develop and realise entrepreneurial ideas – including office space and tailored sparring from mentors.
The students at the incubatorAn incubator is a supportive environment that helps early-stage startups by offering resources, mentorship, networking opportunities, and a physical workspace. More can aim to establish their own business, a project or solve challenges for an organisation.
Read more at https://www.via.dk/samarbejde/via-studentervaeksthuse
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