CREATIVE MATTERZ FUND PROJECT PRESENTATION

From 100 submissions, this project idea was selected as 1 of 10 by a renowned jury based on the criteria of sustainability, originality, inclusivity, impact and aesthetics. The Creative Matterz Fund has supported all projects with €500, mentorship opportunities and pr. Now you can see what the creatives have realized in the last 3 months and vote for your favorite 3 project to win a total of €1000 in support of their work.

UPTRADED - NATIVE APP

Uptraded is made up of a five-people business and tech team. The team is currently led by Anna Greil (CEO), who brings leadership, project management and strategic management skills through her bachelor's and master's degree in these areas. After specializing in creativity and entrepreneurship in her semester abroad, she decided to pursue her passion for secondhand fashion professionally using the idea of uptraded. Bruno Huber (CPO) takes over the product management and innovation division at uptraded. His bachelor's degree in business and management, as well as participation in several entrepreneurship competitions from an early age help the idea-giver and the uptraded team to think entrepreneurially and find creative solutions.

The two founders are supported by three developers. Thomas Moser (Backend Developer) brings with him essential technical and analytical skills through his bachelor's and master's degree in mechatronics, as well as his long-standing independence as a software developer. Tobias Laufersweiler (Frontend Developer), a self-taught website developer, is responsible for the current prototype (www.uptraded.app) and due to his affinity for design, for the look of the native app as well. Michael Mösl (App Developer) completes the team with his self-learned knowledge in the field of UI/UX design and app development. Due to his many years of experience as an independent software developer he brings with him an agile, "hands-on" mentality that makes the internal processes very efficient.

Our team is different enough to solve all the problems in the different areas, but by the common vision - making fashion sustainable together - similar enough for a harmonious and powerful collaboration.

MEET THE TEAM

Bruno & Anna

Bruno is a creative mind from Germany focusing on triggering Anna all day long building user-centric products. His background is a BA in Business & Management and practical experience in the sales branch. With uptraded he is following his passion, to build stylish and user-friendly products that help save our planet.

Anna is a secondhand enthusiast from Austria working on circular economy models in the fashion industry. Her background is a BA in Business & Management and currently she is a MSc candidate in Strategic Management. With uptraded she is putting all her energy and time into solving fashion-related societal and environmental problems.

With the help of Creative Matterz Fund we were able to realize the following two projects:

1.
Finished product design of the native uptraded app

During the last weeks the whole team was working on the concept and design of the native uptraded app that will be introduced to the market at the beginning of 2022. This design phase included four brainstorming workshops, five usability tests, and a great number of hours developing and refining the design. The new concept for the native uptraded app was structured in four main areas: virtual wardrobe, swipe & match, fits, and chat section.

Step 1: Virtual wardrobe
Users can upload their unused clothes, which they want to exchange.

Step 2: Swipe & Match
In this section, users can search for swaps by swiping through the clothes of others. Our algorithms ensure that users only see items that really fit them. If users like a piece of clothing, they swipe right, if they don’t like it, they swipe left.

Step 3: "Fits"
A mutual like of two users leads to a so-called "fit”, which can be reviewed in the fits section..

Step 4: Chat

If a user likes a fit (= swap suggestion) he/she can enter the chat and seal the deal with his/her swapping partner.

The above-shown, tested design and further feedback from the usability tests that has not been considered yet, is now passed on to a UI/UX agency. The company is going to do a UX audit and finalize our atomic design system and the designs for all screens of the native uptraded app.

2.
Get 2000 users on the current uptraded prototype

Currently, we are still in the first major MVP test (MVP to be found under www.uptraded.app). The most important functions of the swipe & match system are already available. During the Creative Matterz Fund project phase we were able to motivate further 250 users to test the uptraded web app. In total, the upraded MVP is being tested by 2,007 users, i.e. we were able to reach our ambitious project goal.

Furthermore, the following key figures could be achieved:

2,007 users
3,535 fits
208,400 swipes
400 swaps (estimated based on survey)
4,917 pieces of clothing

How did the Creative Matterz Fund help you realize your project?
Financial support. Feedback on marketing ideas - how to reach 2,000 users & feedback on our app design.

Who were your mentors?
Cherie Birkner (she/her)
Kim Gerlach (she/her)
Alexandra Gheorghe (she/her)

What learnings did you have?

Ask for help
IG marketing (e.g. Reels have a better reach, pay attention to wording - profile description)
Collaboration: Working together with people from the creative industry is super helpful to generate ideas and get feedback to design questions
Diversity of thought: especially as a startup different ideas and opinions are greatly helpful

What is your vision for the future?

Our vision is “to make fashion sustainable together, by creating the world’s biggest collaborative closet”.
We are envisioning a world with more win-win-win situations. For us win-win-win means:
Two individuals make each other happy and the environment benefits as well.
We want to create a transaction model, where we reduce the drawbacks for society and the environment to a minimum. The world needs to be shown that there are alternatives to the way things are done right now.
We want to give people the feeling of making someone else happy.
We want to bring people together and strengthen communities.
We want to prove that sustainability is possible without tradeoffs.
We want to establish exchange transactions as an exciting alternative.
We want to celebrate fashion.

How can one best support you?
Try our app and give us feedback! We are really thankful for all the feedback and input we can get! If you like it invite your friends ;)