In a significant leap towards transforming the future of commerce, Croissant, a mission-driven FinTech platform, recently unveiled itself with a robust $24m seed funding from prominent investors.
The distinguished investors in the seed round included Portage, and KKR co-founders George Roberts and Henry Kravis. The funds were instrumental in propelling the MVP launch of Croissant, helmed by an elite founding team. The team comprised Co-Founder and CEO John Howard (ex-KKR), Co-Founder and CTO John Klose (formerly Amazon, PayPal), and Head of Product Vrishti Mongia (ex-Meta, Moda Operandi).
Croissant’s platform revolutionises merchants’ existing shopping experiences, by guaranteeing a buyback value to customers at checkout, thereby enhancing conversion and the average order value. The FinTech startup employs data science and AI to generate the guaranteed buyback values for customers, and fulfils these guarantees. After purchase, items become liquid assets within customers’ Croissant accounts, which can be sold easily. This recycling of funds and goods enhances customer retention rates and lifetime value.
John Howard, CEO of Croissant, shed light on the changing landscape of e-commerce. He emphasised that conventional seamless payment options are no longer sufficient. For a merchant to truly excel, they need to trigger consumer psychology around the purchase decision in empowering and effortless ways. He added, “Croissant contributes to a richer, more vibrant commerce experience for everybody.”
Partially developed as a counter to consumer debt-focused offerings, Croissant shifts the shopping paradigm from a credit-driven consumption to an asset ownership model. This innovative approach boosts purchasing power and financial empowerment for users, resulting in increased conversions, average order value, and customer retention.
Portage Partner, Stephanie Choo, highlighted the potential in the fashion reselling market, valued at $130bn, which is still largely untapped by retailers. She added, “Croissant enables them to harness the interest in and growth of resale to drive new full-price sales with minimal integration.”
Apart from Portage, Roberts, and Kravis, Croissant has also attracted investments from Third Prime, BoxGroup, 25madison, and Twelve Below. The advisory board comprises industry heavyweights like Jennifer Fleiss, Co-Founder of Rent the Runway, Divya Mathur, former Chief Merchandising Officer of Intermix, and others.
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