From Too Many Clothes to a Billion-Dollar Idea
Have you ever looked at your room and thought, “Oh my God, I have too much stuff”? That’s what happened to Milda Mitkutė from Lithuania. When she moved to a new flat, her closet was much smaller, and she had to cut her clothes from 300 items to only 100.
Instead of just throwing things away, Milda thought of selling them online. At a party in 2008, she shared her idea with her friend Justas Janauskas. At first, he didn’t believe people had so many clothes to sell. But after asking other party guests, he changed his mind. Together, they built a simple website called manodrabužiai (“my clothes” in Lithuanian).
The site wasn’t perfect. In fact, they even forgot to add a “buy” button! But once it was fixed, Milda sold 40 of her own items in the first week. Word spread quickly, and soon people in Lithuania were using it. A lucky meeting with German visitors encouraged them to launch in Germany under the name Kleiderkreisel (“clothes circle”), which was also a success.
Over time, the platform grew bigger and changed its name to Vinted. Today, it has millions of users worldwide. In the UK alone, more than 16 million people use the app to buy and sell clothes.
The journey wasn’t always easy. In 2016, when Vinted tried charging fees, growth almost stopped, and the company nearly failed. But under new leadership, they removed the fees and advertised on TV. By 2019, Vinted became Lithuania’s first “unicorn” (a company worth over $1 billion).
Milda is proud of what they built. She hopes second-hand shopping will help people waste less and protect the environment.
-Peace News Desk