Like millions of other Americans, Casey Casterline is really into subscription boxes.
But after noticing how many of the products she received weren't being used, she got the idea for a start-up business that would capitalize on those unwanted items.
eDivv is an online marketplace for trading beauty products. The platform is similar to eBay or Amazon, Casterline said, but with a sole focus on bartering.
Before launching eDivv, Casterline said women already were trading beauty products from their subscription boxes via e-mail and online forums. Now she's brought a dedicated site for women to trade a bottle of dry shampoo they may not want for a facial moisturizer they do.
Casterline said about 2.5 million women receive subscription boxes in the mail. (Subscription boxes are a collection of products or samples that consumers sign up to periodically receive.) eDivv currently has 95,000 products uploaded to its site, so the potential for growth is obvious.
When the company launched in January, it focused on a public relations campaign to get the word out. Since then, it has focused on Facebook and other social media marketing to expand.
The entrepreneurial bug bit early. Casterline, 25, was working in finance for another start-up when she got the idea for eDivv. Her cofounder, Jon Katz, 27, also had a start-up background, having worked with his father's start-up for four years before joining Casterline to launch eDivv.
"We have a lot of experience that you would need to learn how to start a business from the ground up," Casterline said.
Why Memphis?
Casterline is a New Jersey native who attended Northeastern University in Boston. The fact that eDivv launched in Memphis is almost solely related to
Start Co. and its accelerator program.
"We ended up in Memphis truly because of the accelerator program. We applied all over the country, interviewed with a few and thought Start Co. would give us the best opportunity to succeed," Casterline said. "The program is more intense than some other accelerators out there, so that really helped."
eDivv was one of eight Start Co. graduates to travel to Silicon Valley in November. Start Co. organized the trip for the start-ups to pitch their business plans and try to make connections in the high-tech hotspot.
So far, Memphis has been good for eDivv's business. Chalk it up to Southern hospitality.
"The difference between some of the other larger cities that are more well-known for start-ups is that people here are more willing to help," she said. "Any time you meet someone, they're always willing to give you advice. That's been really refreshing. They're always asking, 'How can I help, and what can I do?'"
eDivv currently has three employees: Casterline, Katz and an overseas developer. The partners closed a second round of seed financing at the end of October and are in the process of implementing a shipping tool for the site.
The shipping component will allow eDivv to generate income, but the real profit potential comes from the site's highly targeted audience. All the information eDivv collects--what products users are trading, who is active and who wants what brands--is extremely valuable to subscription box companies, Casterline said.
"There are no prices on our site," she said. "Women are trading for what they intrinsically value products at, so we're able to tell at what retail price point people value these products."
As for eDivv's future, Casterline foresees opportunities for expansion into areas and verticals outside of the beauty industry.
She also sees the company as a buy-out candidate for subscription box companies or other online buy/sell platforms--such as Amazon or eBay--which haven't yet entered the bartering business.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.