Ilfynn Lagarde is co-founder of YOUZD, a platform for buying and reselling second-hand furniture.
YOUZD's objective? To simplify the lives of those who want to consume second-hand furniture, but don't have the time ⏳ or determination to search 🔥
Theidea for YOUZD was born in the summer of 2019, when Ilfynn wanted to furnish her studio with second-hand furniture. She was faced with the difficulty of finding sympathetic furniture and, above all, getting it to her new home. At the same time, Vinted is booming thanks to a TV advertising campaign.
"People around me who would never have imagined buying or reselling second-hand were doing so with Vinted. I wondered how we could start this movement for furniture."
"During my move-in, finding second-hand furniture seemed very time-consuming and complicated, whereas Vinted had found a simple recipe with second-hand clothes."
After her HEC master's degree in Entrepreneurship, Ilfynn embarked on a 15-year career in the food industry. She worked for a number of major groups in the marketing and sales departments. Despite the fact that she is an employee, Ilfynn's missions areintrapreneurial: she has a great deal of independence in her assignments.
With the idea of creating the Vinted furniture store, Ilfynn decided to quit her job and devote herself entirely to her business creation project.
"I had the urge to give more meaning to my work and have a positive impact around me. So I launched my YOUZD project."
But where does this interest in second-hand goods come from? Raised in a family concerned with environmental issues, Ilfynn has been aware of the impact of our consumption on the planet since she was very young.
"My mission is to combine my practicality and energy in the service of something that helps people do good for the planet."
Ilfynn knows that having the right people around you is essential when launching a business. She decided to join the Gold Upprogram, a 100% women's bootcamp created by the renowned incubator The Family. The program offers 50 women of all ages the chance to create their own internet business and dare to launch themselves online.
His first action after the bootcamp was to create a community and ask for feedback on his concept. A rich idea, which will enable Ilfynn and his partner to provide furniture for the site when it launches.
"We needed to open a platform where there was already furniture for sale, hence this idea of calling on our community to fill the site with their listings. "
In concrete terms, YOUZD allows sellers to post an ad at the price they want, according to the time they have to sell their property. Then, depending on the success of the ad, the site's algorithm will review the price. Each time the price is lowered, the ad moves back to the top. This avoids the need for the seller to republish the ad to bring it back up, and ensures that the property is sold at the right price.
"The seller doesn't have to worry about anything, doesn't have to negotiate, and doesn't have to bring up his ad every five minutes. And it's all free!"
The buyer is also a winner: he has access to a site specialized in second-hand furniture, with a more precise filtering system than elsewhere. They can like the ❤️ posts that interest them and be notified of any price changes. Finally, they can build up a basket with several items, as on other new furniture sites: YOUZD's logistics system takes care of collecting the various items from the sellers and delivering them to the customer all at once.
YOUZD's business model? The buyer pays a commission directly included in the sale price. This avoids shopping cart abandonment at checkout, and increases the conversion rate.
"The idea is to encourage people to take the plunge and buy second-hand. It has to be a super-smooth experience. The commission included in the price is of course specified. We're removing the brake of the extra commission that's added when you pay for your purchase."
Unlike other sites, the coronavirus was not an obstacle to the launch of Youzd. Indeed, people in confined spaces had more time to devote to selling and buying furniture. Another element to take into account: the general awareness of the impact of our consumption on the environment.
"Globally, people have realized the impact of their consumption. When the world suddenly stops, animals reclaim the streets and air pollution drops drastically."
Ilfyn's reading advice
Ilfyn recommends reading "Dans la forêt" by Jean Hegland. Faced with a collapsing world, two sisters have no choice but to return to nature in order to survive. Finally, deprived of the resources we know today, Man returns to his original instinct. A questioning of the human relationship with the environment.
"I find it a reflection on consumerism and minimalism. In the end, what's really important in life?"
