Founded in 2018, by friends Andrew Jacobs and Joe Bramwell-Smith, Kitfit looks to optimise the online buying experience. The new platform offers breakthrough technology to connect consumers with their perfect product fit, avoiding all the pitfalls that currently come with purchasing online.
Andrew Jacobs, CEO and co-Founder said, “Globally, shoppers return over a third of all online purchases. Returns are merely a symptom of a more significant problem we call “misfit”. Which is essentially the misalignment of people and products. This problem represents an enormous waste of time, money and resources for both businesses and customers. It amounts to the order of hundreds of millions of dollars. As shoppers, it is hard to discover products that fit our specific needs. Kitfit solves that problem.”
During their regular surf sessions and bike rides, activity enthusiasts Joe and Andrew, expressed their personal frustrations with purchasing online sports equipment only to have items perform poorly, not work or not meet their needs. They decided to run surveys to see if anyone else was having the same problem. When the figures indicated over 33% of all online purchases are being returned, the pair decided to use their background in technology, media and advertising to better the online shopping experience.
Joe Bramwell-Smith, Product Director and Co-Founder said, “Kitfit is a way for people to quickly and accurately find products that they should own. We like to think of ourselves as the reverse of Marie Kondo’s concept of throwing away things that don’t ‘spark joy’. Instead of chucking the junk you bought that isn’t any good, we help you avoid buying it in the first place.”
Kitfit’s algorithm pays attention to the social cues that lead us to make purchases. The platform runs complex calculations to simplify the process of knowing what products will work perfectly for you. All consumers have to do is use the system, interact with friends and share what they have.
At present the Kitfit team are servicing the road cycling niche. Testing their theory that consumers needs aren’t being met, they launched an instagram account and quickly became the number one multi-brand global cycling apparel and accessories account.
Kitfit is currently in the middle of a large crowdfunding raise and is set to launch their signature web app in early 2020. As of Monday January 20th, Kitfit hit it’s minimum funding target on equity crowdfunding site Equitise.
Since joining Fishburners in 2018, Kitfit has also been part of the Google startup partnership programme, met government ministers, landed the government MVP and R&D grants.
Joe Bramwell-Smith said, “Fishburners was a no-brainer because of their awesome space, access to amazing speakers, events, resources and their diverse community. It’s a very friendly place with a ton of great support and opportunity.”
Find out more at www.kit.fit and www.equitise.com/kitfit