There is a certain appeal to thrifting secondhand. Sifting through racks, digging through bins. Searching through little pieces of other people’s lives, giving a second chance to clothes that might have been destined for the landfill. 

The U.S. secondhand market is estimated to reach $66 billion by 2027, with online resale expected to grow 13% annually through 2029, according to a report by Capital One Shopping Research. 

Questrom School of Business senior Hana Elster is no stranger to this appeal. 

This January, she founded VYA, a company that connects vintage fashion stores with shoppers all across the world. 

vyaplatform.com, the company’s website, which was launched three weeks ago, now features over 30 stores which sell products including clothing, bags, shoes and accessories.

The idea, Elster said, originated when one of her friends was showing her items she bought from vintage and secondhand stores in her hometown. 

“That made me realize there was a really big disconnect for visibility with stores,” Elster said. “I was like, ‘how can I figure out a way for everyone to shop all these stores from all over the world?’”

After consulting with secondhand store owners in her hometown of Washington, DC, she realized that many of them also struggled to find a bigger audience. 

“I pitched them the idea [of VYA],” Elster said. “They were like, ‘Wait, why isn’t this a thing yet? I upload all this stuff to my site, and nobody comes online … I really want to reach a larger audience. I have all this inventory I’m sitting on and like, I need to sell it.’”

Elster celebrates the launch of VYA with a cake. ((COURTESY OF HANA ELSTER))

To kickstart VYA, Elster said she sought funding and mentorship from Innovate@BU, a program meant to help BU entrepreneurs and innovators.

She said that Innovate adapted perfectly to her needs, providing support while letting her go at her own pace.

“I’ve worked a lot with Tim Buntel, [Innovate’s program director for business ventures],” Elster said. “He’s been really supportive of me for that. He’s been super hands-off, which is what you need if you’re building a real startup.”

She also said the BU/MIT Student Innovations Law Clinic, a free and confidential legal service for research, advocacy and creative projects, helped her navigate corporate law to launch VYA.

“They help[ed] me with trademark, privacy, security, writing [and] agreements,” Elster said. “And it’s all free, which is awesome because lawyers are so expensive.”

Gina Powers, a master lecturer of law at Questrom and the person who put Elster in contact with the clinic, said that she was one of VYA’s early testers and supporters. 

“I’ve really been able to get to know her just from class and outside of class,” Powers said. “She and I have always shared a love of clothes and fashion … It was clear to me that this isn’t just a project or a little side thing, but this is something that she was absolutely, fully invested in.”

Elster said that she has also found a community of fellow entrepreneurs through the Disruptors, a Boston based cohort with entrepreneurship-oriented goals and ambition, according to their website. 

“We created Disruptors to get a community where people can share tips and advice and build that back and forth,” said BU junior and Disruptors co-lead Nicole Debow. “We found that other campuses in Boston had a really great founder and startup environment, and that was something BU was really lacking.”

Elster, Debow said, is “very, very dedicated,” and “super hardworking.” 

“She’s been great. She’s gone to all the events and helped build our community,” Debow said. “When she’s [on] a mission, she’s going to do it.”

Elster said that she is hopeful about VYA’s future.

“I want it to be as big as The RealReal, Depop, up there with the big ones,” Elster said. “I really do think it has the scalability to do so.”

She said that almost 50% of everyone who found out about VYA has signed up, a remarkably high rate of retention. 

“The messaging is really landing with people, but it’s just, how can I grow that to get millions of people?” Elster said.

But so far, Elster’s drive, determination and focus has fostered VYA’s development, Powers said.

“She’s not someone that sits back and waits for something to happen. She’s going to get out there and make it happen,” Powers said.

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