Jeremy Cai (Italic) - How he created THE C2M Online Marketplace for Luxury Goods, What he learned from Amazon and Costco, and The Evolution of eCommerce

Presenter: Burkland Associates helps you build the right systems that can keep up with your growth and can handle all the finance, accounting, tax and hiring services that consumer startups need to scale. For more information head to burklandassociates.com  Presenter: Skillful runs online, immersive programs that help people launch and accelerate their careers in business roles in tech - Strategy & Ops, Product, Strategic Finance and Growth. Click Here to Apply to the Next Cohort  Thank you Daniel Gulati for the introduction to our guest today, Jeremy Cai, founder and CEO of Italic. Italic is the destination for the best luxury goods without the brand names. In this episode we touch on his unique C2M business model in luxury, the evolution of ecommerce, learnings from Costco and Amazon and his approach to scale. Without further ado, here's Jeremy. Questions I ask Jeremy: What was the insight that led you to found Italic and how did you approach the business model? What were some of the first steps you took whether that's market research or speaking with manufacturers that helped made you release this could be an opportunity? Now Italic changes the manufacturers business model? Since your dealing with manufacturers directly, what is there business model. I'd image it's heavy inventory When it comes to ecommerce, how do you think about differentiation and your focal point in building a marketplace + subscription business? Who do you believe is your target customers? Walk us through a little bit of the world of contract manufacturing and your model?Do contract manufacturers typically have exclusive partnerships with the major brands?How do you ensure quality?What's your current take rate?What's the delivery process?What is C2M? Has it been the missed opportunity in ecommerce?How do you see the model evolving? What were some of the effects of COVID? As retail opens back up, how do you think about What's the vision? What are we going to see from Italic in the next 5-10 years? What was your approach to fundraising? What's one thing you would change about venture capital? What's one book that inspired you personally and one book that inspired you professionally? What's the best piece of advice that you've received? What's one piece of advice to founders?