Interview with Bianca Rangecroft, Founder of Whering and UNLEASH Talent in Shenzhen and Plus!
How did you come up with the idea of creating an App to inspire others to create outfits with clothes they already own?
The Whering idea was born while I was sitting at my desk at Goldman Sachs, working on the Stitch Fix IPO, looking into user trends. That’s the moment I realised immediately that there was absolutely no way I could consume mindfully, unless I knew exactly what was in my wardrobe. And a lot of us don’t. We have bedrooms full of wardrobes, rails, dressers and storage, full of clothes, and we have no idea what’s actually in them, or what’s sitting in the back of them, tucked away.
How is Whering’s mission contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations?
The main goal which Whering tackles is SDG 12: responsible consumption and production. More specifically, the responsible consumption part of the equation, which can be broken down into two parts. Part one being, how do we help people around the world increase their utilization rates (i.e. make the most of what they own), as well as interact with their pieces better, for longer. Whering really sits at the forefront of both of those questions by helping people style their items , as well as discover stats around their wardrobe. And of course part two, which is more grounded in consumption; purchasing and resale. Whering enables people to buy from sustainable, rental and pre-loved options through the app’s marketplace, tailored to you. In addition to that, My Stats, and all the information we have on each item card, really enables people to resell things at the click of a button, therefore creating and curating a circular marketplace all-around your wardrobe.
If you could go back in time and start all over, what would be the first thing you would do?
I wouldn’t change a single thing… except maybe realising sooner, rather than later, that a lot of things can be done much faster than I ever imagined.
What has been one of your most satisfying moments in Whering’s history?
It’s really hard to boil down our journey to just one moment, but if I had to, it would probably be building the Whering prototype back in 2020, and seeing the overwhelming responses around what people want the app to do, future designs and features, bugs. It was all so important and exciting, even though the product was sh*t. It gave us vision, a roadmap, and a broader understanding of how it can be useful, and it finally started feeling real.
What would you like to achieve with Whering in the next 3-5 years?
I wouldn’t say this is particular to the next few years, as opposed to just being our overall mission- what Whering hopes to accomplish, and you’ve definitely memorised this by heart if you’ve ever read any of our press features, is to get rid of the buy-use-dispose cycle. We aspire to be at the heart of a very new generation who is so conscious of the effect of their choices on the environment, who know how to shop mindfully, and who have left overconsumption deep in their past.
How has UNLEASH helped you in your journey to further develop Whering?
UNLEASH has really and truly been the bedrock of how I got started, just because it really offers you such a quick path from essentially ideation to quick prototyping. It saves you from any procrastination, because you essentially have around 2 weeks to make everything happen- the pressure is on, you have to validate your assumptions, and there’s really no way out, except doing the work and getting it done. And all of that, is exactly what I needed. It was really, and truly fundamental in getting me started, getting me on the right track, and giving me the confidence to do this full time.
What has been the most valuable learning that you got from being part of UNLEASH?
This might sound less profound than anticipated, but for me it’s just the fact that within such a short space of time you can actually create a viable business. And so, the learning for me, really is that ‘procrastination is the thief of time’. Being able to collaborate so freely and so intensely for what was less than 2 weeks can actually yield incredible results. This is exactly what has driven me to commit so much of my time to Whering and to really hone into prioritizing the features I know we can roll out and build in a short amount of time, based on the processes which they outlined for us and all the stuff that they taught us.
