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- In this episode of Founders Unplugged, I had the pleasure of speaking with Athar Ali, the Co-founder and CEO of ThirdRetail, an innovative startup aiming to create an affordable omnichannel offline experience for direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands.
- Athar Ali is a first-time immigrant in the UK, originally from India, who pursued his MBA studies in retail, where he identified the need for a symbiotic relationship between online and offline retail.
- In this insightful conversation, we covered the following key topics:
- Athar's journey as an international student and entrepreneur, including the challenges he faced in obtaining the necessary visas and work rights before building ThirdRetail.
- The business model of ThirdRetail, which involves a marketplace where D2C brands can rent shelf space in physical stores, as well as software solutions to connect with the back-end of e-commerce platforms like Shopify.
- The importance of building a strong network and resources as a founder, and how Athar leveraged platforms like LinkedIn to connect with advisors and other entrepreneurs in the startup ecosystem.
- The dynamics of co-founding a startup, with Athar's co-founder bringing expertise in real estate, retail distribution, and sales, complementing Athar's background in economics, product management, and generative AI.
- The fundraising journey and the progress made so far, including securing their first paying customer and generating initial revenue.
- Insights into the retail industry, such as the concept of profit per square foot and the need for a symbiotic relationship between online and offline channels.
- Connect with Athar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/connectwithathar/
- Check out ThirdRetail here: https://thirdretail.com/
- Want to know about me and ThinkWork? https://www.thinkwork.info/
- #foundersunplugged #foundersjourney #startupfounder #startupjourney #investment
