Since October 2022, Lyon’s first Web3 incubator – the result of a partnership between iExec and H7 – has been offering a choice support program to 3 start-ups to boost their projects. Meet start-ups from the Web3 incubator 🪐
Wearspaces is one of four start-ups selected to join the first promotion of the Web3 incubator, by iExec and H7. We caught up with Ruben Attal and Alex Frêne, CEO and CTO of Wearspaces respectively, to find out more about the project.
Hello Ruben, hello Alex! Ruben, what motivated you to create Wearspaces?
I’m from Generation Z. With the mass adoption of technology, the advent of e-commerce and social networking, I’ve made a number of observations.
On the one hand, digital identity is increasingly important for my generation. To quote a few figures, 52% of gamers under 25 consider their digital identity to be more important than their physical identity(source: Razorfish, 2022).
On the other hand, avatars are a way of distinguishing oneself, of recreating oneself beyond physical limits. Fashion allows you to go very far in personalizing your avatar and expressing your personality.
This is how the idea for Wearspaces came about. Our aim: to create an immersive marketplace for phygital clothing, wearable in real life but also by avatars in various digital experiences (games, Metavers).
From luxury houses to talented designers from all over the world, the marketplace will offer users a new, much more interactive, immersive and creative sales experience.
Users will be able to wearwearables from one virtual universe to another (The Sandbox, Decentraland…), becoming ambassadors for their favorite brands.
This will give fashion designers total freedom. They will be able to develop their own virtual store with exclusive collections, and keep in step with the evolving customer experience for new generations. But also to develop new acquisition and distribution channels.
To accompany me in this project, I was looking for a Metavers rockstar and I met Alex.
And so, in January 2022, Wearspaces was born.
WHAT IS METAVERS?
In his book “The Metaverse”, the specialist Matthew Ball defines it as a set of virtual worlds displayed in 3D in real time […] for an unlimited number of users, with a sense of individual presence and a continuity of data such as identity, history, rights…
Want to know more? Alex explains here the notion of Metavers, beyond the hype.
Who makes up the team?
The Wearspaces founding team comprises 4 varied but highly complementary profiles, with expertise in luxury goods, fashion and marketing, as well as tech, product and virtual reality expertise.
Myself, Ruben Attal | CEO. A graduate of La Sorbonne, I co-founded my first start-up in virtualized retail space (Showroom Virtuel) and I’m a member of the Metaverse Fashion Council.
Alex Frêne | CTO. Unity developer. Alex founded Otter Tech (because he loves otters 🦦 ), a company specializing in virtual and augmented reality. He is also a member of the France Immersive Learning association.
Julien Chmilewsky | CFO. A graduate of ESCP Business School, Julien is a Financial Consultant with several years’ experience in fund-raising.
Alice Faivre-Menot | CMO. Alice is a Creativity and Strategy Consultant in Web3, with over 10 years’ experience in the luxury goods industry. She is a graduate of EIML Paris and MIT.
Why did you join the Web3 incubator?
With the support of iExec and H7, we intend to continue developing the opportunities offered by Web3.
Our ambition is to give Wearspaces users control and ownership of their personal data thanks to the technology of iExec, a pioneer in the field since 2016 and a recognized expert.
The solution we’re working on with iExec will enable users to share only the use of their data with brands, for a personalized immersive experience, without sharing the data itself.
The user will be able to access, for example, a virtual personal shopper, who will suggest personalized items.
In addition to this personalized experience (while retaining ownership of their data), users will be rewarded for sharing their tastes.
Your top 3 incubator contents so far?
During the first month of incubation, our team was able to take part in some 15 group sessions, inspiration sessions, one-to-one meetings and targeted events.
Those who have been most important to us :
→ The “Legal Issues and Blockchain” workshop with Céline Moille, Senior Manager at Deloitte and recognized expert on blockchain and Web3 topics. As a young start-up, these resources are essential for making informed choices.
→ The launch party last October, which enabled us to pitch our project and meet some great people.
→ Tech meetings with iExec to present their technology and its enormous potential!
What’s new for Wearspaces?
We’ve got some really exciting things in store… To find out more, come and see us at the Web3 incubator Demo Day on Thursday January 26 at H7. The beta version of our Marketplace is coming soon… Stay tuned!
Kelly Green
