Arbit looks to solve a long-standing problem in the market for sneaker lovers around the world. Company co-founders Vincent Sanders and Venita Cooper represented well at the 2024 Black Venture Summit in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Cooper pitched the business in front of the event’s venture capitalists, and Sanders spoke to rolling out more in-depth about the business.
What is Arbit?
Arbit is essentially the Kelley Blue Book of sneakers.
Our goal is to provide insights into resale markets, particularly sneakers, for our consumers to be more confident in transacting in that marketplace.
There’s a lot of information all over the internet that people are searching and scrounging to figure out what the right price is, and where they should buy from. We’re consolidating that into a single app where you can come in and see what the value of a sneaker is. You can see where the valuation of the sneaker is going in the next 30 days, and you can transact and purchase with confidence.
Bots have infiltrated the concert and sneaker-buying market. Can that problem be solved one day?
I think one of the ways we’re helping solve that is by bringing price transparency to the market.
One of the examples that my co-founder likes to speak to a lot is the Lost and Found Jordan 1s. Before they came out, people were buying those for $1,100, $1,200, $1,500. Then, a couple of weeks later, they were reselling for $400 to $500.
So, what we’re doing by giving that part price transparency, we can tell these consumers, “Hey, while somebody’s selling for $1,500 right now, it’s actually worth $500, so don’t buy so now.”
We’re hoping that will deter people from using bots to buy a bunch of sneakers and then hike the price to make profits off of that.
When did you first get interested in sneakers?
Honestly, sneakers have kind of always been a part of my life.
I remember my first pair of sneakers that I got for Christmas, which were the Flu Game 12s. With sneakers, it’s just a story and the moments in my life that they’re tied to.
That’s when I first got started, and then that just kept building upon that. Previously, I worked at Nike, and it just went 10x from there. That’s when I got the idea to build The Sneaker Database, which I ended up selling.
What gave you the courage to leave Nike and start your own business?
Ever since I graduated college, I’ve always had a goal and aspiration of being an entrepreneur. Working my nine-to-five jobs never truly fulfilled me. So, I was always doing things outside of work, and that continued to build my confidence to the point where I was like, “Hey, I have something great.”
I have a great partner who wants to build this with me. Let’s go ahead and give it our all so that when I look back at the end of the day, I won’t have any regrets.
Are you fulfilled now?
Yes. Honestly, there’s nothing more fulfilling than working on something every day that you truly believe in. You have a voice in the direction from which it can go, and you can feel and touch the impact you’re making on others.
How were you able to fund the business?
We were able to raise a million dollars in our pre-seed round.
Half of that was through Atento Capital, and the other half was through Lightship Capital. That has carried us to this point: to build a platform, hire a data engineer, data scientists and outsource some additional work.
