Sam Cerwin, founder of BeReworn, is building a community platform that allows individuals to host and participate in clothing swaps across the country — and the world.

 

A persistent problem-solver, Sam Cerwin is a fashion lover doing her part to save the planet, one clothing swap at a time. Cerwin is the founder of BeReworn, a tech-based platform that connects people to clothing swaps in their respective areas. But the platform is about more than finding a cute outfit for a night out at a good price — it’s about repurposing, reducing the carbon footprint, and connecting with people without overspending.

We sat down with Cerwin, who is an alum of TechTown Detroit’s Start Studio programming and a current Traction participant, who is hard at work trying to achieve the next milestone for her purpose-driven company.

 

 

TechTown Detroit: Sam, congratulations on continuing to move forward with BeReworn since participating in Start Studio MVP this February. Can you tell me a little bit about your founder’s journey?

Sam Cerwin: Yes, I’m a proud Latina who moved to Detroit three years ago, and I’ve always been a fashionista. When I moved here, I wanted to meet new people, while thinking about changing the way we buy things. I thought about ways to reduce waste and bring a community together. I started BeReworn at the end of last year. It’s been a year now of hosting events, sometimes every month or two months. I gathered opportunities to meet a lot of amazing people, but at some point, I didn’t know what was next. But I knew I had an idea! That’s when I started to look for resources, and that’s when I learned about TechTown Detroit.

That’s awesome. So how has your business idea shifted from participating in the fall 2023 Start Studio Discovery cohort to now?

So, at the beginning, I wanted to do a dating app but for clothes. But when I started to interview people, I realized everyone felt like that was too much effort for people to meet. They preferred to meet in groups rather than by themselves. That’s when I changed my idea to something like a community platform. Right now, we help people host any type of sustainability events. We are very focused on fashion, and we encourage users to find more alternatives for them to renew their closets without buying every time.

 

Tech-based companies are pretty milestone–driven. What milestone are you hoping to achieve next?

We’re applying for a couple of grants and are just starting to raise our first round of money. We’re talking to investors as well, but we’re really hoping to secure grants at the beginning of raising because we need help on the technical side. Our team is small; we have our co-founder, Jenny Vainberg, and our chief technology officer, Lukas Siatka, so it takes us longer to build out. And we have legal expenses that we need to cover to receive specific funding from investors. We also need to target more people to come and host their events with us. So, that’s our marketing. It’s an expensive marketing expense for us now because we’re bootstrapping.

Talk to us more about your company’s “why?” Why is your work important for our ecosystem?

The fashion industry is [one of the topmost polluting industries] in the world.  I’m a fashionista and I’ve been collecting fashion magazines since I was 10. Growing up, the reasons I was buying clothes were unhealthy; manufacturers produced so much, that they made you believe that you need those clothes and that you will look like something else, right? But the younger generations, we are caring more about the world. The economy is turning — consumers cannot afford the things that we used to, including clothes. I also think about the ways clothes are made; there are lots of people working in horrible conditions somewhere else in the world that we don’t even know about. And we continue buying these $20 clothes and then they go to some landfill that is polluting the world.

What [the BeReworn community is] doing is being a part of the change. You can be part of a community where you can swap your clothes and get up to 10 items for a way cheaper price. Clothing swaps are a hit; people are more willing to go because they want more human interaction. They want real interaction after the pandemic. I would say this is the right place to start.

 

That’s powerful. We appreciate that. Sam, we know you’re from Mexico. Tell us about your heritage and how being a Latina in tech is influencing your work?

My mom is half–Mexican, half–Japanese, and my dad is Mexican. My mom and my grandparents came from Japan and China after the Second World War, so I’m very proud of my heritage. When I moved here, I realized how hard is to be a woman in tech. It’s exhausting not having the same resources as men and, sometimes, because of my ethnicity, I feel like some doors have been closed. But this has inspired me to keep building and meeting more people across cultures. I also just love to work with other women. Right now, that is where I get my strength.

If you could describe yourself as a founder using one word, what would it be?

I’m persistent. I always care about change and that is a dream of mine.  I’m very persistent about what I want, and I will do what I can to make it happen.

It’s the year 2034. Where is BeReworn?

We will be the number one platform for you to start and continue your sustainability journey. We’re starting with clothes now but in the future, we’re going to help you swap books. We’re going to help you swap plants. We’re going to help you swap anything you need so you don’t have to go and buy new things all the time.       

     

To learn more about BeReworn and to support Sam’s journey, visit bereworn.com. With Sam’s help, you can start your sustainability journey today!

Are you a local tech founder who’s looking to kickstart your startup journey? TechTown Detroit has a suite of tech programs to help you validate your tech idea, optimize operations, access capital and more. Find the one that is right for you!