Katherine Olives
As the world continues dealing with a public health crisis, we believe it is important to maintain a sense of normalcy for the students in our program. Weve continued all instruction online, including our weekly lean startup bootcamp, mentor hours, and workshops, and so far weve found that our students are engaging with our content more than ever. Were still working towards the goal of showing off their progress at a virtual Pitch Off in early May. Demo Day will be postponed until the early Fall. We had previously planned to highlight our student startups one by one, and have decided to still do so. They deserve to be able to share with you all of their hard work, and we could use a little good news as of lately.
The following blog is written by Zahn apprentice Lissette Lucero.
I had the opportunity to meet with Denny Liang, one of the founding members of Dype.. Dype is a startup competing for the $25,000 Zahn Technology Prize sponsored by The Moxie Foundation. Their team members include Taehun Lim, Kartikeya Sharma, and Denny Liang. Theyre on a mission to democratize streetwear authentication and make sure those who buy and sell streetwear can do it safely.
Denny started by letting me watch an introduction video. I asked Denny to further explain his concept, through words.
Denny Liang: Dype is a peer to peer platform that allows individuals to buy and sell streetwear anywhere in the United States safely. If someone wants to sell their sneakers, theyll post quality pics from multiple angles. Their listing will go through up to 20 experts who will review it–they will be experts that are hand chosen. Its an online trusted marketplace with zero fees, quicker payments, and fair disputes. If you're a seller, and you want to get your items verified, it can get expensive and lengthy. On the Dype app, we will use crowdsourcing authentication with images. You will post the item at multiple angles. The experts will tell you whether the item is real or not. There are already online communities doing this. We want to funnel the members of those communities onto our platform. Our slogan is Whos hyped to join Dype?
LL: How would you know if these members are accredited to know whether these items are real or fake?
DL: We will use a filtering out process. We are currently planning on creating a reputation system, something like karma points… similar to that except wed have to design metrics to quantify one's expertise.
LL: Dype is centered around streetwear. Why?
DL: The whole idea is a secondary market place, but we started off with streetwear since it is something we are all interested in. We all buy and sell streetwear ourselves, and we wanted to create something that would better serve our community.
LL: What inspired the name Dype?
DL: What do you think of when you hear Dype?
LL: The name sounds interesting and intriguing, but I don't think of anything in particular.
DL: Thats good. We wanted it to be different. We first thought of it by thinking of the word HYPE. A hypebeast is someone who is into streetwear like sneakers, hoodies, clothing, etc. From this we got decentralized hype and thats where the D came from. Were not centralized, theres no third party, its all up to the users themselves..
LL: Nice, you should make some kind of campaign where you explain the name.
DL: That would be cool.
LL: Whats the biggest value that you want your consumer to gain from the Dype app?
DL: Our value proposition is that we can authenticate items transparently, and we can do so without the need of a third party. The fact that the platform is created around what people are already doing, people are legit checking the validity of these items for free€¦ so why not create a platform where they can do it and get paid?
LL: How did you learn about the Zahn Startup Competition and what sparked your interest the most?
DL: I found out about Zahn my first semester here, and I wanted to join as a freshman. I previously used to watch a lot of videos about entrepreneurship, it was something I was always interested in. One day at City College I happened to be passing by during Demo Day. There were people outside pitching their ideas and showing off their projects.. I thought, That's what I want to do!
LL: What so far is your biggest takeaway from the Zahn Startup Competition?
DL: A community of diverse perspectives. Everyone sees different things from a different angle. Having that community where we all collaborate on shaping our ideas more, that's probably the biggest takeaway.
LL: What are some things you hope to gain from the Zahn Center by the end of this competition?
DL: First things first the 25K! Its not going to end there. Were going to work on it throughout the entire summer. We're going to be turning on the gears in marketing to get the word out.
LL: What are some challenges you face as a team?
DL: Punctuality, and split accountability. If two people decide to slack off then that means the majority slacks off. If the majority decides to work then, you know. Holding each other accountable has been important in this.
LL: When explaining the Zahn Startup Competition to a prospective student, how would you explain it?
DL: I would recommend The Zahn Startup Competition if you want to start a business and you don't have the guidance, but you're willing to put in the time. If you want to join a team and get some experience, but still be financially free. Entrepreneurship is trendy, so you can start your own venture without the risks.
At the Zahn Center, were excited to see this team take off, and cant wait to see where they are on Demo Day. If youd like to learn more about Dype, you can reach them at Dype@zahncenternyc.com . You can also check out their website at www.dype.market.