Meet Kola Tytler, Entrepeneur and Co-Founder at Sneaker Resell Marketplace: HypeAnalyzer

Dropout, is a limited-edition sneaker and streetwear retailer based in Milan, Italy, which has proved to be a global success with a turnover in excess of 2 million Euros. It has become an epicentre for distinctive, one of a kind, limited edition and bespoke footwear within the Milanese, Italian and global streetwear circles with customers visiting from all over the world. dropout is a global phenomenon. We sell sneakers from 150 euros through to sneakers costing more than 500,000 euros and have a vast client base including celebrities and sports stars, namely Romelu Lukaku and Alessandro Bastoni.

In just over 3 years, the Milan store has welcomed over 50,000 people since the opening. The website has been successfully generating traffic, having more than a million visitors in 2020 and 2021. dropout now boasts more than 90,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook and millions of views of its content on social media. I am very proud to be able to say dropout is a well-known name in the circles of Milanese fashion and Italian streetwear.

HypeAnalyzer, is the world’s first tool that uses available objective data to analyze trends in the resale market of brands such as Nike, Adidas, Jordan and Supreme. This patented software collects data daily and performs statistical regression analysis to evaluate the price changes of the various models to rationalize the “investments” in sneakers.  The growing dataset was used to build predictive pricing models and a scoring system that enabled an objective and systematic comparison of different products.

HypeAnalyzer’s algorithms still help to dictate the pricing and marketing for dropout. The output of these includes data for prices, percentages on the sales account (dynamic and influenced by factors such as volatility and demand, calculated objectively) and discounts.
 
 

 

How did you come up with the idea for the companies?

 
Between 2016 and 2018, my friend and business partner, Stefano Zappieri and I decided to implement our coding competencies (both being self-taught) to create something new. Together, we wrote a software programme, which would track available sales and price data for several limited-edition sneakers. We observed a few recurring trends and structured a system where we would determine the likelihood of an item increasing in price over the following months.

The idea was based on automation allowing us to transform a physical commodity, sneaker, into a solid appreciating asset. Thus, HypeAnalyzer was born, and we used this software to make investments in sneakers. Within months we realised the software was surprisingly efficient and this provided us with a reference to follow in the vastly unregulated industry, which the secondary streetwear market represents.

In 2018, I decided it was the right time to take a further leap of faith and open my very own sneakers store, focusing on limited edition pieces and making use of the data we had acquired from HypeAnalyzer. Within 6 months, after creating a strong team consisting of my closest friends, and with no external funding, under my strategic guidance, the venture was ready to go. The plan – a first retail location in the centre of Milan, an online website to launch later, and utilising online communities and social platforms, to help build up momentum. We called the company dropout, which is a shoutout to Kanye West’s “College Dropout”, the album I was listening to at the time.
 

How has the company evolved during the pandemic?

 
Despite its main retail location being based in Milan, right by the European epicentre of the pandemic’s first wave, both dropout and HypeAnalyser are still very firmly on the map. I am also a qualified medical Doctor and have been splitting my time between working on the front line for the NHS and ensuring two multi-million-pound businesses stay afloat during the pandemic.

The challenges I have faced throughout the pandemic have thankfully paid off and I am pleased to say both companies are now in a very fortunate position. In October 2021, three years after its inception, dropout launched its first funding round (we started the company without any investment), raising €750k via equity crowdfunding in a lightning time of 6 days. This was following the board approval of an extension of the initial €500k goal (which was reached in just 4 days of the original 62-day campaign).
 

What can we hope to see from dropout and HypeAnalzer in the future?

 
After 18 turbulent months due to the pandemic, we are now ready to accelerate dropout’s expansion plans. Covid-19 has certainly slowed down our pace, but it hasn’t affected our passion or the desire for dropout to establish itself nationally.

As part of dropout’s expansion: I am currently studying the creation of a portal for investment in sneakers as alternative assets. I believe the secondary sneaker market is firmly here to stay (and get bigger and bigger, in fact), and stores such as dropout are already becoming more and more common across Europe. We wish to see dropout open a new retail location, as well the opening of several temporary locations throughout Italy; improve its e-commerce site and add to the further development of HypeAnalyzer.

The aim is to make dropout one of the most trusted names in the wider fashion-sphere while shining lights into the interesting world of investments in alternative assets.