Trouva snaps up ex-Uber director as chair

Trouva, a platform for independent boutiques, has appointed Niall Wass as non-executive chair.

Wass, who has invested in several tech start-ups and is a former chief commercial officer of Betfair and chief executive of Wonga, will help devise strategies to scale the business and secure a global customer base.

His appointment coincides with a period of international growth for Trouva, which now sells products from independent retailers in Amsterdam, Madrid and Copenhagen, following its expansion into Berlin earlier this year. Almost 100 European boutiques now appear on the site.

Trouva aims to make the shops on its site available to a global customer base and to implement express shipping, enabling products from around the world to be delivered to customers within two days.

Chief executive and co-founder, Mandeep Singh, was confident in Trouva’s prospects despite a volatile climate. He said: “At a time where the looming prospect of Brexit might be hanging over most UK-founded and based start-ups, it’s business as usual for us, and that means rapid growth.

 “The number of our boutiques that have achieved over £100,000 in sales directly through Trouva.com has almost quadrupled from 11 to 42 in just 12 months.”

He said Wass would bring new insights as Trouva grows: “We decided to bring someone in who hasn’t had a pure retail background. We think we can learn a lot from people with experience outside the retail sector.”

Wass said: “I have been impressed not only with the rapid growth of the business but the quality of its service and tech platform which, as well as providing a great user experience, will also help boutiques to manage their business and enable international expansion.”

Trouva, which launched in 2015, last year raised $10m in Series A funding led by BGF Ventures along with Index Ventures and Octopus Ventures.