arcatype.co
Curated discovery and
intelligence for brands that
deserve to be found.
A curated discovery platform and intelligence layer for independent lifestyle brands — and the calmer corner of commerce for the people who care about what they buy. Proof-backed discovery, brand benchmarking, and category intelligence in one product that didn't exist before.
The problem
For brands: discovery is broken
Attention is fragmented. CAC is rising. Wholesale is less predictable. The brands that make things meant to last need time and trust — but the market rewards constant output and pay-to-play reach.
For brands: no intelligence layer
WGSN costs €25K/year and targets enterprise. There is no mid-market product giving independent brands competitive benchmarks, category trend signals, or digital product data readiness.
For consumers: discovery is noise
Finding brands worth caring about means endless scrolling and algorithm-driven feeds. There is no place built for the consumer who values quality, craftsmanship, and intention over volume.
The result: the market rewards loudness, not quality. Brands making exceptional products are at a structural disadvantage against mass brands — and no curated space exists for the people who would buy differently if they could find differently.
The solution
Human-curated database
Every brand passes a taste filter
Brands are scored across Craft, Character, and Care — anchored to real data sources, not analyst opinion. The result is a standard the industry can reference.
Intelligence outputs
Gap analysis, benchmarking, trend signals
Brands receive competitive benchmarks, market white space reports, and cross-brand tastemaker affinity data — insights that only exist inside Arcatype.
Offline moments
Events as acquisition + enrichment engine
Curated brand experiences convert attention into trust and generate the community signals that make the database richer with every edition.
Online and offline reinforce each other. Offline builds community and trust with a highly focused audience. Online delivers the intelligence brands pay for. Both are needed to make the system work.
Business model
Featured Partner
€600
per year
- Visibility + performance data
- Event eligibility
- Curated presence in the index
Experiences
€1.5–10K
per slot
- Event role + content bundle
- Lead capture
- Post-event reporting
Intelligence
€9,600
per year · €800/mo
- Competitive benchmarks
- Trend signals
- Category intelligence
Listed tier (free) gives all curated brands a presence in the index. The intelligence tier converts discoverability into a recurring subscription.
Financial milestones
€1.09M
3-year revenue projection
€92K
Monthly revenue at scale
4:1
LTV:CAC ratio
Profitable in Year 3. 889 subscribers by M36 (766 Featured · 123 Intelligence). Seed round of €300K follows at Month 11 on demonstrated traction.
Why now
Consumer shift
Taste over algorithm
82% of consumers rate values alignment as a top purchase driver. Trust has shifted to curated, human recommendation. Resale is becoming a discovery engine — shoppers see what holds value, then return to buy new.
Regulatory tailwind
EU DPP mandatory by 2027
Arcatype is already collecting DPP-specification data. The regulation creates urgency and a captive compliance market — without us having to manufacture the need.
Cultural shift
Quality is the new status signal
Value for money matters more than ever. Luxury and status are shifting from price tags to real experiences and craftsmanship you can nerd out about. The best pieces don't follow trends — they fit identity.
The moat
Tastemaker network
Network moat
Human-curated brand database
Data moat — compounds with every brand added
Cross-brand affinity signal data
Flywheel moat — starts at zero for any new entrant
How we win — the playbook exists
ShopMy · $1.5B · Oct 2025
Taste over advertising
Curation and taste scale commercially. Now expanding into wellness, home, and food. We take the thesis further: intelligence, not just commerce.
Cosmos.so · $15M Series A
Depth beats scale
Built the anti-Pinterest: no ads, no likes, no noise. #1 in the App Store across 22 countries. We go further: structured data, not just visual inspiration.
Discogs · 19M+ releases · Est. 2000
Community builds the standard
A dataset so trusted the music industry had to reference it. The marketplace wasn't planned — it emerged. We take the ambition: build the standard, the business follows.
Competitive landscape — existing players serve the wrong customer
| Platform | Annual price | Human curation | Sustainability scoring | Tastemaker affinity | Independent brands | Multi-category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WGSN | $15K–$25K | — | — | — | — | ✓ |
| BoF Insights | $499–$999 | ✓ | — | — | — | — |
| Good On You | Free | — | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| ShopMy | $399+/mo | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Arcatype | €600–€9K | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
The white space: No existing platform combines all five: human curation, sustainability scoring, tastemaker affinity signals, independent brand focus, and multi-category coverage. This combination is Arcatype's structural differentiation — and it cannot be replicated by adding a feature to an existing product.
Traction & validation
Now
>850 brands tracked
Actively being onboarded into the index
9 April 2026
Pre-launch pilot event
Testing experience format and brand partner outcomes
May 2026
Industry launch + Index MVP
Brand Index MVP ships alongside larger industry launch
September 2026
Flagship exposition
Month-long event — first large-scale proof point
The team
Alexandra Schott
Co-founder — Marketing & Creative Direction
Ex VP JamesEdition, Antler, Fundsup (exit). Track record building community and cultural relevance at scale across luxury, technology, and media.
Bas Slootman
Co-founder — Partnerships & Business Development
Co-founder of The Fabric Connector. Former Partnership Lead at CISE Network; co-hosted two cohorts of the Amsterdam Circular Startup Accelerator.
Currently in conversations with two potential technical co-founders and a creative director to complete the founding team.
The ask
Pre-seed round — now
€150,000
The Brand Index MVP launches in May — we're building it now. This raise takes Arcatype from database to intelligence platform. The September exposition generates direct revenue from brand participation — it funds itself while proving the model at scale. Goal: validated traction and unit economics to raise a €300K seed in early 2027.
Use of funds
- Co-founder salary — full-time commitment
- CTO co-founder — intelligence platform
- Creative Director co-founder
- September exposition production
- 2 interns, admin, sales rep
Milestones unlocked
- Intelligence platform live
- 50 Featured Partners onboarded
- 3 paid experiences completed
- Exposition revenue-positive
- Runway through April 2027