Startup Spotlight #82: HYP

HYP is the social bidding platform for exclusive releases.

Feb 05, 2021

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I got the chance to speak with Hayoung Park, founder and CEO of HYP, about what he’s working on at his startup, and any advice he has for emerging entrepreneurs.

HYP is the virtual auction house for exclusive releases. On HYP, users link Instagram to show off and compete in front of the world to win exclusive release auctions.
Park is the founder of HYP. His love of hype and fashion started in elementary school when he borrowed $50 from his mom to buy his first pair of Jordans. In less than four years, Park turned $50 into a collection of over 300 pairs of sneakers through reselling. He uses those insights to build the future of exclusive releases through HYP.

Startup Spotlight: HYP

Problem: Consumers are frustrated with risking replicas in the aftermarket, gambling on raffles, and refreshing websites for hours trying to win exclusive releases. Brands need a better way to host exclusive releases and are losing most of the value to the aftermarket.

Market: The luxury market is a $1.4T industry as according to Bain & Co's luxury report.

Solution: HYP allows for brands to capture maximum market value at the point of release while incentivizing the users to bid earlier and higher. The users are guaranteed legitimacy and are able to show off in front of the entire world, not just their friends on Instagram or in person.

Team: Hayoung is the founder and CEO and a long time sneakerhead. Jacob is also a sneakerhead and is the engineering lead. Arthur is the designer and loves fashion and architecture. We're all obsessed with the industry.

Recent Success:

Park: The biggest concern for platform companies and consumer companies is generating demand and getting people to care. Starting out with no existing community or consumer base, some were skeptical that we'd be able to have successful auctions. So far, we've been covered on the front pages of HYPEBEAST, Highsnobiety, Complex, and NiceKicks as well as others, and have generated $70,000+ in GMV with just four releases. Two of our releases are now the 2nd and 3rd most expensive sneakers released this year, and our third beta release set records as one of the most exclusive and expensive t-shirts ever sold.

Recent Struggle:

Park: We initially wanted to have a quiet beta to make sure the platform worked before we got it in front of a lot of people, but the beta releases did too well (thankfully). So, we had to scrap the releases lined up because they were not of a high enough caliber. Our biggest challenge going forward is finding bigger and better brands and artists to do releases with. Thankfully, the artists and brands that we've worked with so far liked HYP so much that they want to regularly host releases and are also introducing us to their friends who are great artists as well!

Founder Advice:

Park: Work hard & celebrate hard. Founding a startup is an uphill battle. It can feel like you're not making any progress, just tiring yourself out while treading water. It's so important to not only work hard but also to look back at the progress you've made and celebrate small wins. Share your wins with friends and celebrate friends wins as well.

Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:

Park: Here are three founders you should check out next!

Jonathan DiModica, Founder of Boston Got Sole: Boston Got Sole is New England's Greatest Sneaker Convention.
Jonathan Zinger, Founder of Grove: Grove helps you build relationships better.
Marlon Wayne, Founder of Impulse: Impulse is a crowdsourced decision-making app, offering real-time feedback to help confirm choices through actionable data.

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