Big Starts: The Swapping Co. Helps Local Shops Go National

The Swapping Company wants to help fashion resalers and consignment shops sell their merchandise across the country.

When a shop owner puts a preowned Gucci bag on The Swapping Company’s online platform, the service will push the product description to eBay, Etsy and several other websites in one fell swoop.

Posting a single piece of merchandise on all those sites could easily take an hour. The Swapping Company, which is part of this year’s SparkLabKC class, gets the job done in about 60 seconds.

Jen Taylor, a former corporate recruiter, created the startup. She’d been working on the concept for a while, but it gained new urgency after her young daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. Taylor realized she needed to create a job for herself that gave her the flexibility she needed to care for her child.

“It was one of those things where I said, ‘All right, I’m ready to start my business,’” Taylor said.

The Swapping Company is helping five local boutiques sell their goods online. One shop was able to sell an $8 swimsuit that it hadn’t been able to move for a few years. A customer in Las Vegas bought it—for $300.