Early-Stage Co-Founding Partner (Sweat Equity + Performance-Vested ESOP Structure)

🌍 About Outfit4Rent: Redefining Retail Economics

Outfit4Rent is headquartered in Germany and operates at the intersection of environmental sustainability, artificial intelligence, and modern consumer behavior. The fashion industry operates on a broken linear model of take-make-dispose, generating massive textile waste and carbon emissions. We are building the technological and operational antidote: Circular Fashion Operating System.

We operate a high-impact dual-engine ecosystem:

• Enterprise B2B Infrastructure: Partnering with fashion brands, boutiques, designers, and retailers to absorb excess inventory, deadstock, and specialized collections, turning idle, depreciating assets into high-yield, rental-ready revenue generators.
• Seamless D2C Rental Experience: Providing a curated, managed-inventory rental platform serving all genders for formal wear, luxury apparel, everyday professional attire, festivals and special events.

Our overarching technology roadmap includes managed B2B2C fashion logistics, second-hand circular resale markets, predictive sizing validation engines, and deeply integrated regional eco-cleaning networks designed to maximize garment lifecycles to 55+ rentals per item.

⚠️ CRITICAL PRE-READ WARNING: We are building this organization completely from a blank slate. We are looking for relentless, mission-driven co-founders who possess an unyielding "can-do" spirit, thrive in extreme operational ambiguity, and want to own a foundational piece of the company from day one. Only apply if you deeply believe in our company goal, our circular fashion mission, and the gritty, high-velocity reality of early-stage venture building.

🏛️ Foundational Startup Principles

To succeed in the current European green-tech landscape, Outfit4Rent operates under startup scaling fundamentals:

• Radical Accountability: Every co-founder owns their domain entirely from macro-strategy down to tactical execution.
• Capital Efficiency: Building multi-million-euro asset-light infrastructure on a bootstrapped, grant-backed, and pre-seed budget via creative resourcefulness and lean technical stacks.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Gut feelings guide intuition, but data dictates execution via real-time KPIs.
• Ecosystem Leverage: Maximizing regional support structures across North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and DACH region (incubators, accelerators, circular hubs, government support, enterprise collaboration, trade conventions like Startup Week Düsseldorf and Circular Valley).

🚀 Join the Founding Team at Outfit4Rent

1. Founding Team & Operations, Supply Chain & Vendor Management Lead

“Build our physical operational backbone from the ground up. Turn reverse logistics into a scalable engine.”

• Core Responsibilities: Absolute ownership of supply chain networks, warehouse workflows, fulfillment, and cleaning partner operations. Source, negotiate, and manage 3PL providers, German hubs, and repair vendors. Master German/EU regulatory frameworks including registration, dual system licensing, and incoming Quality Assurance (IQC). Apply Lean Six Sigma principles, root-cause analysis, and RFID/data-tagging to track durability and maximize garment lifecycles. Ensure textile-specific care handling, professional laundering compliance, and fabric integrity maintenance.
• Skill Requirements: Reverse Logistics, Closed-Loop Supply Chains, Inventory Turnover & Yield Management, 3PL Network Orchestration, WMS, VerpackG/LUCID compliance, IQC protocols, Health & Safety standards, Kaizen, bottleneck elimination, Textile Care & Garment Longevity, Industrial Cleaning & Wet-Cleaning Protocols, Fabric Integrity & Durability Analytics.
• Experience Baseline: 7+ years in supply chain, warehouse operations, circular logistics, or industrial management.
• Industry Network (Must/Important): Established B2B network within European textile logistics, eco-cleaning/laundry industrial partners, and circular fashion supply chain networks across Germany and Europe.

2. Founding Team & E-Commerce, Retail & Fashion Partnerships Lead

“Spearhead market entry, forge B2B brand relationships, and orchestrate our managed-inventory ecosystem.”

• Core Responsibilities: Execute multi-year GTM strategy across DACH. Tap into your deep fashion industry network to secure brand inventory pilots, deadstock absorption deals, and revenue-sharing partnerships. Manage B2B onboarding (EDI setup, supplier questionnaires, CRM tracking via Salesforce/HubSpot) and commercial pricing (Net-Net-Net models, Konditionenblatt). Lead expansion projects end-to-end, oversee digital merchandising, assortment planning, and represent the startup at trade fairs (Startup Week Düsseldorf, fashion trade shows, and others around the world).
• Skill Requirements: Managed-Inventory Architecture, D2C/B2B2C Retail Economics, GMV Scaling, Omnichannel Merchandising, Return Rate Mitigation, Net-Net-Net Pricing, Enterprise Pipeline Generation, CRM Management (Salesforce, SAP, HubSpot), Assortment Curation, Deadstock Monetization, Capsule Collection Onboarding, Wholesale & Brand Consignment Frameworks.
• Experience Baseline: 7+ years in fashion retail, e-commerce management, brand partnerships, or strategic business development.
• Industry Network (Must/Important): Deep, active, and robust network within the German and European fashion retail industry including apparel brands, luxury/contemporary designers, multi-brand retailers, and sustainable fashion incubators.

3. Founding Team Or AI & IT Infrastructure Lead

“Architect and code our core tech stack from scratch building a lean platform and predictive sizing data moat on a bootstrapped budget.”

• Core Responsibilities: Design full-stack web architecture, deployment pipelines (AWS/GCP), and scalable databases for multi-tenant B2B2C use cases. Build and integrate predictive sizing validation engines, automated workflow tools (APIs/Zapier), and durability analytics pipelines. Ensure a seamless two-way loop between operational insights, textile performance tracking, and platform development while maintaining platform security and GDPR compliance.
• Skill Requirements: Full-Stack Development, Lean MVP Architecture, Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure), API-first development, Machine Learning model integration, automated workflow pipelines, sizing algorithms, Garment Sizing & Fit Analytics, E-Commerce Platform Architecture (Shopify Plus/Custom headless APIs), Fashion Tech Integration.
• Experience Baseline: 7+ years in software engineering, technical architecture, or startup CTO roles.
• Industry Network (Nice-to-Have/Important): Connection to the European fashion-tech ecosystem, digital fashion platforms, or AI/ML communities specialized in retail optimization and sizing data analytics.

🎯 What Success Looks Like (First 12 Months)

• Accelerated early-stage traction, brand recognition, and expansion across NRW.
• Built scalable, KPI-driven operational, commercial, and technical organizations from scratch.
• Introduced workflow automation, data analytics, and AI into daily operations and customer touchpoints.
• Increased operational efficiency, reduced asset turnaround times, and mitigated return rates.
• Established bulletproof frameworks for upcoming seed funding rounds and demo days.

🧩 What You Bring to the Table

• Experience & Mindset: 7+ years of relevant industry experience strongly preferred. Exceptional drive and execution capability welcome.
• The "Can-Do" Spirit: Loves building from a blank slate. Owns bottlenecks immediately. "That's not my job" does not exist.
• Strict Location Constraint: On-Site Presence Required in Düsseldorf / NRW for ecosystem building, incubator hub sessions, and physical vendor coordination.
• Language Proficiency: Mandatory fluency in English and German at professional C1 level for stakeholder negotiations, vendor contracts, and regulatory filings.
• Nice-to-Have: Fluency in additional European languages (French, Spanish, Italian) for cross-border expansion.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Outfit4Rent is an equal opportunity organization deeply committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable culture. We actively welcome talent from across NRW and Germany - including native professionals, women leaders, the LGBTQ+ community, diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, and individuals of all walks of life. We believe that diverse perspectives and exceptional talent are the core drivers that will propel our circular fashion mission to the next level.

🔥 How We Win: Our Culture

⚡ Speed is the feature: Action creates information. We test fast, fail fast, and multiply pace with AI.

🎯 Focus on the essential: Done is better than perfect. We stay focused on what moves the needle without bureaucracy.

👁️ See it. Own it. Solve it: A sanctuary for doers. Take absolute accountability for your domain.

🤝 Respect others. Trust multiplies: Direct with ideas, never people. Trust is built through consistency and owning mistakes.

💰 Equity & Compensation Structure

• Early-Stage Reality: As a foundational founding team building a disruptive enterprise from absolute scratch, the initial phase relies on sweat equity, strategic milestone achievements, and positioning the company for upcoming institutional grants and pre-seed funding tracks.
• Founding ESOP: Core co-founding members participate in a structured, formal ESOP pool with a standard multi-year vesting schedule (including a cliff). This ensures that as Outfit4Rent scales its valuation, brand footprint, and revenue, your long-term personal wealth scales directly in tandem with our collective impact.

📩 How to Apply & Stay Connected

Send your CV and a concise introductory note stating your target role, belief in the circular transition, and examples of past building-from-scratch.

Apply via LinkedIn/official inbox.

There is a lot going on and many exciting news and updates on the way! Please share this page with your network and connect with anyone who fits these roles. Be sure to follow our LinkedIn page to stay updated on future announcements, company milestones, and upcoming job openings! 🌍🚀