Why Kanye West's Record Label Chief Is Investing In This Lithuanian Start-Up

1. Why Kanye West's Record Label Chief Is Investing In This Lithuanian Start-Up Read original article here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/12/13/why-kanye- wests-record-label-chief-is-investing-in-this-lithuanian-start-up/ Probably no one in the U.S. cares about Lithuanian start-ups, guys, I tell a table of six at a cozy restaurant run by Irish expats in Vilnius. The table goes quiet. It’s me, a venture capitalist named Arvydas Bloze from Pratica Capital, some incubator types, and a guy they rolled out as their hot tech guru spokesman, 33 year old Justas Janauskas. He’s dressed in start-up black, minus the hoodie. Maybe if Kim Kardashian was involved we’d be onto something. Then Justas calmly replies without squirming in his seat, as if he was waiting for this moment like a cat spying a mouse, “I can get you that.” Janauskas is the co-founder of Vinted.com, together with 29 year old Milda Mitkute. They sell used clothes on line. The site has a forum overrun by teens and young 20-somethings asking for fashion advice, looking for gear, and talking about pop culture and boyfriends. Hundreds of thousands of them in fact post to the site and app on a daily basis. It’s garnered the attention of an A-lister’s best buddy and confidante.

2. The brain power behind Vinted is Janauskas and Mitkute. But the star power behind it is Che Pope, the rapper and record producing el presidente behind G.O.O.D. Music, owned by Mr. Kardashian himself, Kanye West. And while West has nothing to do with Vinted, Che Pope does. This guy is no slouch. He’s a Grammy winner himself and produced Kanye’s Grammy nominated album Bound- 2. Plus he has a thick rolodex of successful musicians looking for venues to sell their wares. Pope and his venture capitalist buddy, Vinted.com investor Karl Karlsson from New York-based Insight Venture Partners, think the seven year old Lithuanian company is onto something. That something might help them sell the next big musical talent. Or maybe some rapper’s latest apparel. Pope has been involved in some of Karlsson’s other investments and was brought on board Vinted in an advisory capacity this year. “I’m not investing my money, but I am investing my time and for me that is the same thing,” Pope tells me. “If I’m putting my time into something, it’s because I believe in its potential.” Mitkute’s charms and Janauskas confidence aren’t enough. The world is full of charming young women and smart, magical techies who might be onto something. Pope likes these two, but what he really likes is Vinted as a vehicle to promote Hollywood-style entertainment. Whether it’s a movie a rapper friend is in, or a new

3. artist trying to be discovered in a very crowded and noisy field, Vinted is another way for Pope to get the word out. Vinted benefits by being a niche place “cool” people hang out in. “My music target is 14 to 24 year olds and they are mostly women,” Pope tells FORBES in a phone interview on Oct. 10. This is about a month before Vinted secured $27 million in Series C financing from billionaire German media magnate, Hubert Burda, Accel Partners and Insight’s European offices. Vinted is right in Pope’s wheel house and now he has German media muscle to help steer it. “Vinted’s target market is my target market and with 10 million subscribers they are impossible to ignore. They’re in 8 countries now. I think they can double that,” he says. Continue reading here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2015/12/13/why-kanye-wests- record-label-chief-is-investing-in-this-lithuanian-start-up/