Elenas

About Elenas

Elenas operates as a social commerce platform in Latin America, specifically targeting the digitization of the region's traditional direct sales industry. Founded in 2018 by Zach Oschin and Thomas Harsch, the Bogota-based company empowers women in Colombia and Mexico to establish and manage their own online businesses. The venture originated from Oschin's time as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Polymath Ventures, where he identified the opportunity to modernize the antiquated, yet prevalent, door-to-door and catalog sales model. Oschin, a Georgetown University alumnus with a background in launching startups globally, serves as the company's CEO.

The business model centers on providing a platform for entrepreneurs, referred to as "ambassadors," to sell a wide variety of products without holding inventory. These ambassadors browse tens of thousands of wholesale items in categories such as cosmetics, home goods, and electronics, set their own profit margins, and market the products through social channels like WhatsApp and Facebook. Elenas manages the logistical back-end, including product sourcing from over 250 distributors and brands, delivery via third-party logistics providers, and payment collection, thereby eliminating upfront economic risk for the sellers. This B2B2C marketplace structure allows for an asset-light and scalable operation. The company's revenue grew fivefold between its Series A and Series B funding rounds.

Since its inception, Elenas has achieved significant milestones, including raising a total of $28.5 million in funding. This includes a $2 million seed round in 2020, a $6 million Series A in 2021, and a $20 million Series B in 2022, led by DILA Capital. Other notable investors include Mercado Libre, Endeavor Catalyst, and FJ Labs. The platform has facilitated millions of dollars in earnings for over 100,000 women who have processed over 2 million orders. Recognizing that many of its sellers were previously unbanked, Elenas has also moved towards financial inclusion by partnering with a major Colombian bank to introduce an internal wallet, with plans to offer further fintech services like loans and credit.