Selency

About Selency

Selency operates as a curated online marketplace for second-hand and vintage furniture and home decor. The company was founded in 2014 in Paris, France, by the entrepreneurial couple Charlotte Cadé and Maxime Brousse, initially under the name Brocante Lab. Cadé, driven by a passion for interior design inherited from her mother, and Brousse, with a love for entrepreneurship, aimed to create a trusted online platform for unique, pre-owned pieces. The idea originated from Cadé's desire for a more attractive and curated online alternative to traditional classified ad sites for finding unique furniture.

The platform functions as a trusted intermediary connecting professional antique dealers and non-professional sellers with buyers. Selency's team hand-selects items to ensure quality and style, building a catalog of unique and vintage pieces. The business model is based on taking a commission on each transaction. Initially focused on individual consumers (C2C), the company has since expanded its services to the business-to-business (B2B) market, offering tailored design and furnishing services for clients like architects, decorators, hotels, and restaurants. In 2022, the company adjusted its model to include commissions from both sellers and buyers to navigate a challenging economic climate.

Selency has gone through several funding rounds to fuel its growth. After a seed round in 2015, the company raised €3 million in a Series A round in 2016, which coincided with its rebranding from Brocante Lab to Selency. This was followed by a €15 million investment from OLX Group in 2018. In 2022, Selency secured a Series C funding round of €35 million to accelerate its European expansion and develop a mobile application. The platform's ambition is to digitize the flea market experience, allowing users to discover, buy, and sell unique items from their homes while promoting a sustainable and circular economy in the home goods sector.