The Ecommerce Tech Making the Hottest Digital Retail Launches More Reliable and Fair

What happens when three friends set out to build tech that sorts the true fans from bots and resellers? Co-founder (and sneakerhead) Andrew Lipp explains.

Fact file

Co-founders: Andrew Lipp, CEO, 41 (centre); Patrick Donelan, CTO, 42 (left); James Boysons, CRO, 37 (right)
Investors: AirTree Ventures, Insight Partners, Harry Stebbings, Michael Rubin’s family fund, Guillaume Pousaz (Checkout.com founder) and Alex and Anthony Zaccaria (Linktree founders)
First customer: Culture Kings in 2021
Headquarters: Melbourne, with offices in Sydney and Salt Lake City
Staff: 41

What’s your elevator pitch?

“EQL [pronounced ‘equal’] is ecommerce technology that helps brands harness the passion for in-demand products, making high-heat online launches more reliable and fair. Since 2021, EQL’s platform has supported more than 4000 launches across 15 markets for brands including Nike, Tiffany & Co., Sullivans Cove Distillery, Culture Kings, Foot Locker and the Royal Australian Mint. We take away the frustration of endless online queues, crashing sites and freezing carts. We’re in the fans’ corner, while championing the retailer.”

What’s the problem you aim to solve?

“Traditional ecommerce technology was built for sustained traffic and conversion rates from cart to checkout. We’re targeting the kind of commerce that’s driven by passion. In these situations sales conversion isn’t an issue – you’re going to sell out. We’re about ensuring the tech infrastructure stays up while the frenzy ensues, selling fairly to the biggest fans.”

How does it work?

“We give a retailer access to our platform and they enter the launch details – the product, images, inventory available – and click publish. In seconds, it spins up a product page that looks like their website. We’ve put in place our Run Fair certification, which is trademarked around the world, so when consumers see it, they know the retailer is trying their best to ensure the launch is fair. From the minute the page is live it automatically scales to handle a high traffic load. We scan for bots and bad actors in real time. People who look genuine are bubbled up to the top while someone using automation or a VPN gets weighted down. Once the launch closes, all the entries are automatically assessed and the system allocates the items and charges credit cards until the inventory runs out. Those who miss out get an email telling them their chances will be increased next time.”

How did you get it off the ground?

“James and I are genuine sneaker fans – Patrick barely wears shoes when he codes – but the technical challenges for these types of launches are nothing like traditional ecommerce. We’d worked together in very different roles at Google and talked about how the pain is real for fans.”

How did you convince investors?

“It was an easy sell. We’ve all been in a situation where you’re determined to get those concert tickets, those sneakers or that toy your kid’s been asking for all year. The dopamine is kicking in and you’ve got your credit card ready to go, only to have the site crash or for it to sell out so quickly that it’s painfully clear no human ever had a chance. Most brands don’t want that experience for their fans. Once we had the capital, we went full tilt building it.”