Four-month-old Rever revs up e-commerce returns, joins Y Combinator

Barcelona-based Rever has joined the prestigious Y Combinator accelerator programme (S 22) after just four months in existence. The only Spanish startup accepted, Rever beat out a record 40,000+ applicants for the coveted spot.

¿Por qué Rever? 

The startup allows shoppers to return any e-commerce purchased product in two clicks and receive a refund in just seconds. I think the kids will soon call this q-returns.

To date, the fledgling startup has raised $1 million in a pre-seed round, attracting the likes of investors Óscar Pierre, CEO and co-founder of Glovo, Facebook, Revolut, and Zalando investors Global Founders Capital, a Sequoia Capital scout who’s chosen to remain a mystery (although first guess is that it’s Station F’s Roxanne Varza), and Y Combinator, and is operational in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany.

Rever’s timing couldn’t be better. Speaking to Tech.eu, co-founder Oriol Hernandez explained that the idea behind the company was born during the pandemic as he and co-founder Màrius Montmany watched the explosion of e-commerce trading and thought, there are going to be a lot of returns.

So many returns, in fact, that just last week, The Guardian reported that fast fashion e-commerce retailer Boohoo has joined the growing trend of merchants now charging customers a fee to return an item. Those days of “I’ll order both sizes, see which one fits, and then return the one that doesn’t” are quickly sunsetting.”

To add to the misery experienced by you, me, and everyone-you-know-who’s-ordered-anything-online, the wait to get your pesos back. According to Rever, the average time in Europe before you see the + sign on your bank account from said e-tailer exceeds 14 days. 

“We want to lead the next transformation of e-commerce: bringing frictionless, superfast and sustainable returns to everyone, anytime, anywhere,” says Hernandez. “Because returning should be as easy as buying. REVER's ambition is to dominate all eCommerce post-sale services by creating the world's first global platform for online returns.”