Opsh
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Opsh was an Irish fashion e-commerce startup founded by three sisters - Jennie, Sarah and Grace McGinn - in 2015, built on the heels of their fashion blog and shoppable-magazine Prowlster (which was acquired by media agency Sweatshop). It pitched itself as 'the Amazon of the High Street': a single account and checkout letting shoppers buy across high-street brands and retailers at once. Unlike other platforms, Opsh held no stock; it enriched retailers' marketing feeds with product imagery and real-time stock data and took a cut as a 'super affiliate' channel.
02 / Opsh FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
The founders said Opsh 'fell victim to the notoriously difficult investment chasm' - the gap between a sparky startup and a 'global-looking machine' that investors will fund at scale. It raised nearly €1 million over three years (including €300,000 from Enterprise Ireland and over €300,000 from fashion investor Brett Palos) but could not raise the next round, while accumulated losses mounted to nearly €900,000.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
The McGinn sisters founded Opsh in Ireland in 2015; it launched into the UK that September.
- Growth that masked the burn
Opsh partnered with more than 20 multinational retailers and the founders said sales were growing 30% month on month. But published accounts for the year ended 31 December 2015 showed a loss of €670,000, bringing accumulated losses to nearly €900,000.
- Shutdown
In January 2017 the three founders announced they were stepping down as directors, publishing 'A Final Farewell' statement. PitchBook now lists the company as Out of Business.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Opsh raised nearly €1 million over three years: €300,000 from Enterprise Ireland and over €300,000 from fashion investor Brett Palos, plus a ~$34K seed round (PitchBook).
- 02
Published accounts showed a net loss of €670,000 for the year ended 31 December 2015, bringing accumulated losses to nearly €900,000 (approx. $743,700 and $999,000 at the 2015 average EUR/USD rate of ~1.11).
- 03
In January 2017 the founders stepped down as directors and the company wound down; PitchBook lists it as Out of Business.