LOOP, CIRCULAR ECONOMY VENTURE
Motivated by personal challenges of furnishing rental apartments and a desire to reduce waste, I developed the concept for LOOP, a peer-to-peer furniture rental marketplace designed to improve the moving experience while reducing waste and emissions associated with traditional furniture consumption.
Together with Jiaxin Nie, a colleague from the Masters of the Environment program, we pitched LOOP at the New Venture Challenge and Women Founders competitions in 60-second, 2-minute video, and 5-minute in-person formats, and received a Climate Impact Award at the 2025 CU Boulder Campus Sustainability Summit, selected from 41 competing teams.
Type: VC (pre-seed stage)
Timeline: January 2025 - Ongoing
Website: www.rentwithloop.com
Project Summary
LOOP is a full-service, peer-to-peer furniture rental platform designed to make moving easier, reduce waste, and promote circularity. Born from my personal experience as an international student facing the challenges of furnishing temporary homes, LOOP addresses a common problem shared by 40 million movers in the U.S. each year.
The platform connects people who need furniture with those who have it—offering an affordable, flexible, and sustainable alternative to buying, storing, or discarding furniture. More than a marketplace, LOOP manages the entire process, including item verification, cleaning, logistics, and delivery. Suppliers list essential furniture (e.g., beds, desks, couches), and once approved, items are stored in local hubs for further delivery to the renters.
By extending the life cycle of furniture and simplifying the rental experience, LOOP aims to reduce landfill waste, optimize resource use, and build a more sustainable, user-friendly furniture economy.
Project Deliverables
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New Venture Challenge: Developed a VC-ready pitch deck, pricing model, revenue model, five-year financial projections, and key business metrics including breakeven, burn rate, CAC, LTV, and IRR
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Sustainability Summit: Analyzed LCA studies for 12 commonly used furniture pieces to evaluate their environmental impact (cradle-to-grave); conducted a GHG emissions analysis focused on furniture manufacturing and long-distance transportation; designed a poster and a pitch deck highlighting the venture’s environmental benefits and potential community impact
Note: An Excel-based financial model is available upon request.
LOOP is in early-stage development. We’re building a waitlist and working on an MVP (alpha-version of the platform). As I’m currently focused on launching my career in the energy sector, the venture is in slow motion, but I plan to return to it in the future.
Advisors
Mara brings over 30 years of experience across nonprofits, social enterprises, and for-profit social ventures. She specializes in social impact and sustainability, previously serving as Director of Social Entrepreneurship at NYU Stern. Mara currently advises Capstone projects at CU Boulder and works as a Program Officer at the Louis Calder Foundation. She holds an MBA from Columbia Business School. In 2025, she was honored with the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award at the New Venture Challenge for mentoring my team!
Dr. Fernbach is a cognitive scientist and Professor of Marketing at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. His research focuses on consumer behavior, decision-making, and public understanding of complex topics like sustainability and science. He is the co-author of the acclaimed book "The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone", which explores the limits of individual understanding and the power of collective intelligence. Phil brings deep expertise in behavioral science, marketing strategy, and effective communication of complex ideas.
Dr. Thompson specializes in sustainable land use, food justice, permaculture design, small-scale urban food production, and community food systems with a focus on equity and urban geography. He currently teaches courses like Nourishing Humanity Within Planetary Boundaries and Agroecology and serves as Sustainable Food Systems (SFS) Specialization Lead at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Dr. Shutkin is an expert in urban resilience, climate justice, and sustainable cities planning. He teaches coursework related to Environmental Law and City Planning, exploring sustainable infrastructure and policy approaches in urban environments and serves as the Urban Resilience & Sustainability (URS) Specialization Lead at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is the author of “The Land That Could Be: Environmentalism and Democracy in the Twenty-First Century”. He is also Co-host of The Sustainable City Podcast and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Climate Resilience and Climate Justice, with MIT Press.
Josh Radoff focuses on decarbonization, energy systems electrification, renewable energy development, green building, climate action planning, and corporate sustainability. He teaches Global Intensive: Urban Sustainability and Renewable Energy in Scandinavia—highlighting scalable decarbonization solution.serves as the Renewable & Sustainable Energy (RSE) Specialization Lead at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Alice Reznickova specializes in community food security, food justice, and survey design. Her expertise supports rigorous data collection and analysis on equity-driven food systems. She is currently an Associate Teaching Professor and Capstone Lead in the Masters of the Environment Program at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Ethan is a graduate of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder with a B.S. in Business Administration, dual emphases in Business Analytics and Entrepreneurship. He has recently relocated to New York City and is currently working on the Studio ECD https://www.ethandean.com/
