At Tern, we’re celebrating women in business with a special weekly series featuring our co-founders, Kate & Zoe. In these videos, they share their journey - how they built Tern, the challenges they faced, and the moments that shaped their vision. Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes insights on the future of circular retail!
Being a female founder can be a tough and sometimes lonely road, but having a co-founder changes everything. Kate & Zoe embarked on this journey together, navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurship side by side. Their partnership has been the foundation of Tern, proving that collaboration, shared vision, and mutual support are key ingredients for success.
Tern didn’t start as the platform you know today. Initially, Kate & Zoe explored secondhand children’s goods, recognizing how much money parents spend on buggies, car seats, and essentials that could have a second life. But as they delved deeper into circular retail, they saw a larger opportunity: helping brands and retailers seamlessly embrace resale. That’s when Tern truly began to take shape.
In our latest video, Kate & Zoe take us behind the scenes of how Tern got its name. While brainstorming, they realised that many companies in the resale space used prefixes like “re-” (return, renewal, reuse), but they wanted something different—something meaningful.
Inspired by nature, they discovered the Arctic Tern, a bird with the longest migratory path and more homes than any other creature. This perfectly symbolised their mission: to extend the life of goods, giving them more homes and keeping them out of waste streams. And so, Tern was born.
This is just the beginning! Each week, we’ll share more behind-the-scenes stories from Kate & Zoe, diving into the realities of building a business, driving sustainability in retail, and what it truly means to be a female founder.
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Stay tuned for more insights, inspiration, and the journey of Tern as it continues to evolve.
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