When Camille Colbus became a mother, she quickly realized how many essential items, such as strollers, bassinets, clothes, and toys, were needed for a surprisingly short period of time. She turned to secondhand, but instead of finding a straightforward way to shop responsibly, she found a jungle.
“Everything was fragmented,” Colbus said. “Comparing listings across platforms took hours. Quality was hard to judge. And trust? Let’s just say we took a few leaps of faith.”
That pain point sparked a mission. As a co-founder of Dero, she's helping to create a one-stop shop for reliable, traceable, and user-friendly secondhand shopping, one that aggregates the best of what’s out there and removes the friction. Colbus is a mission-driven entrepreneur who was the first employee at Too Good To Go.
Dero is growing into a promising player in Europe’s booming circular economy. In just more than a year, it has aggregated more than 65 trusted second-hand marketplaces onto a single platform designed to streamline resale shopping by making it faster, seamless, and safe.
With 150,000 users, Dero wants to make secondhand purchases a first choice by riding the tailwinds of a fundamental shift in consumer behavior. Following the launch of its mobile app and the rollout of its national Dero Tour, the startup focused on establishing its place as a category leader in France’s secondhand revolution.
“We want secondhand to feel like the default,” Colbus said. “Simple, secure, and good for both your wallet and the planet.”
Secondhand Second Nature
Dero's co-founders also include Thibaut Labarre, a software engineer at AngelList, and Vaibhav Ayalasomayajula.
They have built a service that aggregates verified listings from platforms like Back Market, Selency, Darty, and even niche offerings like Occulus Reparo (secondhand eyewear) and Rejouis (intimate wellness items).
Using advanced filtering tools and comparison engines, Dero tries to help users quickly sort items by category, brand, price, and condition, thereby bringing the ease of e-commerce to the messiness of resale.
In February, Dero launched its mobile app, aimed at providing a sleeker, more intuitive version of its web platform designed for quick searches and on-the-go comparisons. It’s a strategic step because more than half of secondhand shopping now happens on mobile.
Impact That Scales
Dero is not only looking to make secondhand shopping easier, but it also hopes to make it greener. The company tracks the carbon footprint of customer purchases and estimates that its users have already avoided over 35,000 kilograms of CO₂ emissions by buying more sustainably, not to mention keeping products in circulation and out of landfills. On an economic level, according to the founders, the average user saves €800 annually.
It’s a timely mission. The global secondhand market is growing at over 15% annually, projected to reach $77 billion by 2025.
According to Mediamétrie – an organisation that provides Content and Audience Insights for global media professionals in the television and media industries – three in four people in France bought a secondhand item in 2024, a figure that reflects rising eco-consciousness.
Still, Colbus says the biggest opportunity lies in normalizing secondhand consumption at scale. “We’re not here to guilt-trip people into being green,” she explained. “We’re here to show them that secondhand is smarter, cheaper, and better than they thought.”
Taking It to the Streets with a tour
In a bid to bring awareness to both the secondhand market and its offering, the startup team has hit the road this spring with its “Dero Tour,” a traveling campaign designed to spotlight France’s most innovative circular economy players.
So far, the tour has stopped in Lyon, Montpellier, and Nantes, meeting with entrepreneurs, resale startups, repair hubs, and community organizations. The next stop for The Dero tour is Bordeaux, planned for May 19–20. From Envie and E-Recycle to Cash Converters and Underdog, the Dero team is looking to build bridges across the country’s circular ecosystem.
“The Dero Tour is about connection,” said Colbus. “We want to celebrate the people rethinking consumption and build a community that makes sustainable living more accessible.”
A New Playbook for French Climate Tech?
In today's AI-oriented frenzy, what perhaps makes Dero’s story unusual is its simplicity and pragmatism. There is no AI, no deeptech or moonshot vision, just a will to create a tight product-market fit and a user experience that makes secondhand shopping a first choice.
It’s also refreshingly French: tackling climate through consumer behavior, not just industrial innovation. In a climate startup scene often dominated by hardtech and biotech, Dero’s consumer-first climate impact is a reminder that software, too, can be a climate lever.
When asked about plans for international expansion, Colbus said: “That’s definitely on the horizon. But for now, we’re focused on getting it right here.”
In 2025, the team is planning to expand into new verticals, onboard more niche resale players, and double down on product development, all while keeping its mission front and center.
“We want people to feel proud of buying used products,” said Colbus. “And we’re here to make that experience better, every step of the way.”
