She won Innovation Depot’s 1st-ever LGBTQ+ pitch competition—find out about her unique store

Reading time: 3 minutes

Innovation Depot LGBTQ+ competition
Winners at Innovation Depot’s first-ever LGBTQ+ pitch competition. (Innovation Depot)

Sarah Randolph (center, above) is a queer woman in Birmingham, Alabama, who’s on a mission to bring a unique consignment store to Birmingham. She just won Innovation Depot’s first-ever LGBTQ+ pitch competition, giving her $500 plus three months of onsite coworking. Keep reading to learn more.

About rEVOLVEr resale + the LGBTQ+ pitch competition

Sarah Randolph has a vision to bring a first-of-its-kind gender-free consignment shop to Birmingham, with three main goals in mind:

  • Address the waste—estimated at 80 pounds of clothing and textiles per person, per year in the US—generated by fast fashion by providing second-hand goods.
  • Create a safe space for LGBTQ+ folks + others through gender-free merchandising—the store will have pants with pants, dresses with dresses, etc. so you can mix and match as you choose, with no “his” or “hers” section.
  • Create financial opportunities for people in the community to sell their goods or local artwork in the shop. Consignors can also choose to have a portion of their proceeds go to a local environmental or social justice organization each month.
rEVOLVEr resale
Sarah Randolph of rEVOLVEr resale at Innovation Depot. (Innovation Depot)

Love this idea and want to make it happen? Here’s how you can help:

About the inaugural Central Alabama LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurship Conference

Innovation Depot
The inaugural LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurship Conference (Innovation Depot)
  • What: a one-day event with speaker panels, a keynote address, a pitch competition + a celebratory happy hour
  • When: Saturday, January 21, 2023
  • Where: Innovation Depot
  • Supported by: LGBTQ Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Tech Equals, a TechBirmingham affinity group
  • Winners:

“We were thrilled to be able to bring this event to fruition for the Birmingham community. LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs are statistically more likely to encounter disadvantages on their journey to becoming a founder, so we envisioned this event as a way to help combat those challenges and provide support to the community.”

Brit Blalock, Director of Marketing for Innovation Depot + founder of two local LGBTQ support organizations

Get news like this delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for Bham Now’s newsletter today.

Sharron Swain
Sharron Swain

Writer, Interviewer + Adventurer | Telling stories to make a difference

Articles: 844