Alex Wiltschko

I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but a lot of people can sometimes smell if their loved one or their partner is getting sick or like something's a little bit off. And then two days later, they actually get sick. That's real, right? Like what's on the inside of us gets to the outside. What's in our blood and in our organs is eventually exhausted through our breath, our sweat, whatever.

I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but a lot of people can sometimes smell if their loved one or their partner is getting sick or like something's a little bit off. And then two days later, they actually get sick. That's real, right? Like what's on the inside of us gets to the outside. What's in our blood and in our organs is eventually exhausted through our breath, our sweat, whatever.

And we know that dogs can pick up on that stuff. So we've proved out that we can use the scent of a product to tell whether it's a real or a fake, basically tell its provenance. And that's something we've got deployed at StockX, and that's going quite well. We think that there's other counterfeit detection and kind of truth and safety applications for scent.

And we know that dogs can pick up on that stuff. So we've proved out that we can use the scent of a product to tell whether it's a real or a fake, basically tell its provenance. And that's something we've got deployed at StockX, and that's going quite well. We think that there's other counterfeit detection and kind of truth and safety applications for scent.

But I think it goes deeper than that, right? So I think we could be detecting harmful substances at the border and stopping them. Whatever sniffer dogs are doing, I think eventually a computer will be able to either help with or do entirely. But a holy grail for us is human health and wellness. I think the signal that is inside of the scent that we emit is completely untapped.

But I think it goes deeper than that, right? So I think we could be detecting harmful substances at the border and stopping them. Whatever sniffer dogs are doing, I think eventually a computer will be able to either help with or do entirely. But a holy grail for us is human health and wellness. I think the signal that is inside of the scent that we emit is completely untapped.

What's weird is it turns out that by getting really good at designing the sense of fruits and flowers and vegetables you actually, for free, get good at these other scent problems, like with human scent or with product scent, because the overlap of the actual molecules that you see is actually pretty high. So there's not an infinite number of molecules out there.

What's weird is it turns out that by getting really good at designing the sense of fruits and flowers and vegetables you actually, for free, get good at these other scent problems, like with human scent or with product scent, because the overlap of the actual molecules that you see is actually pretty high. So there's not an infinite number of molecules out there.

There's a lot, but if you get really good at one domain of scent, it turns out to help you in other adjacent domains.

There's a lot, but if you get really good at one domain of scent, it turns out to help you in other adjacent domains.

There's a few pieces here. at first brush are recession-proof. So if people aren't buying luxury fragrances, they're buying hand soap, right? So fragrance is in 90% of the products in your household. And there's a very small number of companies that provide all of that. And so if one category is going down, another is typically going up. So really, really great long-term profile.

There's a few pieces here. at first brush are recession-proof. So if people aren't buying luxury fragrances, they're buying hand soap, right? So fragrance is in 90% of the products in your household. And there's a very small number of companies that provide all of that. And so if one category is going down, another is typically going up. So really, really great long-term profile.

The margin profiles are also very great. So fundamentally, these are manufacturing businesses with non-manufacturing margins because there's a ton of know-how that goes into producing the finished blended product.

The margin profiles are also very great. So fundamentally, these are manufacturing businesses with non-manufacturing margins because there's a ton of know-how that goes into producing the finished blended product.

So although it's just ingredients mixed together in a jar that's then sent to a customer who then puts it in their packaging, how you get the exact right blend of those molecules is typically a deeply held secret. And what we've done is studied the industry very, very deeply and figured out, okay, you

So although it's just ingredients mixed together in a jar that's then sent to a customer who then puts it in their packaging, how you get the exact right blend of those molecules is typically a deeply held secret. And what we've done is studied the industry very, very deeply and figured out, okay, you

a lot of what is being provided in the industry we think can be augmented by artificial intelligence and we can do this faster. The other piece here is customers are typically quite sticky. So if you're running a beauty or a CPG business, and you run out of stock, your first inclination is to reorder from your past supplier, not to bid out again.

a lot of what is being provided in the industry we think can be augmented by artificial intelligence and we can do this faster. The other piece here is customers are typically quite sticky. So if you're running a beauty or a CPG business, and you run out of stock, your first inclination is to reorder from your past supplier, not to bid out again.

And so typically, if you've won the business, industry standards for repurchasing are well above 50%. So if you build this very wide book of business that has different parts that fluctuate based on the macro, you have a really resilient business there. And the margin profile is typically quite good.

And so typically, if you've won the business, industry standards for repurchasing are well above 50%. So if you build this very wide book of business that has different parts that fluctuate based on the macro, you have a really resilient business there. And the margin profile is typically quite good.