A letter from the Founder

Lifecycle started in 2023 with a pretty simple realisation:

PLM software was old, clunky, and effectively reserved for the largest companies in the world.

Most tools felt like they were built decades ago, then layered with features without ever questioning whether they still matched how modern fashion teams actually work. Smaller and mid-sized brands were either forced into spreadsheets and inbox chaos, or pushed toward enterprise systems that were expensive, rigid, and painful to implement.

At the time, I had already spent over 10 years working in technology, building and shipping software across different industries. Alongside that, I’d previously built and run an athleisure clothing brand, so I knew first-hand how messy product development becomes once you move beyond a handful of styles.

The problems weren’t theoretical. They showed up every season.

In 2023, I met my friend, Dave, in Tokyo. Dave had built and scaled a multi-million-dollar streetwear brand based in the USA, working closely with factories, suppliers, and global production teams. Despite our different paths, we had arrived at the same frustrations - disconnected tools, scattered information, and systems that slowed teams down instead of supporting them.

That’s where the idea for Lifecycle really took shape.

I didn’t want to build “another PLM.” I wanted to rethink what a PLM should be for modern fashion brands.

Lifecycle is built around the product itself. Everything, tech packs, materials, colours, measurements, sampling, costing, timelines, and communication - lives in one place, so teams can see the full story without jumping between tools or second-guessing which version is correct.

We’ve been intentional about keeping Lifecycle flexible, intuitive, and grounded in how teams actually work day to day. Many of the features exist because a brand hit a real problem mid-season and needed a better way forward - not because it looked good on a feature checklist.

Today, Lifecycle is built by a team of 7 based in the UAE, originating from the UK, working closely with fashion brands and suppliers across US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. We stay close to our customers, continuously refining the platform as product development workflows evolve.

Our goal isn’t to replace human judgment or creativity. it is to remove the friction that gets in the way of it.

If you’re building or scaling a fashion brand and want a system that brings clarity, structure, and confidence to product development, without enterprise bloat, we built Lifecycle for you.

– Sam Lillicrap

Founder & CEO of Lifecycle PLM