Sidestep is a mobile app that enables fans to order concert merchandise before, during, or after shows and pick purchases up at a dedicated QR‑code skip‑the‑line spot or have items delivered. The company started by selling t‑shirts and posters for Beyoncé on her Formation World Tour and expanded to offer merchandise from acts including Guns N’ Roses, Fall Out Boy, Selena Gomez and Weezer. Sidestep provides artists with buyer data and charges customers a 10% service fee. Beyoncé and her management company Parkwood Entertainment invested $150,000 in Sidestep’s seed round after two weeks of early tour success, and the startup has raised $1.7 million in total from Beyoncé and other backers. The app has recorded over $2 million in sales, a 10× increase from the prior year, demonstrating strong demand. Sidestep will compete with merch sellers such as Merchbar and Yoshirt while positioning itself around concert convenience and increased artist monetization.

Total raised

$0M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Sep 2016