Participated · Equity · May 2021

Lyst is a UK-based fashion portal that aggregates listings from brands and retailers, offering a catalog of 8 million products from 17,000 brands. The company reports 150 million users browsing and buying via its app and website. Lyst said gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2020 was over $500 million and lifetime GMV exceeds $2 billion, with new user numbers growing 1100%. It plans to use the latest funding to continue personalizing the fashion shopping experience and to support partner brands. Lyst has strengthened its executive bench with Mateo Rando joining as chief product officer and Emma McFerran promoted to COO. The company has discussed a potential public listing in London or New York, though a listing is not expected for another year or possibly up to three. Lyst is an online fashion retailer launched in 2010 by CEO Chris Morton that offers a personalized marketplace where users can create a customized shopping feed. The site aggregates products from partnered brands and stores including Saks, Burberry, J.Crew, Lane Crawford and Balenciaga. The company is based in London, UK. In May 2015 Lyst raised $40M in funding. The company said it will use the funds to continue to expand internationally. Lyst aggregates inventory and content from numerous fashion e-commerce sites into a unified shopping experience and a universal shopping cart. The company combines retailer inventory with social and editorial content to improve discovery and provide real-time availability. Lyst plans to expand into brick-and-mortar commerce via a partnership with PayPal around Beacon and expects additional integrations through its API. The new funding will be used to ramp marketing and hire data scientists and engineers to improve its algorithms. Founded in 2010, Lyst reported rapid growth—up 400% in 2012 and 400% again in 2013—and now draws about 2 million monthly shoppers. Operational metrics reported include an average basket size of $300, roughly $60 million in partner sales, an affiliate fee between 7% and 20%, 57% of purchases coming from North America, and aggregation of over $2 billion worth of goods. Lyst aggregates inventory from thousands of brands and retailers and combines that product data with blogs and social content to present tailored selections and "lysts" for users. The service uses algorithms to reorganize content in real time so availability and pricing reflect live retailer data. It integrates editorial and social signals and plans further mobile and offline discovery features next year. Lyst monetizes via an affiliate revenue‑sharing model (7–20% depending on deals) and reports doubling sales each month for the past three months after a redesign. The company says millions visit monthly, it generates "millions of dollars" in quarterly sales, the average order is about $300, and traffic is roughly 40% U.S., 40% Europe, remainder elsewhere. Lyst was launched in April 2011 and operates from New York and London. Lyst provides a social, discovery-oriented platform for high fashion fans that scrapes designer sites, extracts large product images, and structures the data into a taxonomy. It offers a Twitter‑like feed where users can follow people and brands, curate wish lists, and receive purchase‑availability alerts via a Runway tracking feature launched to coincide with London Fashion Week. The startup launched a public Beta in May and says users are now in the "tens of thousands," having doubled in the prior month. Lyst monetizes solely on an affiliate/commission basis—partners pay only when a sale is generated. The product emphasizes adding context and curation to items (friend or editor recommendations) to drive intent and conversions. The team positions the service between mainstream retailers and community sites, aiming to make the high‑fashion market more accessible.

Participated · Equity · Dec 2017

Moda Operandi operates an online platform for high-end, luxury fashion. The company secured a $13 million term loan provided by Gordon Brothers in partnership with investment bank Consensus to support a sale process. Moda Operandi used the financing to run a fulsome sale process and to achieve a positive outcome for equity holders and other stakeholders. Interim CFO Stephanie Roberts praised Gordon Brothers for keeping the financing process simple, straightforward, and executing as promised. Gordon Brothers characterized the transaction as leveraging its short- and long-term transition capital capabilities and domain expertise to underwrite structures and provide liquidity. The article does not disclose operating metrics or other financial details beyond the loan and sale process. Moda Operandi operates an online marketplace specializing in right-off-the-runway luxury fashion, accessories and home decor. Founded in 2010, it offers products from about 1,000 brands and designers and ships to 125 countries. The company says it will use the new funding to invest in its platform and technology and to continue growing the business, with a focus on the client and designer experience. CEO Ganesh Srivats framed the round as enabling further innovation and broader access to designers. Moda has raised $345 million to date; it did not disclose a current valuation, though PitchBook listed a $650 million post-money valuation from its 2017 round. The company faces competition from marketplaces like Farfetch and Net-a-Porter as well as direct-to-consumer brands and messaging-based retail channels, which could influence its future strategy. Moda Operandi operates an online platform that lets customers preorder unedited runway looks months before they are publicly available and offers a Boutique of curated in-season items from established and emerging designers. Led by CEO Deborah Nicodemus, the company combines preorder runway commerce with a curated retail offering. It completed a $165M growth funding round; prior to this round the company had raised over $132M. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate international expansion, with particular focus on Asia and the Middle East, and to develop its brand portfolio and expand new brand relationships. Moda Operandi also plans to increase development across business verticals, improve mobile technology, and advance customization and personalization. It will grow marketing and customer acquisition programs as part of its expansion strategy. Moda Operandi is a NYC-based online luxury retailer launched in February 2011 by Deborah Nicodemus and Lauren Santo Domingo. The company curates in-season items from both established and emerging designers, focusing on unedited runway collections offered before wider availability. It closed a $60m Series E financing and has raised over $130m in funding to date. Moda Operandi plans to use the new capital to expand into Europe, Asia and the Middle East, improve its mobile technology, grow its loyalty program and customer acquisition, and develop new brand relationships. Current shareholders include New Atlantic Ventures, LVMH and RRE Ventures, among others. Moda Operandi is a NYC-based online luxury fashion retailer that allows members to pre-order new styles. Led by Lauren Santo Domingo, the company works with top designers to provide access to collections and offers recommendations, a personal shopping assistant, and tools to review looks. According to WWD, it raised $20M in funding with backers including existing investors LVMH and Condé Nast. The company intends to use the funds to expand inventory and to go mobile. Moda Operandi is hiring. Related coverage notes prior raises of $36M in 2012 and $10M in a 2011 Series B.

Participated · Seed · Feb 2013

Business of Fashion (BoF) is a professional, editorial-focused B2B site that publishes analysis and news about the global fashion industry. The site was founded by Imran Amed in 2007 and grew organically from a personal blog into a resource read by hundreds of thousands worldwide. BoF's readership is roughly 60% fashion industry professionals, 30% affluent prosumers, and 10% students; the team recently expanded from about 1.5 employees to five. The company plans to expand beyond publishing into events, analytics services, and premium content while explicitly avoiding affiliate marketing and e-commerce. BoF emphasizes and has contractually protected editorial independence from its investors.