Participated · Equity · Oct 2024

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Billd delivers financing and payment products tailored to commercial subcontractors who struggle with the industry’s notoriously long and unpredictable payment cycles. The company offers working-capital lines for materials and labor and employs a patented analytics and financing methodology to stabilize subcontractor cash flow. Billd’s platform has become a go-to resource for subcontractors seeking flexible credit and payment predictability, and the firm says it is nearing a $1 billion funding milestone delivered to customers. With the fresh capital, Billd plans to launch Predictable Pay, an early-pay program developed with general contractors that provides subcontractors with faster, more certain payouts. The company positions itself as a champion for subcontractors, using fintech tools to mitigate cash-flow instability and enable business growth. No revenue or user counts were disclosed in the article, but the new funding underscores investor confidence in Billd’s traction within construction finance.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2021

Countable provides an enterprise platform that helps brands design, launch and manage branded community sites that promote actions beyond likes and surface analytics tied to revenue, retention and innovation. The company leverages its "Causes" network of more than 190 million people and supports community features such as video testimonials, events and incentive-linked sharing. Countable began as a solutions-based journalism outfit and pivoted to enterprise SaaS in 2017, with Canaan Partners assisting in that transition. It has completed more than 120 implementations for customers including Starbucks, Uber, Patagonia, Levi’s and PG&E. Over the past year the company grew revenue nearly 300%, increased annual recurring revenue 277%, and has more than doubled customer acquisition and site usage. Countable plans to deploy the new funding into product development, go-to-market efforts, international expansion, third-party integrations and to serve as a launchpad for a social token community exchange.

Led · Series F · Jun 2021

GOAT operates a peer-to-peer marketplace for sneakers and streetwear, connecting a broad audience of buyers and sellers. The company reports about 30 million members and roughly 600,000 sellers on its platform. Its marketplace has reached approximately $2 billion in gross merchandise volume. Last year it saw 100% year-over-year growth in its sneaker business and 500% year-over-year growth in its newer apparel business. GOAT has positioned itself as a fashion-commerce destination outside of Amazon’s purview and has expanded its audience of buyers and sellers. Financially, the company has now raised just shy of $500 million in total capital, most recently a $195 million Series F that values the group at about $3.7 billion. GOAT is a Los Angeles-based online marketplace best known for sneakers and that has expanded into apparel and accessories. In September 2020 the company completed a $100M Series E that valued GOAT at $1.75 billion. On January 19, 2021 GOAT announced a strategic investment from Groupe Artemis; the size was not disclosed. GOAT said the strategic investment will be used for continued expansion in fashion apparel and other new categories. The new investment follows the Series E and is intended to support category expansion beyond footwear. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Eddy Lu. GOAT operates an online and physical resale marketplace for collectible sneakers and streetwear. Launched in 2015 and based in Los Angeles, the company has expanded into adjacent categories beyond footwear. Brands such as Alexander McQueen and Nike sell directly on its platform. The company has previously raised $200 million from investors including Accel and Upfront Ventures; Foot Locker also made a separate $100 million investment. GOAT raised a new $100 million round that values it at $1.75 billion. The company says it will use the financing to double down on research and development and to expand internationally. GOAT is a sneaker marketplace that has focused on app and online portals rather than retail. It is merging with Flight Club, a long-standing aftermarket sneaker retailer whose retail and online businesses are synonymous with the aftermarket scene. As part of the integration, the two brands will continue to exist concurrently while GOAT's tech stack will facilitate Flight Club's online sales and Flight Club's warehousing and international expertise will support retail and expansion. GOAT currently operates stateside only, while Flight Club does significant international business, which the company says will help drive GOAT's international expansion. GOAT raised $60 million in a Series C and has now raised just shy of $98 million in total. Retail now comprises 20% of GOAT's sales, indicating demand for regular high-quality footwear beyond rare resell items. GOAT operates a sneaker-focused resale marketplace and mobile app built for passionate sneakerheads, emphasizing discovery and authenticated transactions. The founders, Eddy Lu and Daishin Sugano, previously worked on other consumer apps and built GOAT out of their own passion for sneakers. The company says it will remain focused on shoes for now, even as some competitors expand into handbags and watches, and is exploring moving upstream into first-party sales. GOAT has shown strong marketplace engagement: roughly 2 million members and an average order value of about $350. Top sellers have generated meaningful volume, including one seller who sold more than $850,000 in 2016 and multiple sellers exceeding $1M in sales this year. The team recently added former Twitter COO Adam Bain to the board, signaling an emphasis on scaling marketplace operations and product experience.

Led · Series F · Jun 2021

GOAT Group operates an online marketplace focused on sneakers, with apparel and accessories as adjacent categories. Founded in 2015, the company reported $2 billion in gross merchandise value over the past year. GOAT delivers to more than 30 million customers across 170 countries. Its valuation more than doubled to $3.7 billion in the latest round from $1.8 billion a year earlier. The company plans to use the proceeds to grow its sneaker business as well as its apparel and accessories units and to expand its global footprint. Competitors include eBay and StockX. GOAT Group operates a global platform that began in 2015 focused on the sneaker market and has expanded into apparel and accessories from select emerging, contemporary and iconic brands. The company runs 13 physical locations across the U.S., Asia and Europe, including distribution and authentication centers. GOAT ships products to 170 international markets and is delivering products to over 30 million members across 170 countries. Its platform features over 350 brands across sneakers, apparel and accessories. The company intends to use new funding to accelerate growth across its product categories and geographies. GOAT is led by CEO Eddy Lu. GOAT Group operates an online marketplace for secondary-market sneakers and retail, known for authenticating product through a ship-to-verify model it pioneered in 2015. The company acquired Flight Club and is pushing into physical in-store experiences to build an omnichannel offering. GOAT said it will use the Foot Locker investment to accelerate global operations and expand its omnichannel experience and technologies. The platform reports more than 12 million active users, roughly 150,000 vendors, and about 750,000 sneaker listings; headcount has grown to more than 600 employees from 200 a year earlier. In 2018 several top sellers on GOAT sold more than $10 million worth of sneakers, up from $2 million in 2017. Since launching in 2015 GOAT has raised $197.6 million, including a $60 million raise last year tied to the Flight Club move.