Sneaker Marketplace GOAT Raises $25 Million in Funding, Adds to Board of Directors
Mobile sneaker marketplace GOAT continues to flourish in 2017, announcing yesterday an additional $25 million in funding.
The funding is led by Accel, whose partner Ryan Sweeney has also been appointed to GOAT’s Board of Directors. Other entities contributing to the latest round of financing include existing investors Matrix Partners, Webb Investment Network and Upfront Ventures.
“We have been tracking GOAT for a long time,” Sweeney said. “It is hard to build both sides of the marketplace simultaneously, yet GOAT has scaled both buyers and sellers at a remarkable rate. This is a testament to the company’s focus on the sneaker vertical and its passionate users. We’re thrilled to partner with the team and help them better serve their customers going forward.”
According to GOAT, its member count has grown to 1.5 million since August’s Matrix Partners-led funding of $5 million. On average, marketplace order values have reached more than $330, and the company’s monthly gross merchandise volume has increased tenfold since spring 2016.
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“While we weren’t looking to raise another round, we were excited about the opportunity to work with Ryan and Accel,” said Eddy Lu, co-founder and CEO of GOAT. “Ryan is an exceptional investor with a very successful track record. He’s also a sneaker enthusiast, so he understands our market well. With Accel as well as our other top-tier investors, we not only have the capital, but the guidance to strategically expand our business.”
GOAT plans to use the new funding to increase its domestic and international growth by hiring new engineering, operations, product and marketing specialists. It will also invest in new facilities to bolster its operations and logistics.
Founded in 2015, GOAT is a mobile-based sneaker resale marketplace that specializes in what it calls a “ship to verify” model. By acting as a middleman between buyer and seller, GOAT protects both parties by holding funds in escrow until the sneakers have been inspected and authenticated. To date, the company has raised a total of $37.6 million in funding.
GOAT is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play.
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