Whatnot Raises $20M for Livestreaming Collectibles Platform

Whatnot's Rapid Growth and Expansion

Initial coverage of Whatnot in February of the previous year highlighted a company in its nascent stages. Their ambition was to become the leading marketplace for collectible toys, initially concentrating on establishing a reliable platform for the purchase and sale of authenticated Funko Pop figurines.

Within a few months, as the company broadened its scope to include items such as pins and Pokémon cards, development began on a live shopping experience. This platform mirrored the format of televised shopping channels, but utilized the resources of individuals selling from their homes via smartphones to an audience of fellow enthusiasts.

The Rise of Live Shopping

This concept had already demonstrated success in China and was gaining momentum within the U.S. collectibles market. However, a significant portion of U.S. livestreams were taking place on Instagram Live, a platform not optimally designed for features like bidding or post-sale transaction processing. Whatnot identified this market need and sought to address it.

The company’s strategy appears to be yielding positive results. Following a $4 million seed funding round at the close of 2020, Whatnot secured an additional $20 million in funding, fueled by the success of its live shopping platform and plans for expansion into numerous additional collectible categories.

The latest funding round, a Series A, was spearheaded by Connie Chan of Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from YC, Wonder Ventures, Operator Partners, Scribble Ventures, Steve Aoki, and Chris Zarou, according to company representatives.

While Whatnot maintains a conventional, non-livestreamed selling option, co-founder Grant LaFontaine indicates that approximately 95% of the team’s efforts are currently directed towards the livestream component.

“Customers are drawn to the live experience, but also desire a centralized location for all their selling needs. We provide the tools to facilitate this ‘one-stop shop’ approach,” LaFontaine explains.

Expanding into New Categories

As previously noted in December, “card breaks” are becoming increasingly prevalent on the Whatnot platform, defined as:

The additional capital will be allocated to accelerating expansion into new categories, LaFontaine states. Currently, the company primarily focuses on Pokémon cards, Funko Pops, FigPins, and sports cards. However, they envision potential growth into areas like comic books, video games, and vintage computing hardware.

Entering a new category necessitates building a dedicated community, attracting reputable sellers to the platform, and effectively marketing to potential buyers. The team anticipates eventually encompassing over 100 distinct categories.

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