Update: I overlooked the underlying article on The Information, which I hadn’t realized I had access to.
Accel, named in the article, must be the major VC partner. GoPuff authorized a Series D round in November of last year totaling at least $108.5 million, according to a state filing.
“The latest financing last November valued the company at about $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.”
The share price of its November round was more than 90 times what some of the earliest outside investors paid in 2015.
GoPuff has attracted veterans of Uber and Lyft to run marketing and growth out of a San Francisco satellite office.
A key to goPuff’s strategy is keeping its own inventory in its own local warehouses. The co-founders earn praise as operating managers.
Juul pods are said to be among goPuff’s highest grossing products.
BTW, Juul announced yesterday that it will soon require all retailers to use an updated point-of-sale (POS) system. When Juul products are scanned, the POS will prompt the retailer to scan the customer’s ID. Which may create hurdles in making those systems work remotely.
Also, my impression is that Juul may face further restrictions in the not-so-distant future. goPuff must also navigate a myriad of Alcohol restrictions. And some investors can’t invest in tobacco related ventures.
Josh Kopelman, though not an investor, took time to praise goPuff last November:
This twitter thread started in May by Cory Weinberg of The Information appears to confirm two things:
- That Philly-based goPuff is a Unicorn, with a valuation in excess of $1 billion
- That it has raised over $150mm, which is at least $140 million more than previously reported
Where the additional investment came from is not known, though one investor, 3L Capital, has been identified. But 3L couldn’t have supplied the entire amount goPuff is said to have received. The investment hasn’t shown up in the usual places on the web.
There have been suggestions that goPuff is trying to act in stealth mode, trying to build a national footprint before anyone notices.
Some other comments on the thread are enlightening.
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