Popshop Live, a livestream shopping community, raised a $20 million Series A funding round at a $100 million valuation.

WHO: Founded by CEO Dan Dan Li, Popshop Live marries the social experience of in-person shopping with the convenience of e-commerce in its livestreaming mobile and desktop platforms. Merchants of all sizes can create and host their own live shopping shows, allowing them to connect with hundreds of customers from around the world with the same high-touch experience you find in traditional brick-and-mortar shopping.

Popshop Live is a livestreaming shopping app at the intersection of social, e-commerce, and entertainment. Founded by Dan Dan Li, Popshop Live's mission is to empower millions of sellers to become million-dollar businesses. Sellers are equipped with the tools needed to tell their stories and build a dedicated customer base, while providing an engaging and entertaining shopping experience. Unlike other platforms, Popshop Live curates exciting and interactive shows that engage shoppers, creating a true community and generating sales. Popshop Live backers include Benchmark, Floodgate, Abstract Ventures, SV Angel, and TQ Ventures.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: "Livestream commerce is not just a trend in China and through the pandemic, it is an emerging multi-billion-dollar phenomenon whose growth is accelerating every day," said Popshop Live board member Matt Cohler of Benchmark. "Dan Dan has created something fundamentally new, unbounded, and powerful. Her tenacity and commitment to her vision of creating a marketplace for culture is singular."

Popshop Live was a valuable alternative shopping platform as traditional in-person retail halted during the pandemic," said Jill Renslow, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Marketing at Mall of America. "Even as the world continues to open up and we welcome shoppers back to Mall of America, we plan to continue live stream shopping to reach new customers in a unique way.

DETAILS:

• Popshop Live raised a $20 million Series A funding round at a $100 million valuation, bringing the total capital raised to date to $24.5 million.
• Led by Benchmark with participation from TQ Ventures (Andrew Marks, Schuster Tanger, and Scooter Braun), Mantis VC (The Chainsmokers), Access Industries, and SV Angel, as well as return investors Floodgate, Abstract Ventures, and Long Journey Ventures.
• Individual investors in the round include Sophia Amoruso, Baron Davis, Jim Lanzone, Kevin Mayer, Vivi Nevo, Michael Ovitz, Hailey Bieber, and Kendall Jenner.
• The company also announced the appointment of two tech industry veterans. Former Head of Growth at Instagram and Vice President of Product at Instacart Bangaly Kaba has joined to lead platform growth, and former Head of Uber Eats Jason Droege will spearhead Popshop's expansion.
• Sellers on Popshop Live are seeing gross merchandise value of $500,000 and more, with 80% of customers returning within 30 days to buy more.
• The platform is growing exponentially and has increased sellers by more than 500% over the last three months as it expands to new verticals. The company, currently 30 people, plans to triple its headcount this year.
• In July 2020, Popshop Live raised $3 million funding round led by Floodgate and Abstract Ventures, with participation from Long Journey Ventures, Cyan and Scott Banister, Shrug Capital, Backend Capital, and Halogen Ventures.