How start-ups Glossier, Casper, Rent the Runway and Away became billion-dollar ‘unicorns’ in 2019
- The four innovative businesses have struck a nerve and excel at using social media to maintain relationships as satisfied customers are best form of advertising and marketing
The year 2019 is the year for “unicorn” sightings. In the first six months, four major retail start-ups – Casper, Rent the Runway, Glossier and Away – have become unicorns – a company with a valuation of at least US$1 billion.
The exclusive unicorn club, according to CB Insights, comprises just over 350 members worldwide, from fintech businesses such as Stripe and Robinhood to delivery services including DoorDash and Instacart.
Part of their high valuations includes the venture capital (VC) funding they have raised to expand their businesses.
Sridhar Tayur, professor of operations management at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, in the United States, says VC funding plays an important role.
“Beyond capital, they bring experience and networks, which helps in recruiting key executive talent, market messaging, competitive positioning and strategic partnering with established insiders in an industry,” he says.
There is no universal formula to acquiring or using VC funding successfully, but any aspiring entrepreneur could take notes from these four new retail unicorns that seem to do no wrong.
This wave of funding and valuation success is exciting because the start-ups represent a variety of industries (home, fashion, beauty, and travel), signalling the broad potential of the future of retail.
Casper: sells sleep-related products, including foam mattresses, bedding and bed frames.
Rent the Runway: rents designer clothing pieces, either individually or on an unlimited basis through a monthly membership.
Glossier: sells beauty and make-up products.