Faire, a curated wholesale marketplace that connects independent retailers and makers, raised $150 million in Series D funding round at a $1 billion valuation. The round co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Founders Fund.
“We’re excited to have the support of such incredible investors as we build towards our mission of empowering entrepreneurs to chase their dreams,” Max Rhodes, Faire co-founder and CEO, said in a company release. “Starting a business can provide a level of autonomy and fulfillment that’s become difficult to find elsewhere in the economy. It can also be an intensely challenging and solitary path. We created Faire with the goal of making that path easier for millions of makers and retailers throughout the world.”
By simplifying the wholesale buying process, Faire helps retailers and makers spend more time doing what they love. Retailers get more than 7,000 of the best makers in the world available at their fingertips, making it easy to find the perfect goods for their community. Makers with great products can instantly access more than 50,000 stores (that’s more than double the number of Starbucks in the U.S.) where they can showcase their creativity to tens of millions of local shoppers.
Boutiques are a vital part of the character of communities across the country. Their focus on curation and human interaction is why people delight in stopping by their local grocer, hearing an author speak at their community bookstore, or discovering a wonderful memento in a small shop on their vacation,” Rhodes continued. “Raising money is sometimes mistaken for success. We view this fundraise as an important milestone for the future of retail. Our success will look like more diversity in local communities — special and unique downtowns where people can discover high-quality items sold in stores owned by their neighbors. The new investment will help us expand into new markets, improve our marketplace, and continue building tools to free up our customers to focus on the mission that got them started in the first place.”
