What are the 18 Most Valuable E-Commerce Startups in the U.S.?

Pitchbook, the private equity and venture capital data provider, is out with an interesting look at e-commerce startups in the U.S.

Without looking at the following list of the 18 most valuable startups in the U.S., which companies would you guess would be on the list?

Would you guess Dollar Shave Club, or Jet, or Bonobos?  Well, if you guessed any one of these three, you’d be wrong, because these three have already gone public.  The question is regarding non-public, venture capital-backed startups.  Who’s in the top 5?  Take your guess, because here’s Pitchbook’s list.

The Top 5

Interestingly, in first place is Warby Parker.  Headquartered in New York and founded in 2010, Warby Parker’s most recent round in April 2016 valued the company at $1.2 billion and raised $100 million.  What does Warby Parker do?  Warby Parker offers prescription glasses and sunglasses, mostly through an online platform (the company has a few retail establishments).  Some may be surprised that a business as old as eyeglasses could spawn an e-commerce startup worth $1.2 billion.

In second place is Letgo, a mobile app company founded in 2015 and headquartered in New York, that allows users to buy from, chat to, and sell to other users locally.  Pitchbook places its most recent value at $1.0 billion.  Kind of like Craigslist, only different.

In third place is Ipsy, founded in San Mateo, California in 2011, with an estimated valuation of $800 million.  The company is a subscription service box, offering subscribers who pay $10 per month, a bag of 5 cosmetic samples each month.

In fourth place is The Honest Company, founded in Los Angeles, California in 2012, with an October 31, 2017 valuation of $860 million.  The Honest Company provides consumer goods with a little bit of a twist, focusing on the supply chain of products to the marketplace, and placing a high value on what it considers ethical consumerism.

Rounding out the top 5 is Rent the Runway, headquartered in New York, and founded in 2009, the company’s most recent round of funding valued the company at $750 million.  The company offers designer dresses and accessories.

Source: Pitchbook

Places 6 to 10

Shifting now to the bottom half of the top 10, the following graphic has the list.  The list includes Vroom (buy, sell, and finance used cars), Memebox (beauty and makeup products), The RealReal (authenticated luxury consignment), ThredUp (fashion resale website), and Boxed (wholesale products in bulk).  The valuations range from a high of $636 million to a low of $400 million.  Perhaps not surprisingly, 3 of the 5 companies on this list are headquartered in San Francisco and the other two in New York.

Source: Pitchbook

Places 11 to 18

The final 8 members of the top 18 most valuable e-commerce startups in the U.S. includes (listed below) Allbirds, Moda Operandi, Stitch Fix (just went public), 5 Miles, Adore Me, Spring, Bark Box, and Hubble.

Source: Pitchbook

Conclusion

In an interesting list of the top 18 most valuable e-commerce startups in the U.S., the list includes companies operating in consumer goods, peer-to-peer commerce, luxury goods, and a bunch of other industries.  Overall, the American startup community is alive and well in 2017.