Verishop: Restoring the Online Shopping Experience
How Verishop aims to bring joy back to shopping
As more consumers turn to online shopping to fulfill their needs, a new generation of upstart platforms are on the rise, challenging incumbent companies in this growing landscape. One of the new players, Verishop, is a Los Angeles-based luxury e-commerce platform that sells a curated selection of men’s and women’s fashion, home goods, and beauty products.
A New Generation of E-Commerce
CEO and former Snap CSO Imran Khan feels that there is a gap in the market for a new player to offer the convenience of Amazon with better discovery and customer service in a “brand-safe” environment. Verishop, an AVG portfolio company and deal accessed by our Purple Arch Ventures fund for the Northwestern community, is designed for the millennial consumer with a focus on trust and convenience. They aim to be the leading shopping platform for affordable luxury goods.
As such, Verishop does not allow third-party vendors and sources their products directly from brands. In addition to icons like 7 For All Mankind and upstart players like All-Saints, Verishop will also build its own brands and feature a tastemaker shop for influencers, as well as “The Responsible Shop” for environmentally-conscious consumers. Verishop wants to bring “joy back to shopping” and can be viewed as a digital analog to the traditional department store. They offer free one-day shipping, free returns, and provide 24/7 customer service.
Experience at the Helm
The founding team at Verishop has strong experience in consumer-facing technology with a focus on e-commerce. CEO Imran Khan was the number two executive at SNAP following a successful career as a technology banker where he notably led the IPO of Alibaba for Credit Suisse. His wife and co-founder, Cate Khan, ran Amazon’s Quidsi business before the company decided to wind down the operation. Together, they’re building a team focused on solving the issues of quality and trust that have plagued existing marketplaces.
How We’re Involved
Alumni Ventures Group deployed capital in Verishop’s 2019 Series B funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and perennial Midas List Investor, Jeremy Liew. Our participation was led by Purple Arch Ventures, our fund for Northwestern alumni and friends, and included Blue Ivy Ventures (for Yale alumni and friends), Congress Avenue Ventures (for UT Austin alumni and friends), Strawberry Creek Ventures (for UC Berkeley alumni and friends), Triphammer Ventures (for Cornell alumni and friends), the AVG Women’s Fund, and the AVG Total Access Fund. Coinvestors include Madrona, Upfront Ventures, and Rakuten Ventures.