Heyday Announces $555 Million in Series C Funding to Expand Platform, Bolsters Leadership Team
Press Release
Nov 17, 2021
AN FRANCISCO, Nov. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Heyday, a platform for brand building, pioneering a marketplace-first approach to creating the next-generation consumer products company, announced today the close of its $555 millionSeries C funding round. The round was co-led by high-growth technology investors The Raine Group and Premji Invest with participation from existing investors General Catalyst, Victory Park Capital, and Khosla Ventures.
The new funding comes on the heels of a $70 million Series B funding round in May, bringing the total capital raised to $800 million since the company’s founding in 2020. Heyday will use the capital to accelerate investment in its brands, technology platform, and logistics footprint, and continue its rapid pace of acquiring and incubating leading digital brands.
“Marketplaces like Amazon have democratized e-commerce creation, making it easier than ever before for consumers to discover innovative new products and brands,” said Sebastian Rymarz, co-founder and CEO. “We’re excited to partner with these amazing entrepreneurs and leverage our platform capabilities to help them make the Great Leap from marketplace-native brand to household brand.”
Heyday also filled key leadership roles together with the Series C, adding a team of seasoned retail and technology executives who have been instrumental in leading hyper-growth organizations, including CFO Navid Veiseh (Amazon, Coupang), CMO Reema Batta (Opendoor, Expedia), and CAO Todd Heeter (Doma, Anixter). The new hires will help steer the company through its rapid pace of scaling and global expansion, as evidenced by its seventh office opening in China, a 20x increase in its workforce of experts in brand management, product development and innovation, integrated marketing, supply chain, operations, technology, data science and M&A, and its expectation to generate well over $200 million of run-rate revenue by the end of 2021.
“We have been exceptionally impressed with Sebastian and his team, their vision, and commitment to operational excellence for the next generation of consumer brands,” said Jake Vachal, Managing Director at The Raine Group. “Heyday’s innovative approach to growing and incubating brands provides entrepreneurs access to leading technology, as well as deep-rooted expertise spanning operations and marketing. We are excited to be partnering with this team as they continue building a differentiated platform for quality, digital-first brands.”
The Heyday platform weaves together technology, data, operations, and growth capabilities to help its brands with omni-channel expansion, product development, and brand equity building. Its brands have outpaced the broader e-commerce market, delivering 64% year-over-year organic growth. Last month, Heyday launched a partnership with MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics to further develop its platform’s inventory optimization capabilities, helping improve its brands in-stock rates and navigate an incredibly tumultuous global supply chain environment.
“Heyday’s differentiated strategy and world-class team stand-out in what is playing out to be one of the most explosive new industries,” said Sandesh Patnam, Managing Partner Premji Invest. “We are excited to partner with the leadership team to help Heyday leave a mark on the e-commerce space.”
About Heyday
Heyday is a platform for brand building. The company is pioneering a marketplace-first approach to creating the next-generation consumer products company. We acquire and incubate marketplace-native brands through innovative partnerships with e-commerce entrepreneurs. Once a part of the Heyday platform, brands tap into technology, data, supply chain, and growth capabilities designed to help them go omni-channel, expand their product offering, and build brand equity. Our marketplace-first approach to digital brand building is unlocking the overlooked potential in the $2.7 trillion global marketplace economy. Heyday has raised $800 million from visionary investors like The Raine Group, Premji Invest, General Catalyst, Victory Park Capital and Khosla Ventures. For more information, visit www.heyday.co
About The Raine Group
The Raine Group is a global merchant bank focused exclusively on technology, media, and telecommunications. The firm has offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Shanghai, and Mumbai. With a global reach, Raine focuses on investment and advisory opportunities where its deep industry experience and unique network of strategic relationships can create value for portfolio companies and clients. For more information, visit www.raine.com.
About Premji Invest
Premji Invest is a direct crossover investment fund formed to support the Premji Foundation—an organization funded by Azim Premji to enable his philanthropic initiatives. PI is an evergreen structure, investing out of the US and India. By nature of its evergreen, established capital base, Premji Invest makes incredibly selective, long-term investment decisions – focusing its partnerships on companies that offer enduring value and can thrive in the public markets and beyond.
Contact: heyday@factorypr.com
SOURCE Heyday