Kaboodle Team Launches Poshmark; Raises $3.5M Funding Led By Mayfield

Poshmark, a US-based mobile fashion marketplace co-founded by entrepreneurs of Indian origin – Manish Chandra, Gautam Golwala and Chetan Pungaliya (they were also behind Kaboodle – has raised $3.5 million in Series A funding, led by early-stage investor Mayfield.

Previous Kaboodle investors Kanwal Rekhi (through Inventus Capital), Jeff Clavier (through SoftTechVC) an? Ron Conway (through SV Angel) a??ο participated in the funding round for the start-up that began operations less than a year ago.

Only recently Poshmark has officially unveiled the company and its first product, the free Poshmark iPhone app, which reveals a new shopping experience called the Posh Party. Posh Parties are real-time, themed shopping events held within the mobile app, where people gather to browse, buy and sell clothes and accessories from the comfort of their home/preferred location. The app can be downloaded from here http://bit.ly/poshmark.

“We have known Manish and the team for over a decade, and their bold bet with the Posh Party is to take the offline 'Tupperware' gatherings to the mobile and the social world. Much like how WebEx virtual conferencing disrupted the travel market, we anticipate that Poshmark will build a large following of global users who would embrace the convenience of anytime, anywhere social shopping,” said Navin Chaddha, managing director at Mayfield Fund.

Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Poshmark was founded in February 2011 by a team of e-commerce, social and fashion pioneers including Chandra, Golwala, Pungaliya and Tracy Sun, a fashion industry executive.

“Every three years, nearly $1 trillion is spent on fashion items that sit in our closets,” said Manish Chandra, founder & CEO of Poshmark. “We created Poshmark so that anyone can easily convert their closet into a stylish boutique with their phones. Poshmark’s virtual shopping parties transform the chore of reselling fashion into a fun and social experience.”

How The Posh Party Works

Anyone can join a Posh Party from wherever he/she is by launching the Poshmark app. Once in the party, people can immediately start shopping, interacting with other guests and putting items from their own closets up for sale.

The Poshmark marketplace seeks to simplify buying and selling by handling marketplace transactions, providing shipping support, ensuring marketplace safety and providing customer support for its users. Users can also enhance their photos with filters, share listings on Facebook and invite friends to upcoming Posh Parties.

“We are creating a vibrant community where women can connect and share their unique style,” said Tracy Sun, co-founder of Poshmark. "Each Posh Party creates a unique boutique, curated in real time by the Poshmark community. These dynamic boutiques make it fun and exciting to share and shop from the closets of other fashion lovers.”

Co-founders & The Kaboodle Legacy

The co-founders have a rich history of online social marketplace business. Manish Chandra co-founded Kaboodle with Chetan Pungaliya and Keiron McCammon in 2005. Kaboodle is positioned as a social shopping community where people discover, recommend and share products. Its shopping tools allow people to organise their shopping through lists, discover new things from people with similar style, get discounts on popular products and find best prices.

Interestingly, Kaboodle, acquired by the media firm Hearst a few years ago (for reportedly $40 million), still counts Chandra as a CEO. However, Chandra’s LinkedIn profile says that he was Kaboodle CEO till October 2011.