The online tech boutique co-founded by female Y Combinator grad Amanda Peyton raises $1.3 million in a round led by First Round Capital.
By Jessica Stillman (Editor, Women 2.0)
If you’re the type of conscious consumer who doesn’t buy your music from a big box store, nor your food from a jumbo-sized supermarket, why should you buy your electronics from some dreary, mass-market retailer?
That’s the principle behind New York-base Grand St, a startup that offers consumers the chance to buy indie tech that just raised $1.3 million in new seed funding. Each day the site selects one of the best products out there from fellow startups and other innovative producers, guaranteeing customers high quality and a great experience. Previous products have included sous vide cookers and headsets that monitor brainwave activity.
“Consumer electronics is a dated term right now. The industry is going through a fundamental change because of the rise of indie electronics. It’s not just a few companies making products anymore. Everyone is making products,” co-founder Amanda Peyton told the New York Times. The Y Combinator alum founded the company along with developers Joseph Lallouz and Aaron Henshaw.
Venture Beat reports that the new funding was led by First Round Capital, with participation by David Tisch’s BoxGroup, Gary Vaynerchuk, betaworks, Collaborative Fund, MESA+, Quotidian Ventures, and Undercurrent. The site also quotes Vaynerchuck and Peyton who both predict that a ton of interesting innovation is coming to hardware.
“I am completely convinced that hardware is the next ‘thing,’” Vaynerchuk said.
Women 2.0 readers: Do you share their enthusiasm for hardware?
Jessica Stillman is a freelance writer with interests in unconventional career paths, generational differences, and the future of work. She writes a daily column for Inc.com and has blogged for CBS MoneyWatch, GigaOM, and Brazen Careerist, among others. Follow her on Twitter at @entrylevelrebel.