Massdrop Lands $6.5 Million to Empower Enthusiast Communities

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 24, 2014) - Massdrop today announced it has closed $6.5 million in a Series A round of financing, led by Mayfield Fund. The new round brings the company's total funds raised to about $8 million, which includes existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, First Round Capital and Cowboy Ventures. Massdrop will use the financing to fuel its rapid growth and deliver on its vision for a new wave of community-driven commerce.

Massdrop is an online community for enthusiasts that offers people across several communities -- from audio and electronics to quilting and cooking -- a place to connect with people like them, discuss their favorite products and activities, and buy those products together. By providing people with a platform to discuss and determine the highest quality products together, Massdrop creates powerful connections and interactions amongst its members.

Massdrop represents a new type of online experience that combines community, content and commerce. Enthusiasts use Massdrop's polling and discussion systems to determine what products they'd like to purchase together. From there, Massdrop works on the community's behalf to contact manufacturers directly, negotiate the best prices and facilitate logistics. Buying together not only removes inefficiencies in the distribution channel, but it also provides people with a shared experience that lives on after the transaction. On the discussion pages, you'll find members sharing their new audiophile setups, recently made quilts or diving deep into product details.

"We started Massdrop with the simple idea of bringing communities of people together to collectively discover and purchase the products they care about," said Massdrop Founder and CEO Steve El-Hage. "We've been floored by how fast it's taken off and we've only scratched the surface of our vision for the future of these communities. This investment validates our vision, and provides additional fuel in our mission to empower communities of passionate enthusiasts to create a new era in commerce."

Massdrop officially launched in July 2012 and has already grown into the largest community commerce platform on the web. As the platform grows, Massdrop will continue to expand into new verticals and leverage the power of communities to drive quality, price and product innovation. 

"Mayfield is thrilled to champion Steve and Massdrop. We've long held the view that commerce stands to be disrupted by being a community and hangout first, and a marketplace second," said Tim Chang, managing director of Mayfield Fund. "Massdrop leverages the power of story behind each enthusiast, and that story is far more important than just price and availability. By aggregating the voices of the most knowledgeable consumers and then activating the supply side to fulfill or even create new products, Massdrop is reinventing community-based e-commerce."

About Massdrop
Massdrop is building an online community for enthusiasts. Massdrop is located in San Francisco, CA and is funded by Mayfield Fund, Kleiner Perkins, First Round Capital and Cowboy Ventures. Follow them on Twitter @Massdrop and like them on Facebook. To learn more about Massdrop, visit www.massdrop.com.