Dagne Dover had a fairly auspicious debut, selling out of its handbags in nine months, then going offline for another seven months in search of funding.
Today the handbag purveyor's products are back online and the company is announcing $1.25 million in seed funding. Heavy on compartments, Dagne Dover thinks handbags need to be more functional. Enough women agree that the company sold $40,000 worth of handbags in its first three months.
"We were never in this to just be another e-commerce handbag company -- we’re building a brand that we intend to grow into a household name as big as Coach, Michael Kors, or Kate Spade," says CEO Melissa Mash in a statement.
More interesting than the money is the list of investors like David Bell, who's invested in other popular e-commerce sites like Warby Parker and Bonobos, and Dominic Cioffoletti, former VP of sales at Coach. Both investors have experience with the kind of brands that Dagne Dover aligns itself with.
"Having witnessed women's powerful attraction to their bags, the team has demonstrated the power of fashion brands that don't just focus on fashion but on also solving consumers’ biggest pain points.” says David Bell in a statement. The handbag market, he says, is long overdue for a new competitor that "answers the biggest handbag problems."
Dagne Dover is among a number of growing online marketplaces that aren't just marketplaces. They're selling you a pair of glasses, a handbag, or tailored pants that are better than what you can find in the store, can be bought from the comfort of your own home, oh, and are less expensive — in a way that only an online marketplace can.
Other investors include Fabrice Grinda, 2020 Ventures LP, and First Round Capital's Dorm Room Fund.