Jason Goldberg sure has come a long way since Jobster, the Seattle startup company he founded in 2003. Now, at the helm of New York-based e-commerce upstart Fab, the charismatic and controversial entrepreneur just pulled in a whopping $150 million funding round at a reported valuation of $1 billion.
Investors in the deal include Andreessen Horowitz; Atomico and new investor, Chinese Internet powerhouse Tencent. Total funding now stands at $310 million. And here’s the deal: More money is supposedly on the way.
Goldberg also raised a pile of cash at Jobster, but that company, which was looking to upend the online recruiting arena, didn’t take off as planned.
With Fab, which sells home accessories, art, clothing and more through flash sales and other mechanisms, the former T-Mobile manager and White House aide appears to be well on his way. According to All Things D, the company is expanding aggressively internationally and could hit between $200 million to $300 million in sales this year.
Fab competes with other online retailers such as Amazon.com, but Goldberg is touting what he calls “emotional commerce” to separate what it does.
Nonetheless, why does the company need so much money?
Goldberg answers that in a blog post that he’s planning to post this week, which GigaOm has obtained.
Fab is focused on the long term. We are focused on creating “Wow!” shopping experiences that will result in customers making 20+ purchases from Fab within a couple of years. We are focused on being the global brand that represents emotional commerce for decades to come. Fab is not about a single transaction. Fab is about creating Wow! experiences in everything we do, from the unique merchandise we offer, to the user experience on our website and mobile apps, to fast delivery and a delightful out-of-box experience, to the follow-on customer service. We truly believe that it takes investing in Wow! in order to build the next $10B+ E-commerce company, and that’s what we’re doing.”
