Lot18

Lot18 curates, markets and retails fine wine online. Lot18 has offices in New York, New York and Napa, California. Lot18 sells wines from around the globe. Lot18 also creates custom wines and brands, including Axiom, Mythmaker, Finial, Q8, Amukan, Loophole, and Neptune's Trident, among others.

Lot18
TypePrivate
IndustryInternet, Wine, E-commerce
FoundedOctober 12, 2010
Founder
HeadquartersNew York, New York; Napa, California; Mahopac, New York
Products
  • Tasting Room
  • Amukan
  • Axiom
  • Finial
  • Letter Press
  • Loophole
  • Mythmaker
  • Neptune's Trident
  • Q8
Number of employees
50 - 100
Websitewww.lot18.com www.tastingroom.com

History

Lot18 was launched in October 2010 by Philip J. K. James, who previously founded Snooth, a wine information website, and Kevin Fortuna, the former CEO of Quigo, a search-engine marketing company that was acquired by AOL.[1][2][3][4]

Lot18 began as a flash sale website for wines, with a business model similar to that of Gilt Groupe.[5][6][7] The company initially focused on providing access to smaller, lesser-known wine producers. It later expanded its offerings to include large, well-known brands, as well as custom-produced wines.

Lot18 secured its initial funding from "friends and family."[8] In November 2010, Lot18 raised $3 million in its Series A round of funding from venture capital firm FirstMark Capital.[9] In May 2011, venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates led a Series B $10 million round of funding, with participation from FirstMark Capital.[10][11][12] In November 2011, venture capital firm Accel Partners led the Series C funding of $30 million, with participation from New Enterprise Associates and FirstMark Capital.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

Acquisitions

In December 2011, Lot18 acquired Paris based Vinobest to begin its expansion into Europe.[20][21][22] Vinobest was founded in 2010 by Paul Guillet and Thierry Rochas.[23] Early in 2012, Lot18 began operations in the United Kingdom.[24] The company later dissolved the UK operations and sold the French entity.

In January 2013, Lot18 acquired the assets of Santa Rosa, Calif., based Tasting Room, which was founded by former Apple executive Tim Bucher, and had developed a system for creating sampler kits with 50 milliliter bottles.[25] Lot18 subsequently utilized the assets of Tasting Room as part of creating its personalized wine club, which also goes by the name Tasting Room.[26][27]

Tasting Room

Lot18 launched wine club Tasting Room to the public in May 2013.[28][29] Utilizing the bottling technology developed by Tasting Room, Inc., Lot18 develops unique wine profiles for its club members. The club's customers taste mini bottles of wine and rate them online to create customized shipments of standard-size bottles of wine. Tasting Room is also the company that powers the Forbes Wine Club.[30][31]

References
  1. Lot18, Wine, And Next Gen Retail. Business Insider, May 2011
  2. The coolest NYC companies: wine start-up Lot18. TimeOut New York, June 2013
  3. Lot18, the online sale site for epicurean delights, just popped the champagne. The Next Web, November 2011.
  4. Accel Leads $30M Round In Flash Sales Site For Wine And Gourmet Food Lot18. TechCrunch, November 2011.
  5. 5 Questions for Lot18 Co-Founder Philip James. Huffington Post, June 2011
  6. Lot18, the online sale site for epicurean delights, just popped the champagne. The Next Web, November 2011.
  7. Accel Leads $30M Round In Flash Sales Site For Wine And Gourmet Food Lot18. TechCrunch, November 2011.
  8. The coolest NYC companies: wine start-up Lot18. TimeOut New York, June 2013
  9. Lot18, Wine, And Next Gen Retail. Business Insider, May 2011
  10. 6-Month-Old Startup Lot18 Closes $10 Million Series B Round. Business Insider, May 2011.
  11. NEA Ventures Leads $10 Mln Funding Round for Lot18. PE Hub, May 2011.
  12. Lot18, the online sale site for epicurean delights, just popped the champagne. The Next Web, November 2011.
  13. "Lot18 On Track To Generate More Than $50 Million This Year And It Just Launched An iPhone App". Business Insider. 2012-05-04. Archived from the original on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  14. The coolest NYC companies: wine start-up Lot18. TimeOut New York, June 2013
  15. Lot18, Wine, And Next Gen Retail. Business Insider, May 2011
  16. Accel Leads $30M Round In Flash Sales Site For Wine And Gourmet Food Lot18. TechCrunch, November 2011.
  17. Lot18 Closes A Whopping $30 Million Series C Round From Accel Partners. Business Insider, November 2011.
  18. Lot18 Closes$30M Series C. PE Hub, November 2011.
  19. Exclusive: Lot18 Closes Third Round in a Year, This Time for $30 Million. All Things D, November 2011.
  20. Lot18 Expands Wine Flash Sale Dominance, Acquires Paris-based Vinobest. FastCompany, December 2011.
  21. Lot18 Uses First Acquisition To Launch in Europe. Yahoo! Finance, December 2011.
  22. Lot18 Uncorks European Wine Market with Vinobest Acquisition. Xconomy, December 2011.
  23. Lot18 Uses Its First Acquisition, Paris-Based Vinobest, To Launch In Europe. Business Insider, December 2011.
  24. "Lot18 Expands Wine Flash-Sale Dominance To Europe, Acquires Paris-based Vinobest". Fast Company. 2011-12-08.
  25. Forbes Media pairs tech, tastes for wine club. Crain's New York, July 2013.
  26. Forbes Media pairs tech, tastes for wine club. Crain's New York, July 2013.
  27. Lot 18 Reinvents The Wine Club With Launch Of Tasting Room By Lot18. WineBusiness.com, May 2013.
  28. LOT18 Tasting Room Is The First Wine Club To Get It Right. Huffington Post, April 2013.
  29. Lot 18 Reinvents The Wine Club With Launch Of Tasting Room By Lot18. WineBusiness.com, May 2013.
  30. Forbes Media pairs tech, tastes for wine club. Crain's New York, July 2013.
  31. Forbes Wine Club Forbes, 2013.
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