Pietra raises $15M to help creators launch product lines

New York City-based Pietra raised $15 million to pursue its goal of helping 1 million creators launch their own product lines in the next five years.

Pietra 101: Pietra helps creators and influencers quickly launch product lines from start to finish, including sourcing, warehousing, fulfillment, and e-commerce. About 20,000 entrepreneurs now use Pietra to create product lines in consumer categories like CBD, candles, jewelry, apparel, cosmetics, swimsuits, and more. Pietra was co-founded Jaden Levitt and CEO Ronak Trivedi, a former senior product manager at Uber and program manager at Microsoft.

"Historically, only top creators or established corporations have had access to the resources that could bring an idea to life. Pietra aims to democratize this access by enabling a single creator to launch the next best-selling product line while maintaining creative and financial control of their brand." —Ronak Trivedi, CEO of Pietra

The round: Pietra’s $15 million in Series A funding was led by Founders Fund, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm with over $6 billion in capital under management, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, TQ Ventures, and Abstract Ventures. Pietra previously raised $4 million in 2019. It plans to use the funds to grow its team, expand its platform, and boost its supplier marketplace.

Pietra performance: Pietra reports that its revenue has grown 210 percent from January to April 2021. Its latest round values the company at $75 million.

Speedy launch: Launching a product line is notoriously tricky for individuals and it can take years to navigate the myriad problems that occur with a global supply chain. Pietra wants to distill the complex process — sourcing, manufacturing, quality assurance, warehousing, and fulfillment — into a few weeks. Customers can choose from a network of suppliers, test samples, manage e-commerce, and store and ship products.

Pietra perks: The company offers related services like custom packaging, product photography, and even inventory financing to make business creation more accessible to more creators. If you use Pietra for assembly, storage, and fulfillment, the company will help you with Instagram Shopping, a website, thank you notes, and email list tools.

Pricing: Pietra’s prices vary quite a bit depending on your needs, the number of products you offer, and the related services you use, such as warehousing and fulfillment. In general, most of its services are levied on a per-unit price model on top of Pietra collecting a 5% + $1 fee on each purchase if the product is sold on Pietra Marketplace or a connected sales channel.

The road ahead: If Pietra had its way, everyone who reads this and their families would be launching a product line next week. The company has set the goal of springboarding 1 million creator-owned product lines in the next five years.

VCs really want creators: Pietra is among the latest beneficiaries of venture capital’s appetite for the blossoming creator economy. The creator economy has attracted more than $2 billion in startup investments in 2021 alone, according to The Information. Combo co-founder Tucker Schreiber recently told the New York Times that he fielded five to 10 inbound emails daily for a couple of weeks straight from investors.

Creator startup funding: Other creator economy startups that raised funding in the last few months include: creator bank Karat Financial ($26 million raised); creator monetizing platform PearPop ($16 million); live stream platform Happs ($4.7 million); and creator financial tool Spore ($1 million).

What are your thoughts on Pietra's platform? Do you plan to launch a product line in 2021? Share your thoughts below.