• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

This E-Commerce Startup Is Profitable and Raised New Cash

By
Leena Rao
Leena Rao
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Leena Rao
Leena Rao
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 11, 2017, 10:00 AM ET

Early stage startups that achieve profitability are a rarity in Silicon Valley. Tophatter, a startup you have probably never heard of, may be an exception.

The San Francisco-based startup, which has quietly been building a mobile e-commerce marketplace, says it’s profitable but declined to say by how much.

Tophatter expects to make $100 million in revenue this year. It netted nearly $40 million in revenue in 2016.

Founded in 2012, Tophatter has had flown under the radar compared to its contemporaries such as shopping app Wish or grocery delivery company Instacart. Kumar has avoided press coverage, instead focusing on building the business.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Tophatter’s service is similar to eBay in that buyers bid for items via an auction and is a marketplace where sellers can put everything from tennis rackets to jewelry up for sale. Although it has a website, the company’s shoppers primarily buy via Tophatter’s mobile site and app, said CEO and co-founder Ashvin Kumar.

Kumar likens Tophatter to more of a shopping mall than e-commerce giant Amazon. “You go to Amazon (AMZN) if you know what you want, and you come to Tophatter to browse and buy things you didn’t know you wanted,” he said.

Tophatter says that it uses an algorithm to deliver more personalized recommendations of items to buy. So buyers who click on tennis rackets will be served more tennis-related items or sports gear on the home page the next time they visit. The app has has 12 million shoppers to date, and 85% of items sell within 90 seconds of being listed on the site.

Tophatter makes money by taking a cut on each sale. Kumar declined to reveal the exact amount, but he said it was a double digit percentage of each sale.

For more on Amazon, watch:

Kumar likens Tophatter to a next generation QVC or Home Shopping Network.

In addition to Amazon and eBay, Tophatter also competes with mobile shopping marketplace Wish.

Tophatter’s funding and news of profitability comes at a time when many Silicon Valley companies are burning through cash. Food delivery startup Munchery was forced to lay off employees as it struggled with mounting expenses. And one-time e-commerce darling Nasty Gal filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2016.

Kumar says his company has deliberately kept expenses down and is “actually” profitable, meaning the company is earning more money than it is spending, including operating expenses such as marketing.

Tophatter has recently raised $21 million in Series B funding from Goodwater Capital,Fortune has learned exclusively. Previous investors August Capital and Charles River Ventures also participated in the round.

Kumar said he’s choosing to raise more money because the company wants to expand internationally.

“We are the anti-Amazon,” Kumar said.

About the Author
By Leena Rao
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

robots
InnovationRobots
‘The question is really just how long it will take’: Over 2,000 gather at Humanoids Summit to meet the robots who may take their jobs someday
By Matt O'Brien and The Associated PressDecember 12, 2025
1 hour ago
Man about to go into police vehicle
CryptoCryptocurrency
Judge tells notorious crypto scammer ‘you have been bitten by the crypto bug’ in handing down 15 year sentence 
By Carlos GarciaDecember 12, 2025
2 hours ago
three men in suits, one gesturing
AIBrainstorm AI
The fastest athletes in the world can botch a baton pass if trust isn’t there—and the same is true of AI, Blackbaud exec says
By Amanda GerutDecember 12, 2025
2 hours ago
Brainstorm AI panel
AIBrainstorm AI
Creative workers won’t be replaced by AI—but their roles will change to become ‘directors’ managing AI agents, executives say
By Beatrice NolanDecember 12, 2025
3 hours ago
Fei-Fei Li, the "Godmother of AI," says she values AI skills more than college degrees when hiring software engineers for her tech startup.
AITech
‘Godmother of AI’ says degrees are less important in hiring than ‘how quickly can you superpower yourself’ with new tools
By Nino PaoliDecember 12, 2025
5 hours ago
C-SuiteFortune 500 Power Moves
Fortune 500 Power Moves: Which executives gained and lost power this week
By Fortune EditorsDecember 12, 2025
5 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Tariffs are taxes and they were used to finance the federal government until the 1913 income tax. A top economist breaks it down
By Kent JonesDecember 12, 2025
11 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
At 18, doctors gave him three hours to live. He played video games from his hospital bed—and now, he’s built a $10 million-a-year video game studio
By Preston ForeDecember 10, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Palantir cofounder calls elite college undergrads a ‘loser generation’ as data reveals rise in students seeking support for disabilities, like ADHD
By Preston ForeDecember 11, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Baby boomers have now 'gobbled up' nearly one-third of America's wealth share, and they're leaving Gen Z and millennials behind
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 8, 2025
4 days ago
placeholder alt text
Arts & Entertainment
'We're not just going to want to be fed AI slop for 16 hours a day': Analyst sees Disney/OpenAI deal as a dividing line in entertainment history
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 11, 2025
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
‘We have not seen this rosy picture’: ADP’s chief economist warns the real economy is pretty different from Wall Street’s bullish outlook
By Eleanor PringleDecember 11, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.