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Darkstore, the startup that enables brands to offer same-day delivery, recently closed a $1.4 million seed round from PivotNorth \u2014 the same firm that led the seed round for same-day delivery darling Deliv<\/a>. As part of the deal, PivotNorth CEO Tim Connors will join Darkstore\u2019s board of directors. Thanks to the new funding, Darkstore will expand from just three markets to seven with the launch of its service in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle.<\/p>\n Darkstore<\/a> has also brought on an additional brand customer, premium headphones maker Master & Dynamic<\/a>, to offer one-hour delivery in New York City. Darkstore\u2019s other partners include brands like clothing company Wildfang and mattress startup Tuft & Needle.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Darkstore and business-to-business, there\u2019s slower customer acquisition but higher retention,\u201d Hnetinka said. \u201cIt\u2019s the opposite for something like WunWun (Hnetinka\u2019s last startup that didn\u2019t pan out so well).<\/p>\n Since launching last May<\/a>, Darkstore has grown 120% month over month in orders and has facilitated shipments of $1.7 million worth of goods as of December. Hnetinka said $900,000 of that was just from November and December. With the funding, Darkstore\u2019s goal is to hit $110 million worth of products fulfilled.<\/p>\n Darkstore works by exploiting excess capacity in storage facilities, malls and bodegas and enables them to be fulfillment centers with just a smartphone. The idea is that brands without local inventory can store it in a Darkstore and then ship out same-day. Darkstore doesn\u2019t charge brands anything to store inventory, but charges 3% per item that leaves Darkstore, with a minimum of $2 and a maximum of $20.<\/p>\n When it comes to actual deliveries, Darkstore partners with companies like AxleHire and UberRUSH in San Francisco. In other markets, Darkstore uses services like Deliv and other local courier companies the brand wants to use.<\/p>\n Prior to this round of funding, Darkstore received\u00a0a $120,000 strategic investment from R\/GA Ventures, as part of\u00a0its\u00a0participation in the R\/GA + Westfield Labs Connected Commerce Accelerator.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com\/2017\/04\/darkstore-lee-march-2017.png?w=680\")
Darkstore, the startup that enables brands to offer same-day delivery, recently closed a $1.4 million seed round from PivotNorth — the same firm that led the seed round for same-day delivery darling Deliv. As part of the deal, PivotNorth CEO Tim Connors will join Darkstore’s board of directors. Thanks to the new funding, Darkstore will expand from just three markets to seven with… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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