2014 Holiday Shopping Guide

As the holidays rapidly approach, the team at Top Tier Capital Partners (“TTCP”) would like to share with you gift ideas from our portfolio. Some are more expensive than others, so shop carefully! In 2014, we saw a noticeable increase in gadgets and service companies. As part of our due diligence, several of these products and services have been tried and tested by the team at TTCP. We do not necessarily endorse them, but please reach out to us if you have questions on those which are marked accordingly.

Gadgets: The most exciting sub-sector for many investors and consumers are those companies we can touch and feel. Wearable devices have been quite popular during the past 12 months, from Fitbit and Jawbone for fitness tracking, to Lumo BodyTech for posture detection. Whether it’s a wearable device, a car company, or a toy, technological innovation is rampant across many sub-sectors. Innovation is occurring at a rapid pace and allows both the creation of new products and disruption of existing products. Drones are a relatively new use of technology, and 3-D printing of your own custom ear buds is indicative of disruption of a headphone market which hasn’t changed in years. As shown, the team at TTCP uses many of these items!

Product Websites: If you are looking to shop for products online, there is no shortage of companies at your service. You can buy a tattoo kit, art, diamonds, or Bitcoin with just a few clicks. Some are new, some are used, but all are in the TTCP portfolio. The biggest trend we saw in 2014 was the rise of used clothing from companies like thredUP and Threadflip. Most of these sites use technology and data analytics to target the right customers, ideally leading to more buyers and higher revenues. You will notice several websites offering custom goods. Many consumers are willing to pay a higher price for the perfect item and with the use of technology, getting custom goods at reasonable prices is now more of a reality.

Subscription Product Services: Another trend to come to the forefront in 2014 is subscription services. These include items for you, your pet, your home, and more. The business model in these cases is to have the consumer sign up for the subscription and then expand the product offering to gain higher and higher revenues. For example, BarkBox is a service that delivers a box of dog treats and toys to your home every month. It is simple and easy, and the dog owner can then order more and more items for their favorite hound. The business model also relies on low customer turnover as it is often hard for consumers to find the time to cancel a subscription, especially when it is for their pet or baby.

The Support: Whether you are hosting an event over the holidays or simply need a little extra help, the start-up community has you covered. How about a last minute helper to wrap your gifts and valet park for your guests? Your groceries can be delivered from your favorite store, and someone could even cook the meal for you without your guests even knowing. Accommodations and safe travel to and from make it very easy to outsource the holidays!

And after all this shopping, check out TTCP portfolio company Active Network to look for sporting events to burn off all of the holiday calories consumed!

What do you think? We welcome your views on these gift ideas and look forward to hearing about some of your own online gift resources. Please let us know via Twitter: @TTCP_SF.

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