Top Tier Holiday Shopping Guide 2016

Another year has flown by, and it’s time once again to search for ‘Best Gifts For Him/Her’ or ‘Unique Swap Gifts’ as you attempt to get that special gift for everyone on your list. In order to help alleviate the stress commonly associated with holiday shopping, we have pulled together some of our favorite products and services from our portfolio of companies.

Many of these products have been used by the team here at Top Tier, so if you have any questions relating to a product or service, please do not hesitate to ask!

A number of companies in our portfolio have taken different approaches to the way clothing is designed, created and distributed.  Trumaker makes customized men’s suits, shirts, and pants for sale online and through a limited number of storefronts around the U.S. Cuyana is a women’s apparel and accessories brand with the mission of creating fewer products from premium materials and the finest craftsmanship.Stitch Fix acts as a personal stylist delivering five hand-selected pieces of clothing (for men or women) straight to the user’s door based on a custom-built style profile. Shipping is included, and users are only charged for the clothes they decide to keep.

When buying for the person who seems to have everything, often the best route is to purchase for his/her home.  Eero has improved on a home standard, Wi-Fi, by creating a mesh network that increases the range and strength of the signal.  Ring is a smart doorbell that links to the homeowner’s cell phone (and home Wi-Fi) allowing for video communication between the homeowner and visitors or delivery people. Framebridge has removed the hassle and lowered the time and price associated with custom framing and provides free shipping for the user to send his or her artwork to the Frambridge HQ.  Furthermore, the whole process only takes a week.

The food industry is being disrupted in all aspects including creation, distribution, and consumption.  Plated is a meal-kit delivery service allowing users to select recipes to then receive pre-measured ingredients and instructions to make an impressive meal at a reasonable cost. In addition to being a local favorite chain of coffee shops in San Francisco, Blue Bottle also offers a subscription coffee service – delivering fresh ground or whole bean coffee around the country.  Juicero has created a home, cold-press juicing system to make raw, organic juice with the touch of a button. By delivering prepared produce packs, Juicero removes the typical mess associated with washing, peeling, and cutting the ingredients for a fresh juice.

Last year we featured a Fitbit in our health and wellness section, and we are so impressed with the updates to the product that we brought it back. The new Charge 2 has a new look and a number of functional improvements.  Elysium Health has created Basis, a supplement created to aid cellular health by improving mitochondrial health & energy, cellular detoxification, and DNA repair. Targeted at athletes, Athos offers workout clothing fully integrated with wearable technology and capable of tracking heart rates, breathing levels, and more.

An emerging theme we are seeing throughout our portfolio is based around toys that provide educational value. LittleBits has created a platform for easy-to-use electronic building blocks empowering everyone to create their own inventions. The blocks are color-coded, magnetic, and reusable to make the act of inventing fun and accessible.  Sphero has created the SPRK program (Schools, Parents, Robots, Kids) to make coding easy and fun for kids. Connecting the SPRK+ robot to a smartphone app, kids can complete activities and learn programming in an approachable way. For the adults that want to act like kids, the DJI Mavic Drone is more than a toy – with a 12MP camera and 4k video resolution the Mavic is also an accessory for the photographer/aspiring YouTuber.

Still haven’t found what you’re looking for? Check out our extended list below!  Please note that the products and services  in italics have been used by the team at Top Tier.

This selection of companies and services above represents a small percentage of the portfolio companies in which the Top Tier Funds have invested.  Additional detail regarding the portfolios of the Top Tier Funds and their respective performance is available upon request.