Drop (formerly Massdrop) is an American e-commerce company based in San Francisco, California. In July 2023, Corsair purchased Drop, while retaining its original brand and staff.

Drop
FormerlyMassdrop
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryConsumer electronics
Founded2012; 12 years ago (2012) in
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Founders
  • Steve El-Hage (CEO)
  • Nelson Wu
  • Will Bright
Headquarters,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Number of employees
100+
ParentCorsair (2023–present)
Websitedrop.com

History

edit

Drop founders Steve El-Hage and Nelson Wu met in Toronto, Canada, where El-Hage was studying economics at the University of Toronto.[1] The two had grown up using online forums as a way of exploring their hobbies, but believed these forums had many shortcomings, including disorganized meetups and unreliable group buys.[2] They thought that by combining their forum experiences with their interest in bulk buying, they could create a site that would better support their enthusiast in communities.[3] The pair moved to Silicon Valley, where they met Will Bright and started Massdrop in 2012.[1]

Drop changed its name from Massdrop in April 2019.

On July 17, 2023, Corsair announced it had acquired Drop.[4]

Business model

edit

Initially, Drop sold products exclusively from existing manufacturers. Drop would organize and facilitate group buys for their community members.[5] They allowed community members to influence the products chosen to be sold through forums and polls.[6] Drop originally worked with various communities, but have since primarily sold products relating to the mechanical keyboard and audiophile communities.

The company has since introduced their own exclusive products,[7] collaborations,[5] and private-label products under the names Drop and Drop Studio.[8]

Past Drop products

edit

Past products include the Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 6XX headphones,[6] Massdrop x Sennheiser HD 58X headphones,[9] Massdrop CTRL Mechanical Keyboard,[10] Massdrop x Sennheiser PC37X gaming headset,[11] Massdrop x Koss ESP/95X,[12] among others.

Funding

edit

In September 2014, Drop raised $6.5 million in a Series A round led by Mayfield Fund with additional investment from previous backers Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, First Round Capital, and Cowboy Ventures.[1][13] In August 2015, the company secured $40 million in Series B funding led by August Capital with additional investment from Mayfield Fund, First Round Capital, and Cowboy Ventures.[14][15]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Takahashi, Dean (September 24, 2014). "Massdrop raises $6.5M to enable enthusiast communities to use their massive buying power". Venture Beat. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  2. ^ Green, Dennis (August 17, 2015). "This startup is reinventing the flash sale for discerning men — and it just raised $40 million". Business Insider UK. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  3. ^ Konrad, Alex (June 11, 2014). "Massdrop's Zany Plan To Rally Internet Mobs For Discounts Is Working--For Now". Forbes. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  4. ^ "Step forward in our evolution". Drop. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  5. ^ a b Danziger, Pamela N. (2018-04-16). "Kickstarter Meets Costco". www.forbes.com. Forbes. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  6. ^ a b Kronsberg, Matthew (2018-07-16). "The CEO Turning Passionate Gadget Fans Into Product Designers". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2020-03-01.
  7. ^ "Massdrop Evolves Brand to Become Drop, Launches New User Experience to Enable Passions and Products". prnewswire.com. PR Newswire. 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  8. ^ Henderson, Bill (2018-05-28). "Massdrop HD 6XX Headphones Review". daily.slickdeals.net. Slickdeals. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  9. ^ Picks, Amir Ismael, Insider. "Sennheiser released an affordable version of one of its best headphones — but there are only 5,000 pairs". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-04-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Roach, Jacob. "The best mechanical keyboards you can buy". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  11. ^ "Massdrop x Sennheiser PC37X Review: An Elusive Gem". Tom's Guide. 2017-01-27. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  12. ^ Guttenberg, Steve. "Gobsmacked by the sound of the latest Massdrop Koss headphone". CNET. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  13. ^ Ha, Anthony (September 24, 2014). "Massdrop Raises $6.5M To Turn Group Buying Into A Broader Community Platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  14. ^ Mac, Ryan (August 13, 2015). "After Nabbing Former Amazon Executive, Massdrop Rakes In $40 Million". Forbes. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  15. ^ Ha, Anthony (August 13, 2015). "Group Commerce Startup Massdrop Raises $40M". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
edit