Quirky
Type of businessPrivate
Available inEnglish
HeadquartersNew York City
Founder(s)Ben Kaufman
Key peopleGina Waldhorn, President
Parent
  • Quirky, Inc. (2009-2015)
  • Q Holdings, LLC (2015-present)
URLwww.quirky.com
RegistrationOptional
Users1.2 million+
LaunchedJune 2009; 14 years ago (2009-06)
Current statusInactive

Quirky was an invention platform that connected inventors with companies that specialized in a specific product category.[1]

History

Quirky was founded in 2009 by Ben Kaufman.[2]

In April 2010, Quirky received $6.5 million in Series A venture capital funding, led by RRE Ventures.[3] The company later received a $16 million Series B round in August 2011 led by Norwest Venture Partners, and a $68 million Series C round in September 2012 led by Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.[4] Then, in November 2013, Quirky raised $79 million in Series D funding from General Electric (GE) as well as its venture investors Andreessen Horowitz, Norwest Venture Partners, RRE, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.[5] Part of the deal included a $30 million investment from GE, as well as a partnership to build 30 connected-home gadgets together in the next five years.[6]

In 2011, a reality television series named Quirky debuted on the Sundance Channel following events at the Quirky office.[7]

The May 6, 2012, episode of CNN's The Next List featured CEO Ben Kaufman and the company.[8]

On July 31, 2015, Ben Kaufman stepped down as CEO following a layoff of 111 employees due to trouble getting funding.[9][10][11][12][13]

On September 22, 2015, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.[14][15] The company's assets, including its website and most of its products, were bought by Q Holdings for $4.7 million in late 2015, despite objections from General Electric.[16][17][18] Quirky's smart home Wink platform was sold to Flextronics for $15 million in November 2015.[19][20]

It was announced on February 8, 2016, that the company had new financing and owners.[21]

As of June 8, 2023, Quirky's website is no longer accessible. [22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "About". Quirky. 3 June 2014.
  2. ^ "Quirky Is Telling the World Just How Unimportant Its CEO Is". AdWeek. 2014-05-30. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  3. ^ Quirky's 23-year-old CEO finds love with the supply chain, Paul Boutin, VentureBeat, April 27, 2010
  4. ^ Fenn, Donna (September 7, 2012). "Quirky Gets Backing From Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins". New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  5. ^ Gannes, Liz (November 13, 2013). "Quirky Raises $79M, Including $30M From GE to Make Connected-Home Gadgets". All Things Digital.
  6. ^ Stinson, Liz (November 19, 2013). "Quirky and GE Partner to Conquer the Internet of Things". Wired.
  7. ^ Associated Press, "Startup Quirky brings people's ideas to life", Japan Times, 28 August 2011, p. 5.
  8. ^ "This week on 'The Next List': Quirky.com brings invention to the masses". CNN. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  9. ^ D'Onfro, Jillian (1 August 2015). "The CEO of New York startup Quirky steps down in the wake of lay-offs and funding struggles". Business Insider.
  10. ^ Diana, Chelsea (3 August 2015). "Quirky founder Ben Kaufman steps down as CEO". New York Business Journal.
  11. ^ Alois, JD (3 August 2015). "Quirky CEO Ben Kaufman Out. Replaced by CFO Ed Kremer". Crowdfunding Insider.
  12. ^ Pastore, Rose (3 August 2015). "Quirky CEO Ben Kaufman Steps Down".
  13. ^ Crist, Ry (2 August 2015). "Quirky's Ben Kaufman steps down as CEO".
  14. ^ Gleason, Stephen (22 September 2015). "Invention Startup Quirky Files for Bankruptcy". The Wall Street Journal.
  15. ^ Lohr, Steve (22 September 2015). "Quirky, an Invention Start-Up, Files for Bankruptcy". The New York Times.
  16. ^ "New York bankruptcy judge approves sale of Quirky despite General Electric objections". Albany Business Review. American City Business Journals. 2015-12-11. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  17. ^ Mann, Stephanie Gleason And Ted (2015-12-04). "GE Says Quirky Has Hurt Its Reputation". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  18. ^ "Quirky Gets Nod On $4.7M Asset Sale - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  19. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (2015-09-22). "Quirky files for bankruptcy and announces plans to sell Wink". The Verge. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  20. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (2016-04-01). "Wink opens up about surviving the fall of Quirky". The Verge. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  21. ^ "An Introduction". A Quirky Blog. Quirky. Retrieved 2016-07-13.
  22. ^ quirky.com

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