Fanlime
Intersection of Sports and Lifestyle.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor | €0.0 | round | |
| N/A | €0.0 | round | |
N/A | Seed | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Fanlime operated as an e-commerce marketplace targeting the sports lifestyle sector from its base in New York City. The company was founded by Marc-Kwesi Farrell, with different sources pointing to founding years between 2010 and 2013. Farrell, a native of Trinidad, brought a strong academic and consulting background to the venture, having attended MIT at 16 and later graduating from Harvard Business School before a tenure at Bain & Company. His stated goal was to build a company around his passions for sports and branding. The company is now listed as deadpooled.
The business model centered on offering curated, high-quality apparel and merchandise inspired by sports culture, moving beyond traditional team jerseys. Fanlime's platform served as a marketplace for these goods, which included collaborations with athletes and third-party brands. Revenue was generated through the sale of this merchandise, with the company reporting an average order value of $55 and over 250 orders within the first 36 hours of its launch. In addition to commerce, the platform provided lifestyle content such as athlete interviews, polls, and exclusive videos to engage its user base. A distinct feature was a loyalty program where fans earned points for interacting on the site, which could be redeemed for exclusive interactions with athletes and teams, creating a non-monetary value exchange to identify and reward dedicated fans.
Financially, Fanlime secured capital over several funding rounds. Reports indicate total funding between $721K and $1.03M across multiple seed and debt financing rounds. Key institutional investors included Seedinvest and Bolur. The company's journey concluded when it ceased operations, noted as "Out of Business" around November 2016.
Keywords: sports apparel, e-commerce marketplace, sports lifestyle, athlete collaboration, fan engagement, sports merchandise, online retail, direct-to-consumer, sports branding, Marc-Kwesi Farrell, fan loyalty program, sports content, New York startup, Seedinvest, Bolur, deadpooled startup, sports fashion, curated merchandise, fan culture, athlete branding