Utah Street Labs
Utah Street Labs owns and operates copiouscom, an e-commerce platform for buying and selling between known people.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor | €0.0 | round |
$5.6m | Early VC | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Utah Street Labs, Inc. operated as a development incubator, primarily known for its flagship project, the social marketplace Copious. Founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Jim Rose, the San Francisco-based firm aimed to facilitate online commerce by leveraging social connections on platforms like Facebook. Jim Rose, a Duke University graduate with a history of launching pioneering tech companies, including the group-buying inventor MobShop and the travel search engine Vamoose, established Utah Street Labs to explore new e-commerce models.
The core offering, Copious, functioned as an online marketplace where users could buy and sell a wide array of products, from musical instruments and electronics to fashion and furniture. The platform's business model was centered on creating a trusted, socially-verified shopping experience, capitalizing on the rising influence of social networks. In June 2012, Utah Street Labs secured $5.43 million in a Series A funding round, with notable investors including Foundation Capital and Google Ventures, to scale the Copious marketplace. However, the company faced challenges, including a significant drop in traffic after changes to Facebook's platform, which was a primary channel for user acquisition.
This setback prompted a pivot. The team's experience in building their own mobile development tools led to the creation of Distiller, a continuous integration and deployment platform specifically for iOS applications. This new venture quickly found its footing, and in 2014, Distiller was acquired by CircleCI, a leading continuous integration and delivery platform. Following the acquisition, Jim Rose joined CircleCI, eventually becoming its CEO. Utah Street Labs, Inc. is now considered inactive, with its legal status in California marked as forfeited, and is often referred to as 'deadpooled'. The company's trajectory from a social e-commerce platform to a developer tool illustrates a classic startup pivot, with the founder's subsequent success underscoring his ability to adapt and identify new market opportunities.
Keywords: Jim Rose, Copious, social marketplace, e-commerce platform, Distiller, CircleCI acquisition, online marketplace, peer-to-peer sales, social commerce, mobile development tools, iOS development, continuous integration, venture capital, Foundation Capital, Google Ventures, startup pivot, deadpooled, forfeited company, web development, mobile development, build-test-deploy