Foundry Venture Capital 2016, L.P. has completed its initial investment in The Pro’s Closet (TPC) as part of a $9 million financing. TPC, based in Boulder, CO, is the world’s largest seller of pre-owned bicycles and bicycle parts.
“The cycling market is large and expanding rapidly,” wrote Seth Levine, a partner at Foundry in a blog entry announcing the deal. “But as bicycles become more sophisticated and expensive, a gap has opened up in the market for used bicycles. TPC’s platform solves the pain points that sellers and buyers of used bikes experience. For sellers TPC offers the quickest and easiest way to turn their used bike into cash – often to be used to purchase a new (or newer) bike. TPC also works with bicycle shops and manufacturers helping to reduce the sticker shock of new bikes by offering a trade in program for a customer’s old bike. TPC also works with bike manufacturers to help them manage and resell their demo inventories.”
“For buyers,” he noted, “TPC offers a safe and guaranteed buying experience. Their team of professional mechanics inspect, clean, and recondition each bike they sell, guaranteeing buyers that the bike they are buying is safe, free of defects, and ready to ride. Bicycles have gone the way of the car, and are now made from high-end composites, full of electronics, and have increasingly complex and proprietary parts. TPC’s unique ability to inspect and service every kind of bike from every major manufacturer provides the level of security that buyers now demand. By streamlining the procurement, warehousing, quality assurance, photographing, and listing process, TPC has become a market leader in pre-owned bikes.”
TPC was founded in 2006 by Nick Martin while he was a professional mountain-bike racer for Trek, according the blog. Over the last decade,Martin has brought together a team of industry experts covering cycling, sales, ops, technology, and e-commerce.
Wrote Levine, “We are extremely excited to partner with Nick and the TPC team to help them on their journey to be the global leader and most trusted destination worldwide to buy and sell pre-owned bikes to consumers and industry partners.”
