Rally (company)
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| Industry | Alternative asset investment |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | New York |
| Website | rallyrd |
Rally is an alternative asset investment company which allows users to buy and sell equity shares in collectible assets.[1] The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in New York.[2]
Overview
[edit]The company was originally founded under the name "Rally Rd." Rally initially securitized classic cars and had a collection of nearly 30 vehicles. Each car was listed in a process similar to an initial public offering, with the first offering for a vehicle being completed in 2017.[3][4] Since 2019, Rally expanded to providing more than 300 assets across categories including items such as art, wine, watches, sports collectibles, natural history artifacts, musical instruments and first-edition books.[5]
Rally registers each collectible item on its platform with the SEC as a security.[1] Investment cars are not registered for road use, but are stored in private warehouses in locations such as Upstate New York or Pennsylvania.[6]
As of March 2021, Rally had approximately 200,000 users with nearly $30 million of merchandise. The company has developed mobile applications for Android and iPhone devices.[2][7]
Funding
[edit]In January 2018, Rally raised a $2.9 million seed round led by Social Leverage and other angel investors.[8] In 2020, the company closed a $17 million oversubscribed financing round,[citation needed] while in May 2021, it raised $30 million in Series B funding led by Accel with other investors including Upfront Ventures and Social Leverage.[citation needed]
In October 2021, Rally raised $15 million follow-on to their Series B round led by Wheelhouse, with participation from Josh Richards, Griffin Johnson, Noah Beck, John Stamos, Connor Schell, and Bill Simmons.[9] The total funding of the company since inception is approximately $65 million.[10][11]
Business model
[edit]Rally has a fractional ownership model for those in the investing and the enthusiast communities.[12] The company sources a collectible for sale and creates a new entity as a subsidiary of an LLC. The startup then holds an SEC-registered offering where potential investors can view details about the collectible and, if desired, purchase one or more of the divided equity shares. When the offering is completed, there’s a 3-month hold period, after which the company’s mobile application provides a monthly trading window where new users can place bids and existing investors can place asks, allowing the equity shares to be traded on a marketplace.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Harris, Ainsley (10 March 2020). "At last, you can become a shareholder in a Birkin bag or a Lamborghini". Fast Company.
- ^ a b Moore, Logan (29 September 2020). "Memorabilia-Trading App Rally Raises $17 Million". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Jasinski, Nicholas (17 January 2019). "Invest in a 1980 Lamborghini? There's an App for That". Barron's.
- ^ "Rally Rd. Expands Investment Offerings". Yahoo News. 11 July 2019.
- ^ Sullivan, Paul (26 July 2019). "Want to Own a Warhol? Now, You Can Buy a Piece of One". The New York Times.
- ^ Campbell, Bryan (2019-03-01). "Classic Car Investments Made Easy: The Rally Rd. App". Gear Patrol. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
- ^ Bernstein, Jacob (20 March 2021). "Here's How Bored Rich People Are Spending Their Extra Cash". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Tepper, Fitz (30 January 2018). "Rally Road lets you buy and sell equity shares in classic cars". TechCrunch.
- ^ White, Peter (13 October 2021). "Wheelhouse Leads $15M Investment Round In Collectibles Firm Rally, Will Debut Items On History's 'Pawn Stars'". Deadline.
- ^ Jackson, Eric (13 October 2021). "Collectibles App Rally Raises $15 Million More as Stars Pile In". Penske Media Corporation.
- ^ Casey, Tim (16 October 2020). "Online Investment Platform Offering Shares Of 1937 Heisman Trophy, Other Sports Memorabilia". Forbes.
- ^ Sullivan, Paul (31 July 2020). "Can't Afford a Birkin Bag or a Racehorse? You Can Invest in One". The New York Times.