What it is: Celebrities like Nas, Dwayne Wade, and Will Smith have poured money into Stance, a startup that sells premium socks and underwear. Since it was founded six years ago, Stance has sold more than 15 million pairs of socks, which go for between $12 and $18 a pair on its website.
Instead of taking the e-commerce route favored by tech startups, however, Stance is making a name for itself by selling its socks through partnerships in brick-and-mortar retail stores like Nordstrom and Fred Segal.
Founders: Jeff Kearl, Taylor Shupe, Aaron Hennings, and Ryan Kingman
Funding: $86 million from Science, Mercato Partners, Shasta Ventures, Menlo Ventures, SherpaVentures, Kleiner Perkins, Wasserman media Group, Three Six Zero Group, Matt Coffin, Josh James, Troy Carter, Roc Nation, Rick Alden, Jeff Kearl, Will Smith, Universal Music Group, Dwayne Wade, Emagen Investment Group, Inc., Anthony Saleh, Nas, Kickstart Seed Fund, and August Capital