$100M+ revenue, ~$350M valuation at peak
Sophia Amoruso reveals Nasty Gal's peak scale: over $100 million in revenue and a roughly $350 million company valuation. She bootstrapped to $28M profitably before Index Ventures invested $50M.
“Yeah, so we did over $100 million in revenue and the company was worth like $350 million. So Index put $50 million in. I bootstrapped it to $28 million profitably.”
Sophia Amoruso reveals Nasty Gal's peak scale: over $100 million in revenue and a roughly $350 million company valuation. She bootstrapped to $28M profitably before Index Ventures invested $50M.
“Yeah, so we did over $100 million in revenue and the company was worth like $350 million. So Index put $50 million in. I bootstrapped it to $28 million profitably.”
An urban clothing retailer offered over $400 million ($412M on paper) for Nasty Gal when Amoruso owned 80%. Her investor told her to ask for more, the deal vanished, and the company never came close to that value again.
“I mean, at one point there was an urban clothing retailer that offered over $400 and it was like $412 million on like a piece of paper when I owned 80% of the business and my investor told me to ask for more and it went away.”
Steal thisWhen an acquisition offer is life-changing and dwarfs your last valuation, weigh taking it over a greedy investor's 'ask for more.'
After Nasty Gal declined the $412M offer, Amoruso's investor quietly sabotaged subsequent fundraises, telling new investors in side conversations not to show up unless they paid a price the market wouldn't bear. The starvation contributed to the company's collapse, and she only connected the dots months later.
“And they were like, yeah, your investor told me to like not even show up unless I paid this much. And that just happened like behind the scenes over the course of like, just like starved us out for a long time when we could have had much better terms.”
Steal thisUnderstand that one board member's veto behavior can quietly starve your fundraise; track why warm leads ghost.
Amoruso's book Girlboss sold roughly half a million copies, was published in numerous languages, and spent 20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. She notes a launch pop gets you on the list, but you don't stay 20 weeks without merit.
“it would go on to sell half a million copies and be published in like a bazillion languages and spent 20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list”