The Hunt
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
Some sections are still being researched1 / 4
Sections to complete：02
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
The Hunt was a San Francisco community-driven shopping startup founded in 2012 by ex-Worldview Technology Partners venture capitalist Tim Weingarten and Simon Peck. Its premise: post a photo of a product you spot online or on the street — a jacket on Instagram, a dress in a news story — and the community would track down where to buy it. Users were joining 200,000 'hunts' a week, growing to 3.5 million mostly-female users spending 12-14 minutes a day in the app. It raised $15 million total led by Khosla Ventures and Javelin Venture Partners, with celebrity investors including Ashton Kutcher and Tyra Banks.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Tim Weingarten and Simon Peck found The Hunt in San Francisco after Weingarten's own failed attempt to find a tuxedo he saw on Tumblr.
- Launch and funding
The Hunt launches in January and raises $2M plus a $700K celebrity round, then a $5.5M Series A in November led by Javelin.
- Shutdown
The Wall Street Journal reports in December 2015 that The Hunt will shut down its service early in the new year.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
In December 2015 the Wall Street Journal reported The Hunt would shut down its service early in 2016.
- 02
The shutdown was reported alongside news of Pinterest's acquisition of Pext, as Pinterest pushed into visual shopping search.