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Grant LaFontaine

Co-founder & CEO, Whatnot

Search every verified Grant LaFontaine interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Grant Lafontaine, co-founder and CEO of Whatnot, discussed the company's growth and the broader live commerce market in two recent podcast appearances. On the My First Million podcast, he recounted Whatnot's early days, noting the platform recorded roughly 30 sales in its first month in December 2019, with some transactions involving mispriced items. He also addressed the company's valuation, stating he tries not to focus on the figure and instead prioritizes the work ahead. In a separate conversation with a16z's David George, Lafontaine described live commerce as a significant expansion opportunity for e-commerce, citing that it accounts for 30–40% of commerce in China while remaining in the single digits in the U.S. He said Whatnot aims to differentiate itself from traditional e-commerce by focusing on entertainment and community, with users spending about 95 minutes per day on the platform. Lafontaine also emphasized Whatnot's role in supporting small businesses, contrasting it with what he described as the efficiency-driven obscurity of traditional e-commerce. He stated that the platform's largest sellers generate hundreds of millions in revenue and predicted that live shopping will grow to represent over 30% of all e-commerce in the next decade. He mentioned potential future expansions into categories such as cars and alcohol, while reiterating that the company's core focus remains improving the seller and buyer experience.

Recent appearances

  • People are doing $100M+ in sales on this app (ft. Whatnot founder)

    September 21, 2026 · 📺 My First Million

    $1M Attention Guide: 15+ ways to get eyeballs on what you're building https://clickhubspot.com/c764 Episode 863: Shaan Puri ( https://x.com/ShaanVP ) and Sam Parr ( https://x.com/theSamParr ) talk to Grant Lafontaine ( https://x.com/GrantLaFontaine ) the founder of Whatnot. — Show Notes: (0:00) Intro (1:00) Grant turned down Shaan’s investment (2:12) Shaan buys a crab on Whatnot (3:58) First 1,000 users (19:07) Black hat growth tactics (28:52) 30 sales to $2.3M in year 1 (34:03) $2.3M to $163M in year 2 (34:56) $163M to $1B in year 3 (37:02) How to be a billion-dollar founder (42:04) Going a…

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  • How Whatnot's Live Shopping Beats Traditional E-Commerce

    August 19, 2026 · 📺 a16z

    a16z General Partner David George is joined by Grant LaFontaine, co-founder of Whatnot, to unpack how a marketplace that started with collectibles evolved into one of the world's leading live shopping platforms. Grant traces the company's origins from selling Pokémon cards online as a kid to discovering live commerce by watching Whatnot's earliest customers hack together sales on social media. They discuss why Whatnot thinks less like a traditional e-commerce marketplace and more like a digital shopping mall, where discovery, entertainment, community, and commerce all happen at once. Today, u…

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  • AI Viruses, Social Media Addiction, Mansion Section

    August 07, 2026 · 📺 TBPN

    00:06:06 AI Viruses 00:12:53 OpenAI's Device Takes Shape 00:21:14 Meta Faces Major Child Safety Case 00:30:00 𝕏 Timeline Reactions 00:40:45 WSJ Mansion Section 00:48:16 Samir Kaul, a general partner at Khosla Ventures, discusses the firm’s investment in Jeff Dean’s Discovery Loop and its potential to apply AI to scientific research with tangible outcomes. He also shares his views on AI regulation, inflated private-market valuations, venture capital strategy, founder support, and the importance of taking bold risks to generate exceptional returns. 01:14:20 Patrick Wendell discusses his role as…

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  • The $11.5B Startup 100 Investors Turned Down | Term Sheet

    July 29, 2026 · 📺 Fortune Magazine

    Live shopping in China is a massive, multi-billion-dollar market, but for years, American platforms have struggled to crack the format. But in 2019, Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head started a live shopping marketplace for Funko Pops that not many investors believed in. Fast forward to today, Whatnot has transformed into a $11.5B valuation company, hitting 1 billion orders this year, overseeing transactions for everything from Pokémon cards to live seafood. It is now among the nation’s biggest shippers. Fortune’s Allie Garfinkle sits down with CEO Grant LaFontaine to talk about this unforeseen g…

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  • Whatnot CEO: More Live Shows, Bigger Businesses, What’s Next

    January 22, 2026 · 📺 Whatnot

    Whatnot co-founder & CEO Grant joins Kenny to break down the annual letter, reflect on 2025’s breakout year, and share the 2026 roadmap for sellers — from new categories and international growth to shipping, AI tools, flash sales, and IRL meetups. Subscribe for weekly seller education and more live Q&As. 👉 Check out Grant’s 2026 letter here: https://blog.teamwhatnot.com/unitedst... Whatnot Seller Academy: selleracademy.whatnot.com Whatnot Meetups: meetups.whatnot.com Whatnot Blog: blog.teamwhatnot.com Questions? help.whatnot.com Download the app: whatnot.com/download #WhatnotSellers, #Se…

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  • The rise of live online shopping (Whatnot's Grant LaFontaine) | Rapid Response

    November 28, 2025 · 📺 Rapid Response

    While digital live shopping has been popular for years in Asia, the phenomenon has only recently begun to take off in the U.S., thanks in large part to the rise of retail disruptor Whatnot. The platform’s co-founder and CEO, Grant LaFontaine, joins Rapid Response to share how his team has managed to evoke the feel of in-person shopping inside an online experience, why he weighs “fun” versus FOMO as a customer-engagement tool, and how Whatnot’s breakthrough is influencing other retailers and brands. LaFontaine also digs into the startup’s response to deep-pocketed rivals like eBay, and why he b…

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  • How to Build an $11B Empire Selling Funko Pops | Whatnot CEO Grant Lafontaine Joins TBPN

    October 31, 2025 · 📺 TBPN

    TBPN.com is made possible by:  Ramp - https://ramp.com Figma - https://figma.com Vanta - https://vanta.com Linear - https://linear.app Eight Sleep - https://eightsleep.com/tbpn Wander - https://wander.com/tbpn Public - https://public.com AdQuick - https://adquick.com Bezel - https://getbezel.com Numeral - https://www.numeralhq.com Polymarket - https://polymarket.com Attio - https://attio.com/tbpn Fin - https://fin.ai/tbpn Graphite - https://graphite.dev Restream - https://restream.io Profound - https://tryprofound.com Julius AI - https://julius.ai turbopuffer - https://turbopuffer.com fal - ht…

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  • How to Build a Unicorn with Grant LaFontaine (Whatnot) | SOCIAL CURRENCY POD 12

    June 17, 2025 · 📺 Sammi Tannor Cohen

    Grant LaFontaine says the future of shopping is here— and it’s live. Literally. Grant is the cofounder and CEO of Whatnot—a $5 billion live shopping brand that’s shaking up the traditional retail playbook and betting big on the future of social commerce. Sammi sits down with Grant to unpack what it takes to build a unicorn; from the lesson Y Combinator taught him about working with a cofounder, to the unique way he thinks about hiring, and why user feedback is his North Star. He shares what he’s learned building in tech, what AI can and can’t do, and why a little paranoia is good for founde…

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  • Whatnot CEO Grant LaFontaine CEO Co-Founder Raid @india816 Minnie Riperton Clothing @whatnot

    October 11, 2024 · 📺 Dee Archivist

    https://www.whatnot.com/user/mojoswif... had the pleasure of interviewing Grant LaFontaine CEO and Co-Founder of Whatnot.com. After the chat Joani raided over to @india816 who was selling Minnie Riperton's Personal Estate Vintage Closet Part Two! Amazing clothing! #vintage #whatnotcommunity #whatnotapp #whatnotseller #whatnotwins24 #reseller #liveaction #livestream #livestreaming #minnieriperton #ilovejunk #whatnotsellers Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @dee_archivist   Join me LIVE and get $15 off your first order! https://whatnot.com/invite/dee_archivist If you want to sell…

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  • Grant LaFontaine (Whatnot) & Dalton Caldwell (YC) - Growth Hacking to a Billion Dollar Marketplace

    April 26, 2024 · 📺 Startup Grind

    Join Dalton Caldwell and Grant LaFontaine as they discuss unconventional strategies for monumental growth, inspired by their own experiences and insights (available on YouTube). They'll explore everything from the genesis of groundbreaking ideas to practical tips on building simple products that evolve into large companies, and how to genuinely engage and retain customers. This was filmed at our annual flagship Global Conference in Silicon Valley. Check out upcoming events near you and get involved with your local chapter at https://www.startupgrind.com. ---- GLOBAL CONFERENCE: https://www…

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  • How to Adapt Beyond Your Vision with Grant LaFontaine of Whatnot

    January 09, 2024 · 📺 Inc.

    What does it take to start one of the fastest-growing consumer marketplaces? According to repeat founder Grant LaFontaine, it starts with an open mind. When he and his co-founder Logan Head launched Whatnot in 2019, they went into it know that their starting place and ending place would be completely different. The team opted to be customer-centric instead of vision-driven. Today, Whatnot is a live shopping marketplace that enables anyone to turn their passion into a business. Whatnot is like Twitch-meets-eBay and was most recently valued at $3.7B. Grant shares why they started building with a…

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  • How Startups Win: An Inside Look at the Product Decisions That Made Whatnot a $3.7B Phenomena

    August 21, 2023 · 📺 Scribble Ventures

    The co-founders of marketplace phenomena Whatnot, Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head, join Kevin Weil (President, Product & Business @ Planet / Operator in Residence @ Scribble Ventures) to talk about the non-obvious product decisions they made along the path to building a $3.7 marketplace. Get the transcript: how-startups-win-an-inside-look-at-the-product-decisions-that-made-whatnot-a-3-7b-phenomena

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The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →