Daishin Sugano
Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of GOAT Group
Daishin Sugano co-founded GOAT Group, the Los Angeles company behind the GOAT sneaker and apparel marketplace, and is its chief product officer. He studied at UC Berkeley, where he met co-founder Eddy Lu. Before GOAT the two ran Beard Papa's franchises, built iPhone apps and started Grubwithus, a social dining service that went through Y Combinator in Winter 2011.
- Sneakers
- Online marketplaces
GOAT Group
Y Combinator
- Now
- Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, GOAT Group1
- Company base
- Los Angeles, CA1
- Education
- Political economy, UC Berkeley3
- Y Combinator
- Winter 2011 (Grubwithus)1
Experience
- Co-founder and Chief Product Officer2015 – now
Co-founded the company with Eddy Lu. GOAT Group runs four brands: GOAT, Flight Club, Grailed and alias.1
- Co-founderFrom 2010
Social dining service started with Eddy Lu in Chicago. It went through Y Combinator, raised a $1.6 million seed round in 2011 and a $5 million Series A in 2012 before the pair pivoted to GOAT.2
- Franchise owner, with Eddy LuFrom 2006
Opened a first cream puff franchise location after quitting a corporate job, then two more; two of the three closed after the 2008 financial crisis.2
Education
Political economy3
Milestones
- Quit a corporate job with Eddy Lu and opened their first Beard Papa's franchise location2
- Moved to Chicago with Eddy Lu and came up with the idea for Grubwithus2
- Grubwithus launched out of Y Combinator5
- Grubwithus raised $1.6 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital and NEA4
- A pair of Air Jordan 5 "Grapes" bought on eBay turns out to be fake, the purchase behind the idea for GOAT3
- The GOAT sneaker app launched, co-founded with Eddy Lu3
- Former Twitter COO Adam Bain joined GOAT's board6
- GOAT launched a new app in China7
- GOAT added apparel and accessories from emerging, contemporary and luxury brands8
- GOAT Group valued at $3.7 billion1