Eddy Lu
Co-founder and CEO of GOAT Group
Eddy Lu is the co-founder and CEO of GOAT Group, the Los Angeles company behind the GOAT sneaker marketplace, Flight Club, Grailed and alias. He met co-founder Daishin Sugano at UC Berkeley and has a computer science degree. Before GOAT launched in July 2015, the pair ran Beard Papa's cream puff franchises, built early iPhone apps and started Grubwithus, a social dining app backed by Y Combinator.
GOAT Group
- Sneakers
- Resale marketplaces
- Y Combinator
- Now
- Co-founder and CEO, GOAT Group8
- Company base
- Los Angeles, CA1
- Y Combinator
- Winter 2011 batch (Grubwithus)1
- Degree
- Computer science2
Experience
- Co-founder and CEO2015 – now
Launched GOAT with Daishin Sugano in July 2015 as a marketplace that checks sneakers are authentic; it made 20 sales on its first day.2
- Co-founder and CEOFrom 2010
A social dining app that went through Y Combinator and raised a Series A. Lu has said it ran into too many friction points, so the founders moved on.3
- Franchise ownerFrom 2006
Left a corporate job in 2006 and opened the first of three franchise locations with Daishin Sugano; two closed after the 2008 financial crisis.2
Education
Computer science1
Milestones
- Opened the first of three Beard Papa's franchise locations with Daishin Sugano2
- Built some of the first iPhone apps after Apple opened the App Store2
- Moved to Chicago to build the social dining app Grubwithus2
- Grubwithus raised $1.6 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital and Y Combinator5
- Grubwithus raised a $5 million Series A led by GRP Partners6
- Launched GOAT, an authenticated sneaker marketplace, with Daishin Sugano2
- GOAT acquired Flight Club, the New York sneaker consignment shop4
- Foot Locker made a $100 million strategic investment in GOAT Group7
- A $195 million Series F valued GOAT Group at $3.7 billion8
- GOAT Group agreed to buy Grailed, the New York fashion resale marketplace9