Kit, the Expa-backed platform for product recommendation, has today announced the close of a $2.5 million from Social Capital, Precursor Ventures, April Underwood, Ellen Pao, Authentic Ventures, Black Angel Tech Fund, and Expa.
Kit lets users choose and review products theyve used and owned to build kits. These kits normally focus on a certain theme or category like My Desk Setup or My Photography Bag. But heres the real kicker: Kit lets users make money off of Kit using their own Amazon Affiliate ID for each product in their Kit.
Whats more, the company isnt taking any revenue off of the affiliate model and has instead given that fully to their users.
Kit is the brainchild of Expa partner and Foursquare cofounder Naveen Selvadurai and Kit CEO Camille Hearst.
Hearst said on the phone that Kits user acquisition strategy has focused primarily on experts and influencers (those who already have a social media following who will join them on Kit).
Categories that have already taken off include gear (photography, videography, gaming and desk equipment) and holistic, natural products (healthcare, skin care, beauty products).
Kit has yet to turn on monetization and is instead focused on growing the user base and focusing on experience of those discovering products.
Part of this funding will help us experiment and test business models, said Hearst, mentioning sponsorships and SaaS models around creator tools. Weve been focused a lot on the influencer and creator experience, and now were focused on what that is for end-users who are discovering and finding products.
Kit is one of a few recent projects out of Expa, the startup studio that has raised more than $150 million to help grow new startups.
You can check out Kit for yourself right here.