This week brought canine-related news (our favorite kind!), with new Second Measure data on Wag and Rover’s sales. As shown above, Rover is at almost 5x the revenue scale of Wag, and is growing more quickly (24% YoY as of Q2, compared to -12% for Wag). The difference in revenue scale is at least partially due to the difference in average order value (AOV) between the two companies. Rover customers spend $105 per visit, as many use the service for overnight boarding, while Wag, which is largely walk-focused, has a $20 AOV.

special announcement 🎉

We're excited to announce that this is the 100th issue of Accelerated! We're honored to be in your inbox every week, and we've loved getting to know many of you in our Accelerated community. We're looking to grow our reader base ahead of the new school year, so we'd appreciate if you could forward this issue to three friends - or they can sign up directly here!

news 📣 

 😅 Peloton files to IPO. Indoor cycling company Peloton publicly filed its S-1 on Tuesday, revealing $915M in annual revenue (2x YoY growth). 79% of last year's revenue came from hardware sales, though Peloton also has 511k subscribers paying $39/month for classes. While revenue is growing, losses are scaling even faster - Peloton reported $196M in net losses last year (up 4x YoY), largely due to increased sales & marketing spend. 

👂 Apple makes privacy changes. Apple came under scrutiny last month thanks to a report that the company's contractors regularly overhear private conversations while monitoring Siri recordings for quality control. In response, Apple announced that users will have to opt-in for human reviews of their conversations with Siri - these reviews will now be done by employees, not contractors, and the recordings will not be stored. 

🏢 WeWork acquires Spacious. WeWork announced this week that it is buying Spacious, a co-working competitor that turns restaurants into workspaces during the day. The acquisition price was not disclosed, but Spacious previously raised $13.1M in venture funding. Spacious currently operates 11 spaces in New York - the company had expanded to SF in 2017, but closed those locations earlier this year. 

🚘 Gig economy lobbying. California's appropriations committee passed a bill requiring gig economy platforms to classify workers as employees instead of  contractors. This would be an expensive change, as these companies would have to pay minimum wage and provide benefits. If the bill passes the full Senate, three companies (Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash) have each pledged $30M to fund an initiative that would exempt them from the law.

💰Fundraises and acquisitions. D2C bedding company Boll & Branch announced a $100M strategic investment from L Catterton, with plans to expand internationally. Enjoy, an online store that sells tech products with same-day delivery, announced a $150M round. Meanwhile, clothing rental startup Le Tote is acquiring department store Lord & Taylor, which did $1.1B in revenue last year but has been losing money since 2016. 

It was a sad week for Forever 21 fans, as the company is reportedly planning to file for bankruptcy. Over the past five years, we've watched the decline of stores we call "teen mall staples" - Delia's, Aeropostale, American Apparel, and Wet Seal have all filed for bankruptcy and closed most (if not all) or their stores. With young people increasingly shopping online and turning to fast-fashion behemoths like Fashion Nova, Shein, and Wish, it's hard for traditional teen retailers to compete on price or convenience. 

what we're following 👀

The rise of the mystery box on eBay, Etsy, and other e-comm websites. 

The newest trend for teens on Instagram? Fake-casting each other in musicals.

An experiment in consumer credit card privacy via the purchase of bananas!

Therapists now have to deal with astrology, crystals, tarot cards, and more. 

Mythic Markets announced a $2M seed round this week led by Slow Ventures. The company allows users to buy fractional shares in high-value assets, starting with fandom and pop culture items like trading cards and comics. 

The company's first offering is a $90,000 Magic: The Gathering card called the Alpha Black Lotus, and almost 800 shares have already been purchased. Consumers buy a share in an SEC-regulated initial offering, and can trade their shares on Mythic’s secondary markets. 

Mythic joins Otis Wealth (focused on pop culture items) and Rally Rd. (collectible cars) in a new class of companies helping people buy partial ownership in non-traditional assets. Why are these assets interesting? In addition to having sentimental value, they could provide a compelling financial return - the price of the Alpha Black Lotus card has increased 36% YoY over the past 12 years, compared to ~8.75% average annual growth for the S&P 500. 

Dorm Room Fund, the student-run venture fund backed by First Round Capital, is hiring student partners in Boston, NY, Philadelphia, and SF. This is a great opportunity to get into VC, and we'd highly recommend you check it out!

DRF is also hiring marketers, writers, designers, and engineers to work remotely. 

puppy of the week 🐶