Chicago celebrity shoutout startup Cameo has made its first acquisition, scooping up an L.A. startup that sells t-shirts and other merchandise from celebrities.
Cameo announced Monday it's acquiring Represent, a startup that's created a merchandising platform that allows celebrities to sell gear directly to fans. The startup has worked with well-known personalities like Jennifer Lopez, Ed Sheeran and Leonardo DiCaprio. It worked with the Friends cast on their HBO reunion episode this year, and have also partnered with TikTok stars, YouTube personalities and the U.S. Women's soccer team.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Cameo is buying Represent from Custom Ink, an online apparel firm that acquired the startup in 2016 at a price tag of reportedly around $100 million.
Represent's 34 employees in the U.S. and Czech Republic are joining Cameo, which will bring the Chicago startup's headcount to 350. Daniel Rosenberg, Represent's president and COO, will continue leading the day-to-day operations at Represent and Bobby Maylack, its CMO, has been named chief creative officer at Cameo. Since it was founded in 2014, Represent says it has shipped over 4 million products to customers in more than 165 countries.
The deal makes sense for Cameo in a number of ways. It provides new revenue streams for Cameo's existing talent, expands the startup's talent roster, and gives users even more ways to connect with celebrities. Cameo envisions letting fans purchase gift bundles, for example, which could include both a personalized video message and custom merchandise from celebrities.
Cameo expects to begin offering merchandise through its platform starting next year.
Founded four years ago, Cameo's growth has skyrocketed as it's become one of Chicago's buzziest startups. It raised $100 million in funding this year at a $1 billion valuation, and has more than 40,000 celebrities on its platform. It's delivered more than 3 million video messages to date. In September it launched a video chat offering that lets fans host one-on-one calls with celebrities.
