GTFO It’s Vegan is raising through common equity with a pre-money valuation of $40 million. The company generated impressive early revenue of $3 million. But even with its impressive performance, the $40 million valuation gives the company a revenue multiple of 13 times, which is overly high. On top of that, the company has only been operating for one year, which makes its valuation even less reasonable. Hence, given its current valuation, GTFO It’s Vegan is overpriced.

The US plant-based food market was worth $5.6 billion in 2020 and is growing at an annual rate of 9.7%. Given the significantly competitive market, GTFO It’s Vegan’s obtainable market share is smaller than $5.6 billion. Despite that, the market is sizable and growing rapidly, putting the company in a good position. 

GTFO It’s Vegan also has huge market potential because it’s riding several powerful trends. Growing concern over the environmental impacts of livestock production, increasing rates of obesity, and health consciousness are all factors that are driving the vegan market. Internet searches for the term “veganism” have increased by 580% over the past five years. This data suggests a rapidly growing interest in the vegan lifestyle, and this curiosity could lead to further adoption. Moreover, the industry is not limited to foods and beverages. The fashion industry has also started to jump in on this trend, which expands the potential obtainable market for companies selling various vegan products like GTFO It’s Vegan.

GTFO It’s Vegan’s co-founder, CEO, CFO, and manager Marc Pierce got his bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing from University of Michigan and his master’s degree in marketing from Northwestern University. Some of his previous roles include a management consultant for Ernst & Young and a principal at Bridge Strategy Group. In 2005, CEO Pierce founded Stonegate, a company offering data solutions, licensed software products, and market intelligence. In 2011, he founded FitBoomBah, an online marketplace dedicated to making healthy living easier. He runs GTFO It’s Vegan concurrently with these two companies. 

Co-founder, President, and manager Tanya Pierce, on the other hand, offers limited information about her experience. At GTFO It’s Vegan, she is in charge of product innovation, branding, and marketing. 

Marc Pierce clearly has experience founding and operating businesses, which contributes valuable skills to GTFO It’s Vegan. However, the company’s team is fairly young, and at least one of its founders is not entirely dedicated. The two founders also lack experience in the consumer packaged goods e-commerce industry. The company does not list any team members that can cover this skill gap. Since the GTFO It’s Vegan team tries all products before selling them, the founders will need to expand the team in order to scale and incorporate more brands.

While there are a plethora of vegan food brands, GTFO It’s Vegan is one of only a few online vegan marketplaces. Some other marketplaces in the space are Vejii, Vegan Essentials, and Vegan Black Market. GTFO It’s Vegan’s advantages are its product sourcing and delivery period. The team always ensures the quality of a product by trying it before selling it. Additionally, the company is able to process orders within 24 hours and deliver in one to two days. 

While appealing, these differentiation factors are not defensible or difficult to replicate. The company has no patents that make its products defensible. Moreover, while it offers membership accounts that can offer product discounts, the company does not have a price advantage. Overall, GTFO It’s Vegan has high-quality products, but is not highly differentiated from its competitors.

GTFO It’s Vegan has been performing tremendously well. The company went from $900,000 in revenue in its first year of operation to $3 million in the most recent rolling 12-month period. Impressively, the company received no prior investments and has little debt. 

The company currently has 3,000 stock keeping units across more than 700 brands sourced from around the globe. It has fulfilled more than 24,000 orders with an average order value of $120. Some impressive customer statistics include 21,000 registered users on the site, 14,000 active customers, and more than 78,000 followers on Instagram. Additionally, the company has 250 wholesale customers. Overall, GTFO It’s Vegan demonstrates high capital efficiency by achieving impressive traction without any outside capital.

Altogether, GTFO It’s Vegan has moderately low risk. The company bears some investment risk as it currently has a valuation revenue multiple that is higher than the industry average. Other than that, the company faces some team risks. One of the founders, Marc Pierce, is not a full-time CEO as he is concurrently running two other businesses. The team is also very small and has limited experience in the consumer packaged goods e-commerce industry. This might hinder the company’s ability to scale.

GTFO It’s Vegan differentiates itself by checking the quality of each product it sells and emphasizing quick delivery. However, these factors are neither defensible nor difficult to replicate. In order to source more brands, try more products and reach a wider audience, the team needs to scale. Finally, given the company’s traction, the current valuation is overpriced compared to the industry average.

GTFO It’s Vegan has shown tremendous growth for such an early-stage company, boasting a significant increase in revenue and a proven track record. The company used no outside capital thus far, making its achievements even more impressive. It is also almost breaking even, showcasing the company’s capital efficiency. The company has attracted an impressive number of both customers and suppliers. This indicates that the company has hit critical mass from both sides of the market — meaning it has acquired the minimum amount of customers to validate its place in the market and become sustainable. The vegan market is also huge and growing. 

Since GTFO It’s Vegan is entering the market as veganism is becoming more widespread, this could provide the momentum the company needs to develop rapidly. Furthermore, the company has a lot of room to grow, as its vegan products are not limited to foods and beverages. GTFO It’s Vegan also sells pet products and home goods and could expand its offerings even further, making it a fully integrated vegan marketplace. 

GTFO It’s Vegan is a marketplace for all things vegan and plant-based. The company aims to be the first fully integrated, horizontal and vertical vegan marketplace. It has a valuation revenue multiple that is higher than the industry average, making this investment opportunity overpriced. The company has a fairly small team, and neither founder has prior experience in the consumer packaged goods e-commerce industry. And although the company emphasizes its quick delivery and quality assurance, these factors can be easily replicated by another company. 

Nevertheless, GTFO It’s Vegan has increased its revenue significantly and has low levels of debt. In the meantime, the company has attracted numerous customers and suppliers alike.  GTFO It’s Vegan achieved all of this without outside investments, showing impressive capital efficiency. The company is in a sizable market with a lot of room for growth. And a growing interest in veganism could accelerate the company’s growth. Therefore, GTFO It’s Vegan is a Deal to Watch. 

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Analysis written by Inez Sanjaya, October 28, 2021.