StockX ($PRIVATE:STOCKX) is a sneakerhead's dream, a place to find and sell the most fly shoes imaginable. In only a few short years, StockX has vaulted to a billion dollar valuation from boldface name investors like DST Global, which is rare for a second-hand distributor/platform. In a world of international NBA stars and musicians getting their own sneaker brands and shoe deals, StockX carved out its niche signing exclusives and hiring authenticators.
However, it recently was revealed StockX was hacked and 6.8 million people had user data stolen and sold on the dark web.
So yes, that is bad news. But 6.8 million people is a lot, so that's a silver lining, right? Let's see how social media reacted to this shocking development.
Quite...well? It's only been around a month since this happened, but there isn't any slowdown in followers across the board (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.). The only hit seems to be on the app store average ratings, like the Google Play Store for example.
But if you think this will at all affect the future of StockX, it probably won't. In two years they saw a 566% increase in Twitter follows. That's as impressive a feat as you're going to see for a brand that just got hit with breaching user data.
Despite this snafu, StockX is rising into supernova levels of popularity, coolness, and unicorn status as a startup.
This count is from the total number of people who list StockX as their place of work on LinkedIn ($MSFT). It's the easiest way to see how many employees private companies have before they potentially file for an IPO and go public with a bang. At a time when other digital secondhand marketplaces are getting investor attention - from The RealReal's IPO, to ThredUp's new funding and valuation - StockX could next position itself as the app that helps major manufacturers cut out brick-and-mortar retailers and carve out more DTC relationships.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
Further Reading:
- Thredup cashes in with a big round - but alternative data reflects a slowdown
- Foursquare alternative data doesn't match the rosy narrative at its 10-year anniversary
- Proxy data shows scale en route to unicorn status
