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§ Private Profile · San Francisco, CA, USA
Leading marketplace for formalwear
Queenly has raised $15.9M across 5 funding rounds.
Key people at Queenly.
Queenly was founded in 2019 by Trisha Bantigue (Founder) and Kathy Zhou-Patel (Founder).
Queenly has raised $15.9M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Live on iOS, Android and our web app (queenly.com).
Queenly is the leading online marketplace for the formalwear industry. We are a Y Combinator company and backed by some of the top VC's in Silicon Valley such as Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), NextView Ventures, The House Fund, and more. The Queenly cofounders were also recently featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30: Art and Style cover for 2022.
At Queenly, our mission is simple: make every woman look and feel like a queen. We strive to empower women and to feel confidently beautiful in their own skin by providing cutting-edge technology, seamless logistics, white-glove customer service and unique expertise within the industry.
Key people at Queenly.
Queenly is a leading online marketplace specializing in formalwear, offering a vast selection of over 200,000 dresses including wedding gowns, prom dresses, pageant gowns, and other formal attire. The platform serves women seeking affordable, diverse, and accessible formalwear options by connecting buyers and sellers directly, enabling both new and resale transactions. Queenly leverages advanced algorithms to match buyers with dresses efficiently, often selling items faster than competitors, and provides services such as authentication, dry cleaning, and streamlined shipping to enhance customer experience. Its mission is to empower women to feel confident and beautiful by making high-end formalwear accessible through technology and seamless logistics[1][2][4].
Founded in 2019 by Trisha Bantigue and Kathy Zhou-Patel, Queenly emerged from Bantigue’s personal experience in pageantry and the challenges she faced finding and affording formal dresses. Bantigue, who immigrated from the Philippines and funded her education through pageant scholarships, combined her tech background with a passion for fashion to create a marketplace that addresses the inefficiencies and high costs in formalwear shopping. Zhou, a former Pinterest software engineer, contributed expertise in data-driven search and platform development. Early traction was driven by their unique approach to inventory (relying on user-supplied dresses rather than holding stock) and technology, which allowed Queenly to quickly scale and differentiate itself from traditional retail and resale platforms[1][2][4].
Queenly rides the growing trend of specialized online marketplaces that leverage technology to disrupt traditional retail sectors. The timing is favorable due to increasing consumer preference for online shopping, sustainability concerns driving resale markets, and the demand for niche platforms that offer curated, authentic products. By focusing exclusively on formalwear—a category where over 80% of inventory remains offline—Queenly fills a significant market gap, democratizing access to high-end fashion and enabling circular economy practices. Its data-driven approach and logistics innovations influence the broader ecosystem by setting new standards for vertical marketplaces and resale platforms[1][3].
Looking ahead, Queenly is poised to expand geographically (notably into Canada) and deepen its inventory verticals, especially in bridal wear and boutique partnerships. Trends such as increased digital adoption in fashion, sustainability, and personalized shopping experiences will shape its growth trajectory. As Queenly continues to scale, it may further influence how formalwear is bought, sold, and experienced, potentially becoming the definitive platform for formal attire worldwide. Its blend of technology, community focus, and operational excellence positions it well to capitalize on evolving consumer behaviors and market dynamics[4][1].
Queenly has raised $15.9M across 5 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $6.3M Other Equity in July 2021.
Queenly was founded in 2019 by Trisha Bantigue (Founder) and Kathy Zhou-Patel (Founder).
Queenly has raised $15.9M in total across 5 funding rounds.
Queenly's investors include Connie Chan, Austen Allred, James Park, Jason Wang, John Thomas, Manik Gupta, Shawn Tsao, Thuan Pham, Tram Nguyen, Yongsheng Wu, Yuichi Uchida, Andreessen Horowitz.
