Why Silicon Valley VC Firms Fund Online Retailers Like Dollar Shave Club

Not all venture-capital money goes to support technology startups. A good chunk goes to companies whose tech inventory consists of nothing more than a website and a social-media team. Stance, a maker of luxury socks, has raised $86 million. Dollar Shave Club, a grooming company that supplies subscribers with razors and moistened bathroom wipes, has amassed more than $160 million. And the Honest Co., actress Jessica Alba’s home-care brand known for its plant-based diapers, has scored $222 million. The three businesses make consumer goods, yet they’re all backed by heaps of venture capital — the type of funding that fuels the tech world. So why are the biggest investors in technology backing firms whose tech prowess amounts to little more than a nifty website and a social-media team? It’s a question that lingers in the Herman Miller-gilded boardrooms of venture-capital firms. And it’s one that underscores how Silicon Valley, despite its reputation for world-changing ideas, can also quietly embrace the mundane. Read more at The Seattle Times.