The Honest Company

Company founder Jessica Alba was inspired by the 2008 birth of her first child, Honor, and her own history of childhood illnesses to create a company that provided an alternative to the prevalent baby products with ingredients such as petrochemicals and synthetic fragrances. She was compelled to become serious about this venture when one of her mother's baby laundry recommendations caused her to have a welt outbreak.It took Alba three years to find her business partners Brian Lee, Sean Kane, and Christopher Gavigan. Alba launched the company in 2012 with 17 products.While building her company, Alba lobbied the United States Congress for stricter chemical testing of consumer products in the marketplace. In 2013, The Honest Company's sales reached $50 million. Honest raised $70 million from venture capitalists in the summer of 2014 in preparation for an imminent initial public offering. As of August 2014, the company's products were available at retail stores in the United States and Canada. The financing put a value on the company of $1 billion. Prior to the 2014 round of financing led by Wellington Management Company, the company had raised $52 million in financing from ICONIQ Capital, General Catalyst Partners, Institutional Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners.In November 2014, the company had 275 employees and was projected to do $150 million in sales. 80% of its sales were online via a monthly subscription service with the remainder being done in department stores and discount warehouses. The company eventually totaled $170 million in sales in 2014.In July 2015, Jessica Alba announced that The Honest Company would be moving its headquarters from Santa Monica to the Playa Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles in early 2016. The following month, it announced a new round of funding generated an additional $100 million of venture capital, implying a valuation of $1.7 billion. In late 2015, the company acquired Alt12 Apps, the makers of popular apps such as Baby Bump, Pink Pad, and Kidfolio.In March 2017, The Honest Company announced that Nick Vlahos would replace Brian Lee as Chief Executive Officer. Vlahos worked on several Unilever brands, including Burt's Bees, Brita and Green Works. At that time, it was announced that Brian Lee would depart the company but remain on the board in an advisory role.In October 2017, The Honest Company closed a series E round of funding. After settling two lawsuits in the summer of 2017, the valuation was set at $19.60 per share down from the Series D shares sold in 2015 at $45.75. Thus, the company's value was below 1 billion.In April 2021, The Honest Company officially filed for an initial public offering. The company began trading under ticker symbol HNST on May 5, 2021 with shares being traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The 2021 IPO raised $412.8 million.