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Dalton Caldwell (@daltonc) interviewed and accepted Whatnot into Y Combinator's…

2026-08-07 · 15:26 UTC ·@daltonc ·1 min read

Brief

Whatnot has grown from an unlaunched iOS app for authenticated Funko Pops—selected by Dalton Caldwell for YC's W20 batch—into a company Dalton calls 'meteoric,' now valued at $20B; Standard_Cap is participating in the latest funding round and has welcomed founders Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head.

Why it matters

Dalton Caldwell (@daltonc) interviewed and accepted Whatnot into Y Combinator's W20 batch when it was an unlaunched iOS app focused on authenticated Funko Pops; founders are Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head.

Key details

  • Dalton says Whatnot's rise has been 'meteoric' and the company now has a $20B valuation while still 'barely scratching the surface' of its potential.
  • Venture firm @Standard_Cap is participating in Whatnot's funding round and has formally welcomed Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head into its community of founders.
Source evidence

Whatnot is one of the most consequential companies that I interviewed and accepted to @ycombinator.

At the time I selected them for the W20 batch, @Whatnot was a marketplace for authenticated Funko Pops and the product consisted of an unlaunched iOS app. I tend to be pretty picky about consumer startups since I used to be a consumer startup founder myself, but Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head had a remarkably straightforward plan and sophistication about how to grow a marketplace.

The rise of Whatnot since then has been meteoric, and even with this $20B valuation they barely scratching the surface of what the business can become.

For this reason @Standard_Cap is proud to participate in this funding round, and to formally welcome Grant and Logan into our community of founders.

Congratulations, Whatnot!