Josh Luber is the co-founder of the disruptive stock market-modelled online sneaker marketplace, StockX. Within a short timespan Luber has transformed sneaker resale, founding an eBay-inspired online marketplace that has ballooned into a $1 billion business.
Acting as a middleman, StockX pairs buyers with sellers and authenticates products through its live bid-and-ask structure, which charges a transaction fee on each sale to make a profit. Alongside sneakers, the platform carries streetwear, handbags, and watches from brands including Supreme, Bape, Rolex, Chanel, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, to name a few. In May 2019, the company announced a forthcoming, fifth vertical: collectibles.
As the son of a dental hygienist mother and a lawyer father, Luber initially had no plans of venturing into fashion. Beginning his sneaker collection at age 11, his interest in footwear remained a peripheral hobby as he attended business school in Atlanta and finished with a joint law MBA degree at the same faculty. Luber founded various online businesses including the online scheduling platform Servinity, which went bankrupt as a result of the financial crash in 2008. Luber then took up a consulting job at IBM. In 2012, he used sneaker sales data he was analysing on eBay to launch Campless, the precursor to StockX.
StockX was co-founded in February 2016 by Luber, StockX Chief Operating Officer Greg Schwartz, and Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans and chairman of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Today, the Detroit-based company hits $100 million in gross product sales a month and operates three US and two European-based product authentication centres. In February 2017, StockX closed a $6 million funding round from investors that included Mark Wahlberg, Eminem and Silicon Valley investor Ron Conway and his SV Angel fund. The company soon expanded to other product categories such as luxury accessories and opened a NYC pop-up store in 2017 as well as physical “drop-off” locations in LA and New York. In June 2019 the platform closed a $110 million funding round led by General Atlantic and DST Global, in the largest venture capital-backed funding round in Michigan history. Luber stepped down at CEO, but will continue to serve on the executive leadership team and board of directors.
