Pharmapacks (Packable)
- 🦄Became a unicornNov 2020
- 📈Peak valuation$1 Billion ’20
- 💔Became a Unitard2022
- 💸Last valuationWiped out
Total raised averaged per day over approximately 12.0 years from founding to bankruptcy or shutdown. This is not measured cash burn. Methodology
The rise & fall
9 moments · 2010–2024The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.
💬 entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗; dated facts carry their source.
How it happened
Pharmapacks, whose parent was later renamed Packable, was founded by Andrew Vagenas in Hauppauge, New York, in 2010. It grew into one of the largest third-party sellers of health and beauty products on Amazon and other marketplaces.
In November 2020 Carlyle invested more than $250M at what it called an enterprise value of about $1.1B; at the round's unit price, the equity alone was worth just over $1B. It raised about $521M in preferred equity and convertible notes.
A SPAC merger with Highland Transcend Partners I, agreed in September 2021, was terminated on March 25, 2022, leaving the company short of cash. It cut about 722 jobs that May. Packable filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware on August 28, 2022, with $271.8M of funded debt, and liquidated its inventory. Those posting from mid-2022 faulted the executive team’s direction and organization, though several still praised their colleagues.
Source: Carlyle (Nov 12, 2020): Carlyle Partners VII invests more than $250M, placing Pharmapacks' enterprise value at approximately $1.1B (EV, not equity). Highland Transcend Partners I DEFM14A (Feb 14, 2022): Series B Preferred Units sold at $60.2527 (5,059,359 units, $304.8M, Nov 2020 to June 2021); units outstanding at Dec 31, 2020 (8,911,564 common, 2,575,000 Series A, 4,327,961 Series B, 1,140,130 Series B-1) imply post-money equity of about $1.02B at the round price, about $1.06B after the full Series B; peak keyed to $1.0B equity. Series A: $66.5M at $20/unit (2018-19); $40M 2020 convertible notes converted to Series B-1; about $111M of 2020 proceeds redeemed existing units. Highland 8-K (Mar 25, 2022): merger agreement terminated. First-day declaration of Brian Teets (Dkt. 13, Case 22-10797, D. Del.): founded 2010; merger terminated Mar 25, 2022; about 722 employees cut in May 2022; $271.8M funded debt incl. $110M 2021 convertible notes; filed to wind down. Marketplace Pulse (Aug 30, 2022): Packable Holdings filed Chapter 11 on Aug 28, 2022 and shut down.
Founder
- Andrew Vagenasfounder & CEO (led at peak)No public profile matched
Disclosed investors (10)
Historical funding participation; lists may be incomplete and do not establish current ownership or investor losses.
* Lead in a funding round · Crunchbase ↗ · 2026-10-22 · Methodology · Leaderboard
