Who won in the Zulily IPO?

Zulily execs and board members cash out big in Zulily's public debut

Zulily made its public debut Friday morning. Shares opened at $39.40 and soared as high as $41.32, an 88% increase over the $22 at which shares were originally priced. The company, which is trading under the ticker symbol ZU, closed the day at $37.04. Altogether, the company raised $253 million at a valuation of $4.6 billion.

So who were the winners in today's IPO? We calculated up what each of the major selling stockholders might have made, assuming they sold at the opening price of $39.40. 

Mark Vadon

Chairman of the board, Mark Vadon, is the largest winner in today’s IPO. Vadon put up 35,458,075 shares, which, if sold at the opening price of $39.40, nets him approximately $1.4 billion. Prior to co-founding Zulily, Vadon was CEO of Blue Nile, which he took public in 2004.

Dan Levitan

Maveron Partner Dan Levitan led Zulily’s $4.6 million Series A round back in 2009. Levitan put 27,231,829 shares up for sale for a total of $1.07 billion. Levitan founded Maveron back in 1998 with Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for NextFoods, PayNearMe, Pinkberry, Potbelly Sandwich Works, and Trupanion.

Darrel Cavens

CEO Darrel Cavens co-founded Zulily with business partner and Blue Nile CEO Mark Vadon. Cavens put up 24,961,953 shares for a total of $983 million. Prior to co-founding Zulily, Cavens was the CTO and SVP of marketing for diamond retailer Blue Nile.

Lori Twomey

Zulily’s Chief Merchant (senior executive of multi-channel merchandising) put 1,049,999 shares up for sale on Friday, which, if sold at the opening price of $39.40, would net her $41.3 million. Prior to joining Zulily, Twomey was President of Charming Direct/Crosstown Traders, where she launched the Lane Bryant Woman catalog in 2007. She also spent 16 years with Eddie Bauer in merchandising, product development and new business development.

Eric Carlborg

August Capital partner and Zulily board member Eric Carlborg participated in Zulily’s $6 million Series B round back in 2010. Carlborg put up 325,000 shares for a total of $12.8 million. Carlborg previously served as CFO of Einstein Noah Bagel Corporation during its IPO, CFO of Authorize.net, and CFO of Provide Commerce.

Michael Potter

Former Chairman and CEO of Big Lots, Mike Potter currently serves on the board of Zulily and put 318,495 shares up for grabs on Friday. If sold at the opening price, he will have netted $12.5 million. Prior to Big Lots, Mike held various positions with The Limited, Inc., May Department Stores, and Meier & Frank. He also serves on the boards of Blue Nile and Coldwater Creek.

Marc Stolzman

Zulily CFO Marc Stolzman didn’t put as many shares up as his executive teammates—just 180,776, but the $7.12 million he’s earned is enough to pay for a pretty nice house in the hills. Stolzman joined Zulily in 2012 after serving as CFO of sports lifestyle retailer Zumiez. Prior to that, he was the CFO of—you guessed it—Blue Nile. He was also the SVP Finance & Business Development of Starbucks Coffee International and CFO of Starbucks Japan.

Spencer Rascoff  

Rascoff, the CEO and Chairman of Zillow, is on Zulily’s board of directors and put 8,127 shares up for sale for a total of $320,203. Rascoff led his own company through an IPO back in July 2011. Zillow shares are up 144% to $83.61 from its opening day high of $34.27. Prior to Zillow, Rascoff co-founded Hotwire.com. He also serves on the board of Room 77.

Youngme Moon 

The board’s sole lady member (doubling as the sole person of color, it would seem), Youngme Moon, is the Donald K. David Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean, Chair of the MBA Program, at Harvard Business School. Youngme Moon put up 4,876 shares on Friday for a total of $192,114. She is also the author of bestselling book Different and serves on the board of Avid Technology.