Lovevery gears up for IPO

Lovevery, a Boise, Idaho-based early-childhood development toy company, aims to go public in the next two to three years, CEO Jessica Rolph and president Roderick Morris tell Axios.

Why it matters: Given the current state of the IPO market, any news indicating potential future activity is good news at a time when the IPOs have been at a 32-year low.

How it works: Lovevery offers a subscription service for products that it says facilitate brain development in children through the age of 3.

• Parents that subscribe receive new toys six times during the infant's first 12 months and then four times per year for the next three years.
• The toys' designs are Montessori-inspired, helping children to build essential life skills, which co-founders Rolph and Morris claim it's likely the only toys a parent will ever need.
• The program costs $40 per month on average.

Of note: The certified B Corporation has an exclusive relationship with Target, where it sells some individual products.

Details: Morris says that Lovevery's venture backers will eventually want to realize a return on their investment, hence starting preparations for the IPO.

• The company is currently interviewing candidates to fill the CFO role, he says.
• And it has strict accounting practices in place, Morris elaborates.
• It has not yet tapped an investment bank for the process, he adds.

By the numbers: The company generated revenue of $190 million for the 12-month period that ended Nov. 30, equating to 40% growth year over year.

• Of that, $150 million is annual recurring revenue, with more than 320,000 active subscribers globally.

• It currently has a revenue run rate of $200 million, with 84% generated by existing customers.
• Over two-thirds of customers are acquired organically, with more than 40% acquired by word of mouth.
• The idea is to sustainably grow the company's revenue by 20% on an annual basis.

What's next: The company will launch in Australia in February.

• It currently has customers in 60% of U.S. ZIP codes, while 14% of customers are international, as the products are sold in 32 markets globally.

Catch up fast: The company has raised a total of about $131 million and had a valuation of nearly $819 million in August 2021, according to PitchBook.

Flashback: Rolph co-founded Happy Family, which was sold to food giant Danone and went on to become the largest organic baby food company.