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Bark (BarkBox)

Pet products / e-commerceUSA
New to Unitard
πŸ“‰ Public < $1B
PeakΒ $1.6 BillionToday
βˆ’96%
from peak
  1. πŸ¦„
    Became a unicorn
    2021
  2. πŸ“ˆ
    Peak valuation
    $1.6 Billion ’21
  3. πŸ’”
    Became a Unitard
    2022
  4. πŸ’Έ
    Last valuation
    ~$69.4M
Current status
Public (NYSE: BARK)
Live Β· BARKΒ· NYSE
as of 2026-10-23
$7.68β–Ό 0.65% today
β‰ˆΒ $69.4 Million market cap Β· βˆ’95.7% from peak

The rise & fall

6 moments Β· 2011–2023

The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.

2011
Founded to spoil dogs by mail
Matt Meeker and co-founders start shipping BarkBoxes of toys and treats to subscription-paying dog owners.
Wikipedia
Jun 2021
The peak: a $1.6B SPAC debut$1.6B
Merges with Northern Star Acquisition Corp, banking ~$427M in proceeds at the top of the pet boom.
SEC filing
2022
Pet spending normalizes
Subscriber growth stalls and consistent profitability stays out of reach as the stock slides.
Retail Dive
2022
Slips out of the club
The market cap sinks toward ~$250M β€” roughly 85% below the SPAC price.
Macrotrends
From the inside Β· Glassdoor reviews, 2023
Glassdoor reviews from the 2023 stretch described two mass layoff rounds about six months apart cutting 200-plus staff with little warning β€” some of it, reviewers said, without regard to performance β€” while survivors absorbed extra roles as pay, promotions and equity froze and strategy shifted toward offshoring work.
Today
Still in the club β€” and still trading
Live Β· BARK Β· NYSEas of 2026-10-23
$7.68β–Ό 0.65% todayβ‰ˆ $69.4M cap Β· βˆ’95.7% from peak

πŸ’¬ entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor β†—; dated facts carry their source.

How it happened

Bark, best known for its BarkBox monthly subscription of toys and treats for dogs, rode pandemic pet adoption to a June 2021 public debut via a $1.6B SPAC merger with Northern Star Acquisition Corp.

Subscriber growth stalled as pet spending normalized and the company struggled to reach consistent profitability, sliding the stock roughly 85% to a small-cap around $250M β€” well below its debut. Survivors described absorbing extra roles as pay, promotions and equity froze, amid shifting strategy and a push to offshore work.

Source: Retail Dive / PRNewswire / SEC ($1.6B SPAC merger with Northern Star Acquisition Corp, closed June 2021, ~$427M proceeds; market cap fell to ~$250M)

Founders

  • Matt Meeker
    Co-founder & CEO (also co-founded Meetup)
    Still there β€” Founder and Executive ChairmanLinkedIn β†—
  • Henrik Werdelin
    co-founder
    LinkedIn β†—

Current roles as self-reported on LinkedIn, retrieved 2026-08-19. See our methodology.

Disclosed investors (12)

Historical funding participation; lists may be incomplete and do not establish current ownership or investor losses.

* Lead in a funding round Β· Crunchbase β†— Β· 2026-10-13 Β· Methodology Β· Leaderboard

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