Squarespace, the 14-year-old platform that makes it easy for essentially anyone to build their own website, is raising about $200 million from General Atlantic, valuing the company at a $1.7 billion valuation, Bloomberg reports. The plan with the funding is to buy stock from early employees and investors, giving them a way to cash out if they’re not trying to wait around for an IPO.
Squarespace is a profitable company, with revenues increasing 50 percent in the last year to about $300 million. A big Squarespace competitor, public company Wix, is expected to generate about $424 million in revenue this year. Before going public, Squarespace reportedly wants to get better about helping its customers sell products through their websites.
“It’s the most requested feature on the platform right now,” Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena told Bloomberg. “A lot of people are there building a brand. They want to sell something.” Squarespace had previously raised $78.5 million from General Atlantic, Index Ventures, Accel and others.
