Spoken

Spoken (spoken.io) operates a consumer web product that lets shoppers compare buying options for the same product across multiple online stores. Its catalog focuses on white-labeled home goods — furniture, decor and accessories that are manufactured by third parties and then branded and priced differently by individual retailers — so that an item listed by one brand can be matched to identical listings elsewhere. Users search for a specific piece of furniture or decor and, when it is present in Spoken's database, receive prices and links for each store carrying it. The site also supports browsing by store, by category (reported as more than twenty categories including rugs, chairs, ottomans, plants, sectionals and serveware) and by new or trending products.

Retailers covered on the site include West Elm, Lulu and Georgia, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Urban Outfitters, All Modern, Birch Lane, Joss & Main, World Market, Wayfair, Overstock, Target and Walmart, alongside smaller sellers such as BisonOffice, Interior Homescapes, Coleman Furniture and France and Son. Third-party testing of the service described price gaps between identical items at different retailers, for example a leather sofa listed at $4,599 by one retailer and at $1,914.30 and $2,105 at two others.

Founding story

Public company copy identifies two founders: Dane, described as a two-time technical Y Combinator founder who previously sold Parklet to Greenhouse and served as its VP of Platform for about four and a half years, and Geoff, a Stanford MBA graduate who previously sold Cabrio Taxi.

Business model

Spoken does not sell products directly. It surfaces competing listings and prices for the same item and directs shoppers to the retailer of their choice; most outbound links are affiliate links, earning Spoken a referral commission on resulting purchases.

Affiliate commissions on referred purchases from the retailers listed in its product database.