Fab.com, one of the fastest growing e-commerce companies out there, announced a $40 million round of Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz.  It doesn’t come as much of a surprise–Fab.com has taken off with a successful launch and rapid growth, revitalizing the flash sales industry and building out some great vertical markets.

“Today, we’re thrilled to announce that just 9 months later, and nearly 6 months after we re-launched Fab.com on June 9, 2011 as a design-lovers paradise, Fab.com has raised $40 million from Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Ventures, First Round Capital, Baroda Ventures, SoftTech VC, and Ashton Kutcher – Guy Oseary and A-Grade Investments,” Fab.com founder and CEO Jason Goldberg wrote in his blog.

Nine months ago, Fab.com was just like any other social networking site, so the team decided to scrap everything and start from scratch.  And just six months after their re-launch, Fab gets a whopping $40 million in funding.  Fab.com currently has over 1.2 million subscribers with 300,000 new users signing up every month for the last two months.  There are also 200,000 users using their mobile app and over 500,000 products have already been ordered from the company.

Goldberg attributes their success to three main concepts:

1. A laser-like focus on design. – Fab.com is all about design, good design and it shows on the design aesthetics of their website, mobile apps, and of course the features products for sale.
2. Social commerce. – Social network and of course social sharing play a big role in their success. The word-of-mouth distribution of gossip can be likened to hitting the Share, Like, or Retweet button on social networking sites.
3. Innovation. – The Fab.com team build their own technology in their effort to be the world’s pioneer in integrating social and commerce features to enhance the product discovery process.

Fab.com also recently added two C-level executives, Beth Ferreira as COO, and David Lapter as CFO to take the company in a whole new level.

Just days ago, MarkaVIP, the leading private sales club and fastest growing e-commerce operation in the Middle East, also announced the completion of a $5 million Series A funding led by Silicon Valley venture firm Lumia Capital, with significant participation from New York City-based Invus Financial Advisors.  The funding will be used to expand current operations and marketing activities, and to support regional expansion for its private sales club throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council.

“We actively pursued this funding to support the operational expansion needed to keep pace with the explosive growth of our customer base, and to fund sales and marketing to drive accelerated growth in new markets across the GCC,” said Ahmed Alkhatib, founder and CEO, MarkaVIP. “We are pleased to partner with such committed and experienced investors, and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Lumia Capital and IFA.”