BloomNation.com, the world's largest online marketplace for hand-crafted, locally delivered flowers, today announced it has raised $5.55 million to close its Series A financing led by Andreessen Horowitz, Ronny Conway, Spark Capital, Chicago Ventures and Mucker Capital.
BloomNation is disrupting the $35 billion flower industry by allowing consumers to discover and send unique one-of-a-kind flower arrangements from top local florists across the country. With over 3,000 artisanal florists nationwide, BloomNation is becoming known as the 'Etsy for Flowers,' shaking up the floral industry by eliminating the need to go through traditional broker sites such as 1-800-Flowers, FTD and Teleflora. All arrangements listed on BloomNation are real photos submitted by each top floral designer, allowing consumers to see florists' authentic and creative work. Consumers even receive a 'BloomSnap,' which is a photo of their hand-crafted arrangement before it is sent out the door, ensuring that what you see on the website is what your recipient will get.
The company has seen 15-30% month-over-month growth and will use the new financing round to continue building its curated network of the best florists in the country, introducing a wedding/event service and launching a mobile app. BloomNation's mission is to continue helping these local businesses compete with big e-tailers by providing them with the latest technology and national exposure so they can focus on what they do best, creating artisanal and one-of-a-kind arrangements.
'In the first two months alone, I was able to double my online orders, which is unheard of these days in the flower industry,' says Lance Williams, BloomNation Florist and Owner of Playa del Rey Florist in California. 'BloomNation has given me the technology to take control of my online business and as a result, my profits are literally blooming.'
'We are thrilled about this latest round of funding, as it allows us to continue giving florists the tools to empower themselves to build, analyze and grow their businesses,' says Farbod Shoraka, Co-Founder and CEO of BloomNation. 'By making their businesses more efficient and cost effective through technology, consumers ultimately get the benefit, receiving artistically designed and hand-delivered arrangements for less than something sent in a box.'
'What really makes BloomNation stand out is that it lets me get creative again and show off my unique floral designs all while giving me the exposure to reach customers all over the world,' says Williams. 'As a small business, it's refreshing to see a company that is helping drive local commerce.'
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ABOUT BLOOMNATION.COM
BloomNation.com is an online marketplace that allows consumers to discover and purchase unique, hand-crafted floral designs from the top florists in the country, bringing the personalized experience of walking into a flower shop, online. Consumers can shop over 45,000 one-of-a-kind designs across the country, comparing real photos, prices and reviews all in one search, without any service fees. Consumers also receive 'BloomSnaps,' which are photos of the arrangement before it's delivered, ensuring 'what you see is what you get.'
BloomNation helps these small businesses compete against large e-commerce companies by offering a full suite of business tools such as web-builders, point of sale systems, customer management and email marketing.
BloomNation was founded by Farbod Shoraka, Gregg Weisstein and David Daneshgar and launched out of the MuckerLab accelerator earlier this year. The company previously received $1.65 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, CrunchFund and Chicago Ventures.