Online Custom Framing Startup Framebridge Raises $7.7 Million in Series A Funding
New Enterprise Associates & Revolution Ventures Lead Round to Accelerate Innovation and Expand Production Capacity
WASHINGTON, June 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Framebridge (framebridge.com), the online & mobile custom framing startup that makes it easy and accessible to custom frame the things you love, today announced the close of a $7.7 million Series A funding round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Revolution Ventures. The company has raised over $11 million to date. Timothy O'Shaughnessy, President of Graham Holdings and former CEO & co-founder of LivingSocial, also participated in the round.
Framebridge launched in August 2014 as a solution to founder Susan Tynan's ongoing frustration over getting her travel art custom framed. The company has reinvented the framing experience, leveraging ecommerce, logistics and in-house production to make high-quality framing easy, seamless and affordable. Customers order online in a few clicks, selecting from a curated selection of stylish frame choices. Pricing is clear and based on art size, ranging from $39 to $159 (all legs of shipping are free). Customers upload their art or mail it in using Framebridge prepaid packaging. The art is custom framed with precision and care by expert framers at Framebridge's production facility in Maryland, then shipped directly to customers, ready to hang. The Framebridge design team reviews every order, provides free design consultations and is available to support customers throughout the process.
"We've been blown away by the incredibly personal memories and items that customers have entrusted us to frame: a vintage family photo, a child's art class masterpiece, an early logo doodled on a napkin or a scenic Instagram," said Susan Tynan, founder & CEO of Framebridge. "We've made custom framing accessible and fun by focusing on a terrific customer experience - both digitally and through our physical product. Today's investment allows us to continue to innovate our digital experience and expand our production capabilities so that framing with Framebridge is even easier."
The new investment will advance product development, production expansion and customer acquisition efforts. Framebridge will invest in its core technology platform to better understand customer trends and introduce market-ready products, while further expanding customization options. Framebridge will continue to build out its business and engineering teams, expanding its presence in the Washington DC technology sector. Framebridge is also tripling the size of its production facilities in Lanham, MD and will soon open a new production facility to best serve west coast customers.
"Framebridge is transforming an industry that has been without innovation for hundreds of years and is characterized by a lack of transparency and confusing, expensive upsells," said Tige Savage, Managing Partner at Revolution Ventures. "It's remarkable to see what Framebridge has accomplished in less than a year and how they've reengineered the custom framing experience at every step to make it more consumer-friendly, welcoming, and transparent, while also offering prices significantly lower than the incumbents."
Framebridge has already custom framed tens of thousands of customer items. The company is growing the market for custom framing by attracting a new generation of customers that want a quick, responsive experience, affordable pricing and an easy path to framing photos and Instagrams directly from their phones. One-third of customers have never custom framed anything before using Framebridge.
"Consumers have found the traditional custom framing experience to be burdensome and off-putting, but Framebridge is revolutionizing the industry by making it fun, seamless and easy," said Dayna Grayson, Partner at NEA. "They're creating a brand that customers love, and empowering consumers to view custom framing as an accessible option for their art and photographs."
Framebridge has 30 employees and is headquartered in Washington DC.
About Framebridge
Framebridge is the easy and affordable way to custom frame your art and photos. Place your order at framebridge.com or with the Framebridge iPhone app by selecting from a curated collection of stylish frames, then mail us your art (we'll send free packaging) or upload a photo for us to print and frame. Your framed art arrives at your door beautifully framed and ready to hang. Framebridge offers clear pricing significantly cheaper than traditional frame stores and shipping is free.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150617/223918
SOURCE Framebridge, Inc.
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