CustomMade, which operates an online marketplace designed to connect buyers of custom made furniture, cabinetry, and other products with artisans, today announced it has secured an angel round of funding for $1.15 million.
The funding will be used to expand consumer-based marketing, branch out into other custom verticals and hire more staff for website development and sales.
CustomMade essentially provides custom goods makers such as woodworkers, metalworkers and glass makers with tools to find an audience for their services. For manual workers and other providers of custom services, CustomMade doubles as a local directory and an online window to their work and skills. For consumers, CustomMade can help in locating the right custom maker for the job.
CustomMade co-founder and CFO Seth Rosen says the company was initially looking for venture capital, but decided to hold off because of accelerating revenue growth, and took in convertible-debt bridge round instead. Rosen adds that the round was quickly oversubscribed.
The fresh capital comes from three unnamed Boston-based angel investors – one of the company’s seed round backers led the round with a $500,000 USD investment.
Rosen and the other co-founder, Mike Salguero, purchased CustomMade in 2009 and grew the community of 350 woodworkers to over 1,200 paying custom artisans today, we’re told.
CustomMade is an online matchmaker connecting Buyers who want one-of-a-kind Creations with professional and passionate Makers. Originally launched in 1996, it was bought by co-founders Mike Salguero and Seth Rosen in 2009 after Seth became frustrated by low quality and high prices at impersonal retail stores. With funding via Google Ventures and First Round Capital, CustomMade’s community of 350 carpenters has expanded to thousands Makers of all trades within four years. The Cambridge, MA team has grown from two...
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