Exclusive – Houzz, the impossibly named online home for home design enthusiasts (because they need their own special place on the Web, too), has raised a $2 million Series A round of funding from a number of notable investors. In conjunction with the financing announcement, the company has just pushed a completely new version of its iPad app onto the virtual App Store shelves (you can get it here, free of charge).
All kidding aside, Houzz appears to be a decent idea that’s been executed well.
In essence, Houzz is a photo database and community site specifically targeting home design fanatics, whether they’re enthusiastic about it from a professional or personal perspective.
Already, Houzz claims to serve the largest collection of interior and exterior design photos currently available on the Web, with more than 60,000 high-quality photos contributed by more than 10,000 design professionals.
It’s the Flickr tailored to the home design freaks, if you will.
Users can collect their favorite photos and sort them by location, room type and style and also upload photos of their own homes and gardens. In addition, registered users can use Houzz to locate design professionals in their areas and exchange information and tips on home design with other members.
A big part of the site’s appeal – if you fall within the company’s target audience, of course – are the ideabooks, which are (quite accurately) described by Houzz as the online version of cutting pages out of design magazines and stuffing them in a folder, only much easier to search, save, and share. The startup says more than 130,000 ideabooks have been created by users to date, and that new ideabooks are added every minute.
Houzz, which was founded by an entrepreneurial husband-and-wife team (Alon Cohen and Adi Tatarko), has also just secured $2 million early-stage financing from a slew of notable backers.
The angel investor roster includes people like Oren Zeev, who has invested in companies like Audible and Chegg; Donald Katz, founder & CEO of Audible.com; Gary Ginsberg, Executive VP of Time Warner Inc.; Jeff Fluhr, co-founder of StubHub.com (and CEO until its sale to eBay) and Amos Wilnai, founder of MMC Networks.
Houzz (www.houzz.com) is the leading online platform for home remodeling, providing inspiration, information, advice and support for homeowners and home improvement professionals through its website and mobile applications. Houzz features the largest residential design database in the world, articles written by design experts, product recommendations, a vibrant community powered by social tools, and information on more than 1.2 million remodeling and design professionals worldwide who can help turn ideas into reality.
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