A group of prominent Washington-area investors are raising their bet on a new online service that seeks to upend what has traditionally been the preserve of mom-and-pop shops: the custom picture-framing business.
Revolution Ventures, New Enterprise Associates and Swan & Legend Venture Partners are investing $9 million in a Lanham, Md.-based start-up called Framebridge. The infusion brings the 2-year-old start-up’s total haul from investors so far to just above $20 million.
Framebridge allows people to place orders for custom frames through its website, or through the company’s mobile app. The finished work can be previewed to see what it would look like, and customers can then mail or electronically send the company what they want framed.
While the experience might lack the personal touch of a face-to-face consult with a traditional framer, Framebridge compensates with convenience and price, which can range from $39 to $159, typically far less than a brick-and-mortar shop. Shipping is free.
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In just two years, the company has sent shipments to tens of thousands of customers across 48 states, said chief executive Susan Tynan, who declined to provide a more precise number or discuss the company’s revenue or profits.
The company handles a lot more than just old art and family photos. A recently married couple used the service to frame a cocktail napkin with a phone number on it in remembrance of how the pair met. A man sent his brother a framed picture of a fish he caught after breaking his fishing record. Someone used Framebridge to break up with a significant other by sending them a framed copy of a “really mean” poem, Tynan said.
Tynan said the company’s latest fundraising efforts have been helped by the fact that 40 percent of Framebridge’s customers have bought more than once.
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But to compete with the other e-commerce giants of the world, Tynan says, the company will have to get its delivery time below 48 hours. Right now, most of the company’s deliveries take closer to 72 hours.
Share this articleShare“People aren’t comparing us to a frame store; they’re comparing us to other Internet companies,” she said.
The company plans to use the latest investment to beef up its sales and marketing efforts and continue building out a new 100,000-square-foot production facility in Richmond, Ky., where it hopes to eventually employ 75 people.
Tynan says Kentucky is within two-day shipping reach for about 70 percent of the United States, and she says she wants to open another production facility on the West Coast next year.
Having an entire manufacturing and production arm is rare for a technology start-up.
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“This is a little un-lean in the world of lean start-ups,” said Tynan. “We wanted to control quality and control the whole customer experience.”
Tynan formerly worked at District start-up LivingSocial. After a brief stint at Alexandria, Va.-based start-up Taxi Magic, Tynan started Framebridge in February 2014 and launched publicly six months later.
The latest round of investment includes repeat contributions from Revolution, the fund backed by AOL co-founder Steve Case and others, and the global venture giant New Enterprise Associates. The investment by Leesburg, Va.-based Swan & Legend marks its first. Its managing director is Fredrick D. Schaufeld, a minority owner of D.C.’s Capitals and Wizards, who founded the consumer product insurance company now known as NEW Asurion. He will join Framebridge’s board.
“We were attracted to how Framebridge has reinvigorated the custom framing industry and its demonstrated success at an easy stage,” Schaufeld said in a statement.
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