Flower Disrupter BloomNation Announces $5.55 Million Investment

BloomNation set out with the goal three years ago of disrupting the flower delivery business. A $5.55 million series A venture capital round led by Ronny Conway reaffirms this mission. Other series A investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital and Chicago Ventures, who funded a $1.7 million seed round last year.

In an exclusive interview with Benzinga, COO Gregg Weisstein discussed BloomNation's plan to use the capital and future growth.

BloomNation acts as a marketplace connecting local florists with customers across the country. The value add is that local florists can easily post their creations to BloomNation’s platform, while customers can limit their selection to a specific market and can read reviews of florists and specific bouquets.

The company has achieved early traction with approximately 3,000 florists on the platform. Weisstein has described BloomNation as the Etsy for flowers. Revenue growth ranges from 15 percent to 30 percent month over month.

Related Link: BloomNation COO Gregg Weisstein: 'We Are The Etsy Of Flowers'

"When we have firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Spark Capital that have really great networks, leveraging those networks and having resources at our fingertips has been amazing," said Weisstein.

"Now that we have $5.5 million in the bank," Weisstein continued, "we will continue to grow the team, bringing on more engineers and a sales team to help grow our network of florists."

In addition to targeting the 20,000 domestic brick and mortar florists, Weisstein said the company is starting to expand into the event and wedding space.

With just 15 employees right now, the capital raise facilitates the plan to expand beyond 30 employees in the next six to nine months. Shoppers and florists alike can expect a larger network with enhanced technology.