FLOWER POWER: Three major figures behind Net-a-porter have put their financial muscle behind a London-based start-up flower delivery business that has just raised an initial $1.25 million round of seed funding.
Natalie Massenet, Mark Sebba and Carmen Busquets are among the investors in Flowerbx, a wholesale and retail flower-delivery Web site with a business model that’s aimed at cutting out the middleman in the delivery process.
The service works closely with the flower auctions in Holland, with the aim of passing savings onto the customer and changing the way traditional business is done in the $50 billion global flower market.
The company said Tuesday the new investment has already been allocated to improve Web site technology and user experience, to enhance distribution and logistics capabilities, and to execute strategic hires.
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Flowerbx was cofounded a year ago by Adam Wilkie and Whitney Bromberg Hawkings, who met while they were working in public relations at Tom Ford. According to the company, clients include brands and individuals in the fashion and hotel industries and celebrities.
According to papers filed last month at Companies House, the official register of U.K. businesses, investors include Net’s founder and former executive chairman Massenet; Busquets, who was one of the original investors behind Net, as well as a slew of other luxury, tech and fashion startups, and Sebba, the luxury fashion Web site’s former chief executive officer.
Pat Finn, managing partner of Finn Capital Partners, a U.S.-based venture capital firm that invests in high-growth consumer products categories, is also listed as an investor. Others include the London-based lawyer to the fashion set, Hugh Devlin, and British Vogue contributor and well-being entrepreneur Calgary Avansino.
“It has a lean business model, and, as a board member, I look forward to helping the brand achieve its enormous growth potential,” said Sebba. Busquets said she’s been a loyal client since day one. “I know I can trust the reliability of the delivery, the freshness of the flowers and the quality of the presentation,” she said.
Flowerbx seems similar to the Venice Beach, Calif.-based Bouqs.com, a venture-capital backed Web site that was founded in 2012 and works directly with flower growers in South America and California to ship bouquets directly to consumers.