Graphic design platform DesignBro has successfully raised nearly €400,000. The amount, which was considerably higher than aimed, will be spent on the growth plans of the Irish-Dutch company to become a global leader in design services.
Recent years have shown an undeniable amount of disruption in traditional industries, and the marketing & design industry has been no exception. Despite the current challenging markets, DesignBro received a high vote of confidence from its investors.
The seed round was raised partly via private investors and partly via Dutch angel investor platform Leapfunder. Initially, the company aimed for an amount of €250,000 but raised 55% more: €386,932. “We have been overwhelmed by the amount of interest while raising capital during the coronavirus pandemic”, says DesignBro Founder & CEO, Christiaan Huynen.
Ambition
The new funding is intended for further growth and a first step in becoming a global leader in design services including but not limited to graphic design, logo design, brand identity design, packaging design, and merchandise design. With over 60% of its customers there, DesignBro is especially well-positioned in the United States. It, therefore, intends to take advantage of the ‘gig economy’ growth in the US region.
Huynen explains: “Currently, our customers give us a 98% satisfaction score, but as a company, we are not broadly known. Our goal is to change that. With these financial resources, we intend to grow to such a level that we can get to a US-based Series-A investment next year, which enables us in our goal of becoming a global leader in design services.”
Pieter-Jan Hoogendijk, Co-founder & CTO at DesignBro and known for his work on the PostNL API, adds; “Our platform is technically sound and ready to grow. It will only need tweaks and future feature development, but it has already been built in a scalable way.”
About DesignBro
DesignBro is an online graphic design marketplace that only allows the very best designers to join and work with clients. Of all designers that apply to work on the platform only 5% have been approved. This ensures that customers receive the top-quality design that they are looking for. The carefully selected designers come from all over the world.
The platform makes managing multiple design projects effortless and offers a central hub for the client to work directly with designers while maintaining all their graphic design assets in one safe place. By using technology to do the hard work, customers can manage their projects with a few designers simultaneously in the cloud. All files are neatly stored by DesignBro, to ensure that the client can always find them.
About Christiaan Huynen
Title: Founder & CEO
Over 12 years of experience in branding & packaging design. Founded the Cartils Agency London Office in 2007, and built it into an award-winning agency in the industry. Christiaan has advised some of the world’s largest clients including Pernod Ricard, Brown-Forman, Nestle, and Carlsberg. He has spoken at industry-leading events on marketing such as the global water conference, and the European Packaging Design Association, and has been a resident judge for the Spirits Business Magazine.
About Pieter-Jan Hoogendijk
Title: Co-Founder & CTO
Over 15 years of experience in delivering complex technical software projects. Has worked with multiple multinationals to deliver IT strategy and solutions, bringing structure to chaos while preempting pitfalls years ahead. One of his major achievements was the creation of the very first PostNL API and app. This solution has impacted nearly every person in The Netherlands, in their interaction with third-party suppliers and shops or when using the PostNL tracking app. Pieter-Jan was responsible for the design and delivery of these solutions.
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