US-based on-demand florist UrbanStems has secured $12m in a series B round co-led by Motley Fool Ventures, the fund run by financial advisor and media company The Motley Fool, TechCrunch has reported.
Venture capital firm Swan & Legend Venture Partners co-led the round, which also featured Middleland Capital, NextGen Venture Partners and Sagamore Ventures, the VC arm of diversified holding company Plank Industries.
Founded in 2014, UrbanStems runs an online platform where consumers can order flowers and plants for next-day delivery. It uses bicycle couriers to dispatch to its core markets of New York and Washington DC, and relies on third-party shipping for other US locations.
The company’s products range from roughly $35 to $50 in price and are packaged as gifts. It also undertakes promotions with partners such as fashion magazine Vogue.
UrbanStems has already begun putting the series B funding toward geographic expansion and is looking to introduce bicycle delivery in more markets, chief executive Seth Goldman told TechCrunch.
The round increased UrbanStem’s overall equity and debt financing to $27.4m, according to media reports and regulatory filings. It closed a $12.8m series A round featuring NextGen, Middleland, Sagamore, Swan & Legend, Haas Portman, GSW Investments, Grotech Ventures and Interplay Ventures in 2017.
Middleland had led a $1.5m seed round for the company in 2015 that was also backed by Sagamore, NextGen Angels, Great Oaks Venture Capital and undisclosed additional investors. Its early backers also include Valence Ventures.