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Kiwi Crate raises $2 Million for Projects that Stimulate the Creativity of Kids
October 12th, 2011 1 comment
Kiwi Crate, the start-up company which provides hands-on crafts and activities for pre-school and kindergarten age children, has recently announced the end of a first funding round which has brought the company the amount of $2 million. This funding round has been led by First Round Capital, with the participation of Mayfield Fund, Comcast Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Consigliere Brand Capital, UJ Ventures and 500 Startups. Some individual angel investors participated to this funding round as well, among which we can name Raymond Tonsing and Seth Goldstein, the co-founder of Turntable.fm.
This service is going to be useful for those parents who are too busy to conceive a craft, to go buy the materials and to prepare the instructions for the children. The company is going to deliver the products directly to parents, and the main purpose of these crafts is that of developing children’s creativity and curiosity. The company uses a panel of experts in education for the development of these products. The products address especially kinds aged three to six whose parents want them to be involved in hands-on activities rather than to watch TV or play games.
The idea behind this start-up company belongs to Sandra Oh Lin and other entrepreneurs and financiers from the PayPal mafia, YouTube and BabyCenter. Oh Lin stated the following: “The idea came from the fact that I am a mom with kids who are 2.5 and 4.5. I always had a deep appreciation for hands-on projects but came up short on ideas and getting materials.” The name of the company has been chosen by Oh Lin, after a trip to New Zealand, the land of the kiwi fruit. Up to this moment, the feedback received by the founders of the company is really good and this is what has encouraged them to develop this new type of products and to seek funds for the company.
Dave McClure, one of the investors from 500 Startups, stated the following: “The team is awesome. I’ve worked with them previously at PayPal and they are fantastic. Also, the category has huge potential and is under-invested. I also have kids, four and six, and my partner Christine (Tsai) just had a baby. We are the target market.”
The craft industry generates sales of about $29.2 billion a year in the US according to the Craft & Hobby association, from which about 20 or 25 percent is estimated to be materials and projects destined specifically to kids.
Josh Kopelman, the managing director of First Round Capital, who has joined the company’s board of directors after this funding round, stated the following: “As an investor, I was attracted to the fact that Kiwi Crate is solving a real pain point for millions of busy but well-intentioned parents. As a father myself, I immediately ‘got it’ when I first saw the concept. On top of that, we love the subscription-based business model and the possibilities for bridging the online/offline gap.”
The company intends to create surprise projects each month in order to surprise both the children and the parents and to make sure thus wise that they will maintain a fast rhythm of growth.
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