Equity-based crowdfunding platform VentureCrowd has announced it has closed its second deal, raising $50,000 in a larger angel funding round for fashion technology startup Fame and Partners.
Fame and Partners makes dresses for special events on demand using a proprietary algorithm that determines “the hottest trends”. Its customers are able to customise the dress to suit their taste and body shape.
The deal comes just days after the Financial System Inquiry threw its support behind opening up equity-based crowdfunding to retail investors, and the federal government called for submissions to a discussion paper on what such regulation would look like.
VentureCrowd investors contributed $1.2 million to transportation network and mobile payments startup Ingogo’s $9.1 million funding round in September.
Fifteen investors participated in the Fame and Partners’ angel round through the equity crowdfunding platform. The Sydney Angels investment group conducted due diligence and provided the majority of the investment for the round, with the crowd using VentureCrowd to invest a further $50,000. The total amount of funding raised was not disclosed.
Fame and Partners founder and chief executive officer Nyree Corby says the startup will use the funding to expand into the US market and invest further into their technology-enabled supply chain.
“We are a team that loves fashion and technology,” she says.
“The mish mash of the two means that millions of girls are inspiring other girls, every day, with style inspiration; we love that this sharing is shaping a culture of girls that want an individual look. This also happens to provide us with an incredibly rich data source to understand what they want.
“As a team that admires innovation, it was only a natural fit for us to work with VentureCrowd as a funding source. We were thrilled on that basis to offer access to this deal to a wider range of people than a traditional funding route may have.”
Follow StartupSmart on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
