Made.com, a Web-based designer furniture company that connect buyers directly with manufacturers, has raised £2.5m from several investors.
Backers include:
– Brent Hoberman of mydeco.com,
– PROfounders Capital (whose investors include Michael Birch of Bebo),
– Marc Simoncini through his investment vehicle, Jaïna Capital, and
– John Hunt.
Ning Li co-founded the firm with Julien Callède and Chloe Macintosh.
The London-based company works by showcasing furniture designs on the Web site and asking people to vote for their favourites.
The most popular designs go into production and the people who voted can go on to buy at a discount as a thank you for their part in the selection process.
Orders are then placed direct with a manufacturer for mass production in container quantities.
Once completed, the orders are shipped to the UK and their progress is trackable in real time on the web site.
FinSMEs
22/03/2010