Frameri, a Cincinnati, OH-based provider of frames and lenses, raised $750k in seed funding.
The round was led by Cincy Tech, with participation from Tom Crotty and additional undisclosed investors.
The company intends to use the funds to scale inventory and focus on growth initiatives such as hiring and rolling out new styles of glasses.
Founded in 2013 by Konrad Billetz, Frameri provides interchangeable boutique-quality frames and lenses, which allow customers to tailor their eyeglasses and sunglasses to their personal style and needs.
The eyewear is crafted with a hard polymer coating and lenses are specifically developed to allow for hundreds of exchanges. To do this, the company developed The Key, a small patent-pending ring attached to the lens that makes snapping lenses in and out quickly. At launch, shoppers will have the ability to purchase one set of lenses that fit into multiple frames, choosing from three lens families: Aerial, Tidal and Terra. Shoppers can then browse through a collection of three frame styles for each family with varying options for colors, accents and sun tints, creating a total of 540 potential options.
In 2014, the company won $100k from Steve Case through his startup pitch competition, Rise of the Rest, during its midwest startup tour.
FinSMEs
01/08/2014