| BloomNation | |
| Company Type: | Private |
| Services: | Marketplace for Local Florists |
| Foundation: | Santa Monica, California |
| Location City: | Santa Monica |
| Location Country: | United States |
| Num Employees: | 45 |
| Founder: | Farbod Shoraka, Gregg Weisstein and David Daneshgar |
BloomNation is an American online floral marketplace with about 3,500 florists delivering to nearly 5,000 cities across the country. As an “Etsy-type” site for flowers, customers connect directly with local florists whose flower arrangements are highlighted in the marketplace.[1] The florists upload their own real photos of their floral design as no stock catalog images are allowed.[2] In the marketplace, customers can browse flower arrangements and reviews from participating florists all in one place.[3]
BloomNation is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and was founded by David Daneshgar, Farbod Shoraka and Gregg Weisstein in 2011.[4] The original concept of a marketplace for florists was developed by Farbod after hearing the struggles of his aunt, who is a local florist.[5] The business plan was developed at the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business where Daneshgar, Shoraka, and Weisstein won the university's New Venture Challenge.[6] Initial seed funding was obtained when Daneshgar, a former World Series of Poker champion, won a two-day poker tournament in Los Angeles. This gave the company enough funding to create a beta version of the marketplace and establish proof of concept.[7]
BloomNation was the first national floral website to accept bitcoin.[8] They offer customers a "BloomSnap", a feature where the florist sends the customer a photo of the completed arrangement before it goes out for delivery.[9]
BloomNation raised $1.65 million in seed funding. The round was led by Chris Dixon at Andreessen Horowitz and included participation from Spark Capital, Chicago Ventures and CrunchFund.[10]
In October 2014, BloomNation raised an additional $5.55 million series A round from Ronny Conway, Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, Chicago Ventures and Crunchfund.[11] The additional resources will help the company expand its curated network of florists, introduce a wedding/event service and launch a mobile app.[12]