Paintcollar gets bridge funding for designer merchandise play

Paintcollar.com, an online marketplace that connects users with artists for designer merchandise, has secured an undisclosed amount in bridge funding from a bunch of high networth individuals (HNIs) through investment platform Applyifi.

The startup will utilise the money raised to onboard 10,000 artists onto the platform, expand the product range and strengthen its technology backend, Amogh Vaishampayan, co-founder & CEO of Paintcollar, said in a statement.

Founded in September 2014, Mumbai-based Paintcollar Retail Pvt Ltd, the company behind Paintcollar.com, allows designers and artists to upload their artwork on templates to create products such as t-shirts, mugs, phone cases and others. It handles manufacturing and delivery on the artists' behalf. Moreover, the platform allows artists and designers to set their own profit margins.

Paintcollar has enrolled over 1,000 artists in the last one year. The startup has also tied up with a large music label to create merchandise products on behalf of the latter's artists, Vaishampayan added.

"We have a strong focus on technology and are rapidly scaling up to make our platform available to not just artists, but also musicians, brands and design studios," Vaishampayan added.

Paintcollar was co-founded by Vaishampayan, Deepak Yadav, Akash Arun and Shantanu Mahajan. All the founders are engineers who passed out in 2013.

"We are in the process of raising Rs 1-2 crore ($152,000 to $304,000) more in the next couple of months," Vaishampayan added.

Paintcollar would compete with startups such as Postergully, Cupick, Zazzle, Printful and other web-based properties for a slice of the online market for customised merchandise.

Applyifi is a private platform for startups and early-stage companies to create a comprehensive online investor pitch deck. Applyifi reviews startup profiles and provides investors a detailed assessment report along with a 36-point scorecard on high-potential startups.

"Paintcollar is a venture by a competent team that has demonstrated initiative and ability to execute well. The business model is innovative, and scalable. They have strong, practical plans to scale up, and have the aspiration to be a large player," Prajakt Raut, Applyifi co-founder and CEO, said.