Framebridge, a Lanham, Md.-based startup that aims at cutting the cost of custom framing with technology has closed a $3.75 seed million round led by D.C.-based VC fund Revolution and New Enterprise Associates. The round has a some big local names behind it including personal investment from Revolution's Steve Case and Tim O’Shaughnessy, president of Graham Holdings and former CEO of LivingSocial. The company had raised $1.25 million in August, with a newly disclosed $2.5 million finishing up the round.
Framebridge CEO Susan Tynan knows O’Shaughnessy from her time as an executive at LivingSocial, which also connects her to Steve Case and other connections that serve now to help Framebridge grow. According to Revolution, there's $7 billion a year in custom framing, and as Framebridge tries to reduce the cost of framing by by as much as 70 percent, mostly costing from $79 to $149. It returns the framed pictures in two weeks, there's a real chance for the kind of consumer disruption that venture capitalists are always looking for. The money will go to helping Framebridge expand its staff and space. It only launched in August but has seen enough growth to need to triple its office size to accommodate orders and new staff.
