D.C. flower and gift delivery startup UrbanStems has raised $5 million in new funding from existing investors to keep adding to its roster of cities where it offers same-day delivery.
The Series C extension was led by Leesburg’s SWaN & Legend and Scottsdale, Arizona’s DF Enterprises, with participation from other unnamed existing investors.
The e-commerce company raised $20 million in its initial Series C round that closed in 2021. Now, like many venture-capital-backed firms these days, it opted to extend that round rather than pursue a new one in what has been a challenging fundraising climate.
To date, the 9-year-old UrbanStems has raised $53 million in lifetime funding
The latest funding comes at a somewhat turbulent time for the company, which is on its third CEO in six months. Meenakshi Lala, who had been its chief operating officer, recently took over as CEO, replacing Ana Mollinedo Mims, who was hired in September to replace Seth Goldman, its CEO since 2018. UrbanStems did not say why Mims, a former executive at Mexican building materials firm Cemex, Marriott-owned Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and British communications company Cable & Wireless PLC, is no longer with the company or when Lala replaced her.
Before joining UrbanStems as COO in June 2022, Lala was COO of New York swimwear brand Solid & Striped. Previously, she was COO of Fenton, Missouri, corporate gifting company ID Brands LLC, according to her LinkedIn page.
In a news release, Lala said the fresh funding "comes at a pivotal time as we expand our same-day delivery service to cities across the U.S."
In a follow-up statement to the Washington Business Journal, Lala said UrbanStems is "comfortably capitalized" for the time being. "We…will continue to explore opportunities for further capital raises in 2025 to scale the business to its next growth trajectory," she said.
UrbanStems' same-day delivery service is now available in D.C., Los Angeles, New York City, Jersey City, Atlanta, Chicago and, most recently, Miami, and the company said it plans to continue expanding into new markets throughout 2024.
UrbanStems was founded in D.C. but is now “largely remote-first,” a spokesperson told me. It still maintains a physical headquarters at 1615 L St. NW.
