Bambeco Raises $4.5M from New Atlantic Ventures, Maryland Venture Fund
Baltimore, Maryland (PRWEB) November 04, 2013 -- Bambeco, Inc. today announced it secured $4.5 million in its first institutional round of capital led by New Atlantic Ventures and syndicated with Maryland Venture Fund and a group of environmentally conscious angel investors, including Team In Training founder, Bruce Cleland. In its mission to promote sustainable living, Bambeco curates and sells furniture, gifts and accessories for the home made from recycled, reclaimed, organic and natural materials. The $4.5 million in equity funding will be used to develop Bambeco’s national in-house design capabilities, introduce private label products and advance its sales and marketing operation.
“Bambeco is addressing a large, passionate and loyal set of consumers who traditionally have struggled to find sustainable products for their home - from glassware and gadgets to furniture and decor,” said Thanasis Delistathis, co-founder and managing partner, New Atlantic Ventures. “Americans spend more than $157 billion annually on home furnishings, yet 61 percent report they can’t find eco-friendly options. The Bambeco founders have a deep sense of mission and the right experience with iconic brands to fill a significant hole in the retail ecommerce market.” With this round of funding, Mr. Delistathis will join Bambeco’s board of directors.
Bambeco is changing the world, one room at a time. Since its launch on Earth Day in 2009, Bambeco has curated an inventory of thousands of sustainable and stylish goods, including Adirondack chairs made from recycled detergent bottles and milk jugs, organic bedding, chemical-free natural fiber rugs and recycled glassware. While achieving consecutive triple digit annual revenue growth, it has relentlessly operated through the lens of sustainability, establishing headquarters in a former warehouse that has been converted into a wind-powered, solar-powered, geo-thermal building. Workspaces are anchored by wood from recycled doors and a floor-to-ceiling “living wall” is saturated with plants that includes an embedded irrigation system, designed to reduce carbon compounds. From sourcing wood-based products from responsibly managed forests to promoting product delivery through hybrid electric trucks, Bambeco’s supply chain is the culmination of a proprietary cradle-to-cradle sourcing and delivery model designed to carefully vet every product, factory and supplier. Bambeco’s environmentally responsible global operation led to alliances with The Nature Conservancy, The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, World Wild Life Fund, and Oceana, and other conservation groups.
“Bambeco embodies the kind of innovation that is coming out of the State of Maryland,” said Thomas Dann, managing director, Maryland Venture Fund. “The company quickly built a loyal, growing customer base by vigorously evaluating environmentally sustainable products and remaining selective with suppliers. A large part of our support has to do with Bambeco’s values-based business practices. At the same time, we acknowledge Bambeco is operating in an industry that continues to experience consecutive double digit annual growth.”
Deborah Baldini Joins Bambeco as Chief Creative Officer
Bambeco also announced today the appointment of Deborah Baldini as Chief Creative Officer, who will lead marketing and merchandising. Ms. Baldini brings 25 years of merchandising, supply chain and brand marketing experience to Bambeco. She began her career at Levi Strauss & Co., where she oversaw forecasts, designs, product management, finance and sales for Levi’s Women and Kids apparel. Later, she developed the retail practice for Freeborders, Inc., introducing Product Lifecycle Management software to Michael Kors, Nike, The Gap and Coach. The software was sold to Lawson Software in 2008. Ms. Baldini earned her MBA from the Walter Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
“Look no further than the dramatic weather in your neighborhood to extreme Alaskan glacial recession to experience climate change up close,” said Susan Aplin, co-founder and CEO, Bambeco. “We recognize ecommerce is on an upward trajectory and our mission is to remove unnecessary carbon out of product production, packaging and distribution across the industry. We applaud our investors for supporting ways to empower businesses to operate responsibly and enable consumers to live their sustainability values throughout their home.”
Susan Aplin brings 20 years of retail and ecommerce experience to Bambeco, including executive roles at Williams-Sonoma, Gap, Sports Authority and Staples. At Williams-Sonoma, she reengineered the company’s $1.2B direct–to–consumer division that spanned product sales across Williams-Sonoma, Williams-Sonoma Home, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PB Teen and West Elm. She left Williams-Sonoma to drive the adoption of BillMeLater, an online payment tool used by Wal-Mart, JetBlue and Hotels.com, which accelerates the check out process and was acquired by eBay subsidiary, PayPal in 2008.
About Bambeco
Bambeco is the home furnishings and décor company where the eco-conscious consumer intersects with home décor and lifestyle needs. Imagine a home where your values live throughout, where you don’t have to sacrifice style or quality to live sustainably. At Bambeco, that dream becomes a reality. Bambeco is the leader in stylish, sustainable furnishings and home décor. All of our products are sustainable; made from recycled, reclaimed, repurposed, renewable, organic, or natural materials. Every product is a step toward our goal, changing the world, one room at a time. Launched on Earth Day 2009, bambeco celebrates bamboo, the planet’s most renewable and versatile resource, and ecology, the essential relationship we have with the environment. Bambeco is based in Baltimore, MD and backed by New Atlantic Ventures, Maryland Venture Fund, and a group of environmentally conscious angel investors, including Team in Training founder, Bruce Cleland. For more, or to shop, go to Bambeco.com
About New Atlantic Ventures
New Atlantic Ventures is an early stage VC firm investing nationally in the business of healthcare, cyber security, higher education, mobile, ecommerce and digital media. Collectively its partners have helped entrepreneurs start more than 100 companies including DivX, EnerNOC, Invincea, Massive (acquired by Microsoft), Mobile365 (acquired by Sybase), Moda Operandi, Qliance, Solve Media and Stitcher Radio. The firm manages $275 million from offices in Cambridge, MA and Reston, VA.
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Press Inquiries:
Meghan Roman
Stonerose Advisors for Bambeco
media(at)bambeco(dot)com
Rochelle Karina, Bambeco, http://www.bambeco.com, +1 410-384-4585, [email protected]
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