Tedooo, a Tel Aviv-based social network marketed toward the trade world, has raised $3 million in seed funding led by Stardom Ventures. The platform is designed to help boost and create global trade communities via partnerships between sellers and buyers. Tedooo’s current main focus is the handmade crafts and DIY industry in English-speaking countries.
The company was founded in 2020 after CEO and co-founder Michelle Apelker collected thousands of business cards when visiting several countries to keep track of brands and form partnerships. She decided to create a basic app for herself in order to manage the massive number of brands with which she was creating relationships. The app was designed to allow her to ask the businesses for photos of new items and to purchase directly from them. She partnered with her brother, Tedooo co-founder and CTO Mor Apelker, to build the app using his 10 years of developer experience.
Although the app wasn’t available publicly on the app store, Michelle says people started asking her for access to the app. After receiving feedback on their project, the pair decided to build a company around the platform. Today, Tedooo has more than 100,000 registered users in over 150 countries. The company says it has thousands of new organic users each week and plans to scale growth through marketing.
“We are growing rapidly,” Michelle said in an interview with TechCrunch. “One month ago, we had around 100 people sign up everyday. Now, we have around 300 to 500 new registers everyday. Things are changing super fast and we believe this organic traction shows that Tedooo is a promising platform.”
When browsing Tedooo, you can search and follow crafters that you’re interested in. You can also see their catalog, prices and new items and can then message them directly to purchase an item. Some Tedooo sellers also link their website and Etsy to their Tedooo profile, so buyers can purchase items directly. For sellers, there’s a dedicated place to manage orders and offers from buyers. Michelle says that for the time being, users can’t complete the payment process on Tedooo, but that the company plans to create a system that allows in-app payments.
In addition, one of Tedooo’s main features is its “Groups” function that allows users to chat with others who share their interests. These groups can be used to discuss common interests and to also share tips about doing business in that specific industry.
Some may compare the platform to Etsy, but Michelle says Tedooo is a social network, not an e-commerce platform. However, she says that the two companies share a mutual audience and industry, which is largely the crafts and DIY market. Michelle also noted that Etsy has a different business model than Tedooo. Tedooo doesn’t take fees from transactions and instead operates on a freemium model.
The free version of the platform gives users access to several features, including feed posts, chat, search, store listings, product catalogs, offers, reviews and more. Tedooo offers a subscription offering that costs $24.99 per month and comes with access to advanced features. As a subscriber, you can see who viewed your profile and have the option to contact them about your products. Premium users are also automatically promoted in search results. In addition, subscribers can link their e-commerce platforms, such as Etsy and eBay, to their Tedooo profiles.
The company’s oversubscribed $3 million seed funding round included $2 million from Stardom Ventures and $1 million from angel investors. Tedooo co-founder and president Tal Shoham said the round closed in 24 hours and that the company is receiving more funding offers.
“In terms of what we’re going to do with the funding, we’re going to focus on developing the best product,” Shoham said. “We’re also going to invest in the team itself, HR and marketing and branding. But, the majority of the funds are going to be invested within the product and building on the features and technology behind it. Around 70% will go towards the product, while around 30% will go towards marketing.”
Regarding the future, Michelle and Shoham say Tedooo is going to look for ways to improve the platform to better connect people to do business and share tips with others. The company is focused on developing additional features that are designed to easily connect people from around the world in different communities. Tedooo also believes that it can dramatically improve the features and functionally that it has already built. While the company is currently focused on the DIY and craft industry, Tedooo plans to expand into additional categories in the future.
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