MyMiniFactory Launches Seedrs Crowdfunding Campaign To Raise £500,000

Back in the beginning of June MyMiniFactory announced that they soon would be turning to equity crowdfunding platform, Seedrs.com, in an attempt to raise capital for the expansion of their rapidly growing 3D model platform. At the time there was very little in terms of details pertaining to this forthcoming offering made available, with the company simply stating that they would be using the funds to acquire new talent, offering more content, developing new tools and services and leveraging their innovative marketing strategies.

Today the crowdfunding campaign has officially kicked off and key details of the offering are now available. Most importantly is the company’s pre-money valuation, which sits at £9,439,890 (approximately $14,491,000). The London-based company who claims to be the world’s largest independently curated social media platform for 3D printable objects, will be offering a 5.03% stake in their business as they seek to raise a total of £500,000 (approximately $767,500) via Seedrs.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for MyMiniFactory and we cannot wait to see this campaign become a success,” stated Sylvain Preumont, Founder and Executive chairman of MyMiniFactory. “The platform has gone from strength to strength over the last two years and this is an amazing new phase in our journey.”

Their valuation may seem like a rather lofty figure, but MyMiniFactory has been expanding rapidly over the last year and a half, growing to a userbase which now sits at approximately 80,000 individuals. When you consider the fact that the site launched just over two years ago, in June of 2013, and nine months ago only had approximately 30,000 users, this is what I would call phenomenal growth.

In fact, as I write this article, their Seedrs campaign has already generated a tremendous amount of buzz, bringing in over 65% of their goal (£323,508). Likely a portion of this investment is coming from the company’s users who are made up of designers, 3D printing enthusiasts and artists alike.

“We have such an engaged and loyal community that we knew that giving them the opportunity to help us realise our vision, as well as offering them a stake in the company, was the perfect way to go,” explained Romain Kidd, CEO of MyMiniFactory.

Large investors as well have already jumped on board, with the French company, OTT Properties, investing a substantial amount of money for a sizable equity stake.

“With Jean Francois Ott we have pioneered investments in real estate operations and built a portfolio of over 2 billion Euro,” explained Nicolas Tommasini, CEO of OTT Properties. “We’ve decided to support MyMiniFactory in their equity crowdfunding campaign not only for their ambitious vision, but also for their team and track record”

While there are multiple other 3D file repositories online, besides Thingiverse, MyMiniFactory is the largest by far. Unlike Thingiverse, however, they shoot for quality over quantity when it comes to 3D printable models, and have become a sort of home for some of the better designers within the space.

Once funded, MyMiniFactory plans to implements a three-pronged growth strategy which seeks to attract the best possible designers, which in turn allows them to offer some of the highest quality, guaranteed 3D printable objects around, thus equating to an expansion of their community. In addition to their plans in these respects, the company has also brought on several talented board members to help direct their future operations. This includes Nicholas Franchet, head of retail and e-commerce for Facebook, along with Colin Nunn, a seasoned finance director and investor.

It appears as if the MyMiniFactory is well on their way to surpassing their funding goals. It will be interesting to watch as they use these funds in a strategic manner over the coming months and years ahead. Have you invested into MyMiniFactory? Let us know in the MyMiniFactory Seedrs forum thread on 3DPB.com