DesignCrowd has revealed today that it secured $10 million AUD (approximately $7.6 million USD) in funding prior to a potential IPO. These funds will be allocated to expanding its team and enhancing its product offerings, with a focus on boosting the expansion of BrandCrowd, its self-service design platform.

This latest investment arrives as DesignCrowd prepares for a possible initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange. Investors in this funding round include Perennial Value Management, Alium Capital, Ellerston Capital, Regal Funds Management and CVC, in addition to existing investors Starfish Ventures and AirTree Ventures. To date, DesignCrowd has raised over $22 million AUD in total funding.

Established in 2007 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, DesignCrowd initially gained prominence as a design crowdsourcing platform, connecting users with designers globally. BrandCrowd was subsequently introduced to complement DesignCrowd’s existing marketplace model, broadening its reach and setting it apart from competitors such as 99designs and Fiverr.

Despite the presence of other DIY logo creation tools geared towards entrepreneurs and small businesses, including options from Design Hill, Canva and Tailor Brands, BrandCrowd benefits from its established network of over 800,000 designers through DesignCrowd, enabling the company to curate a high-quality logo library, according to co-founder and CEO Alec Lynch. BrandCrowd acquires designs directly before publication, ensuring logo exclusivity on the platform (with an option for users to pay a fee for logo removal).

BrandCrowd offers customers a single payment option for logo downloads, alongside monthly or yearly subscription plans. Many customers utilize both platforms, Lynch explained.

“For instance, a small company might begin by commissioning a custom logo design from a designer on DesignCrowd, and then leverage that logo within our BrandCrowd DIY tools to create additional materials, such as business cards, Instagram graphics, and email signatures,” Lynch stated. “They can also refine their logo on BrandCrowd using our integrated logo editor.”

DesignCrowd reported a 54% increase in net revenues in 2020 compared to the previous year, largely driven by BrandCrowd’s performance. The company states that BrandCrowd has attracted over five million users in the last year, with over half of its revenue originating from the United States.

The company encountered some challenges in March and April of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lynch noted, but experienced a subsequent recovery in global demand for online design services.

“We believe the pandemic spurred an increase in new business creation in the latter half of 2020, leading to greater demand for design services, which benefited our company,” he added. “Furthermore, we anticipate the pandemic has likely accelerated a pre-existing trend of businesses seeking design solutions online rather than through traditional offline channels.”