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Brit + Co, the digital media startup founded by Brit Morin, has announced a new $15 million funding round, led by Verizon Ventures.
The announcement also includes Jeff Jones, former Uber president and Chief Marketing Officer at Target, coming on at the company as an advisor.
Brit + Co
Brit + Co is based out of San Francisco, though some of the 100+ employees work out of a satellite office in New York, or remotely from around the country. Brit Morin said that the online startup is designed to be “the magazine version of Pinterest.” If that sounds like your nightmare coming to life and engulfing you with unattainable standards of beauty and DIY-ness, Brit + Co probably isn’t for you.
But for those of us eager to learn new creative skills, and support those that are living their passions, the magazine is an ideal hub for all things DIY.
Brit + Co’s digital content targets women, and the idea is to work towards “enabling these women to live more creatively across every category of their lives,” said Morin.
And if you’re picturing handmade jewelry and antiqued furniture, you’re thinking small (even though those things are super cool!).
The brand offers paid video tutorials, which cost between $20 and $50 for each online class, that cover everything from “calligraphy, coding, and how to start a business,” says Morin.
Dreamers and doers
This refreshingly broad definition of DIY, and of that elusive “creativity,” is part of what sets the startup apart from other DIY hubs. Creatives aren’t just visual artists and artisans – they’re people who use their brains to create awesome things, whether it’s an efficient script in Python or a whole new business.
Entrepreneurs are large-scale DIYers, and it’s about time for that definition to expand.
Brit + Co plans to use the new funding to add more video tutorials, and to build out the branded merchandise part of the business: a partnership with Target allows the startup to sell DIY kits online and in Target stores. Kits include “Learn to Embroider” and a DIY “Wood Burned Cutting Board” – we’re still waiting for that “Build a Business” kit.
Almost there
Morin says the Target merchandise has brought the startup tantalizingly close to profitability, a milestone she anticipates they’ll hit in a year or two. With 125 million monthly unique visitors, they’re certainly on track for success.
