Fine-Arts Startup Finds Funding

TechFlash reports: 1000Museums Inc., a Bellevue, Washington-based purveyor of fine art, pulled in a cool $300,000 in October.

The company, founded by Kirsten Soderlind, who is also the president, assists organizations that hold or display art—their clients include the Guggenheim Museum, New York Public Library, and Detroit Institute of Arts—in monetizing their collections. That Edouard Manet might be worth hundreds of thousands or more, but why not make money while it hangs on a wall by producing, selling, and distributing museum-quality prints to Manet-heads?

Soderlind and co. realized that museums did not have the staff or knowledge base to effectively accomplish this end, so they stepped in. They set up an “end-to-end solution” for museums to sell their products within the museum store or on their website, while also providing ex-museum distribution through 1000Museums.com.

“Millions of dollars has been left on the table because museums don’t know how to get (prints) to people,” Soderlind said.

The $300,000 was the result of two closings with investors. One occurred on October 6, while the other happened last Thursday, October 29.

While the company was originally looking for $800,000, it recently partnered with Austin-based Global Arts Group, which injected enough equity into 1000Museums to chip $500,000 off their fundraising goal.

Now, Soderlind is busy guiding the company to an international stage. 1000Museum’s will open a production factory in the U.K. and she said it will eventually have one in Australia, Germany, Japan, and Canada.

“We continue to sign major museums worldwide,” she said.

Soderlind said she hopes the company will never have to go through another fundraising round like this again, but if it does it will be for growth capital.

Camden Swita is an editorial intern at the Puget Sound Business Journal.