KUALA LUMPUR: Babydash Malaysia's integrated digital baby store has announced that it is set to raise further funds via pitchIN, an equity crowdfunding (ECF) platform in Malaysia to raise a target amount of US$242,000 (RM1 million). Targeting retail investors in a final call now during this pre-live stage, Babydash is setting its sights on building excellent returns for all shareholders with its goals in place.
With its current business strategy, products and target customers already in play, Babydash has outlined aggressive plans aimed to scale up its footprint in Asean and double revenues in the next 12 to 18 months.
In its round 1 funding in 2017, Babydash attracted 131 investors in a fully subscribed campaign raising US$484,000 that has since seen ECF shareholder's shares triple in value.
"Since our first Equity Crowdfunding effort in mid-2017, our revenue has tripled with an average growth rate of 46 per cent year-on-year. Over the last few months, we have been building on our new technology including re-platforming our website's backend and gearing up our data analytics capabilities. Injection of capital from this campaign will enable us to drive Babydash into the next phase, strengthening our lead in Malaysia and growing Singapore as we expand within the region," said Babydash's chief executive officer and founder, Lavinie Thiruchelvam.
This second ECF round being a bridging round is the last opportunity for smaller retail investors to come in and be part of Babydash as the future rounds will be geared towards fully onboarding institutional investors only. With only RM1,200/block of investment, the small retail investors can already be part of the growing company.
Coupled with its customer-first ethos and attention to detail in all aspects of the customer journey, Babydash maintains a continuous, active and visible online and social media presence to grow its 180,000-strong parenting community base. Through direct partnerships with brands and a supply chain ownership that guarantees delivery within 24-48 hours, Babydash has built a healthy monthly customer return rate which has been instrumental in driving revenue for the business, fueling its expansion into Singapore in late 2019.
"We are proud to be trusted by a strong community of mothers and families. The building of a parenting community allows Babydash to have a deep understanding of our customer needs and propels us to go beyond for them. The community has served to drive customer loyalty, turning loyal customers into business investors. Our previous ECF campaign showed us that our investors are also our ambassadors and we are deeply honoured to enjoy this dual privilege," added Lavinie.
Babydash has been awarded several accolades including Best Customer Engagement by Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd via their Coach & Grow Programme (CGP) 2015/2016 Cohort; voted the No.1 online baby store in Malaysia by Tallypress in November 2017; and was also awarded 3rd prize by Digital Malaysia (National Digital Economy Initiative) in the Top 25 SMEs category.