The Guild gets $7 million in private equity funding
The Guild Inc has received $7 million in private equity funding from two venture capital firms, with the goal of achieving profitability within the next two years in part by boosting its presence on the Internet. Guild.com, launched in 1998, is the Internet arm of the now 21-year-old directory publication businesses started by Toni Sikes to showcase artist’s work for interior designers and architects.
Participating in the funding round are San Francisco Equity Partners, which focuses on expansion-stage companies in the consumer, IT, media and service industries; and Dolphin Equity partners, which invests in emerging marketing, media services, communications and technology companies. Scott Porter and Cameron Steele of San Francisco Equity Partners have been named chairman of the board and director, respectively at Guild. Salvatore Tirabassi of Dolphin also has been named a director. Sikes will continue as CEO.
“We are very please to receive both the financial and strategic resources of our new partners, which will enable the Artful Home brand to realize its full potential,” Sikes says. The Artful Home is the direct-to-consumer retail catalog The Guild launched in 2004. .
Potter, founder and managing partner of San Francisco Equity Partners, says the company “is attracted to a model that effectively integrates traditional publishing with online content or commerce with brands that play off of the emotive nature of the home. Potter adds he believes The Guild is poised for continued strong growth in the home furnishings market, now estimated at $94 billion.
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