MarketOrders, an award-winning B2B marketplace for the gold and diamond jewellery industries, announces it has kickstarted its crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube.com. Aiming to raise a minimum of £400k, the start-up has already reached 90% of its target through private investment before even going public. The company plans to use the funding to officially launch its platform, which will use blockchain technology to make the gold and diamond jewellery buying process more transparent.
Founded in 2016 by Sukhi Jutla and Ram Krishnna Rao, MarketOrders is on a mission to transform the way in which independent retail jewellers purchase gold and diamond products from suppliers. Specifically, MarketOrders uses technology to ensure jewellers can get the products they need faster, cheaper and directly from global suppliers, while cutting out the middle man.
As the first fully end-to-end B2B marketplace for the jewellery industry, MarketOrders is setting its sights high on the power of blockchain technology to weed out bad actors and money from the jewellery supply chain. As demand for gold jewellery continues to grow – in 2018, 48% of gold demand was consumed as jewellery – this will be critical to ensuring greater transparency at an industry level.
Sukhi Jutla, co-founder and COO of MarketOrders, said: “We’re thrilled to be crowdfunding for MarketOrders, and this funding will make a huge difference as we look to expand our exceptional team and invest heavily in updating our platform. We are passionate about supporting independent retail jewellers, and we strongly believe this marketplace will put the power back into their hands.”
Having been self-funded to-date, this first round of external funding will help MarketOrders grow its offer exponentially. The firm plans on making a number of strategic tech hires, who will primarily focus on developing the platform, which is currently in beta phase. The funding will also enable the start-up to bring on board a number of international suppliers and invest significantly in marketing.
The crowdfunding page is available here with rewards ranging from discounts on products available through the MarketOrders marketplace, to a limited-edition solid gold 22-carat coin and 22ct jewellery set.
Ram Krishnna Rao, co-founder and CEO of MarketOrders, said: “Having worked on a number of jewellery ventures in the past, I feel confident that we’ve got a strong business model in MarketOrders. There was a clear gap in the market for an online marketplace that provides independents with superior buying benefits, and we’re excited to roll the platform out to more retailers and suppliers in the coming months.”
MarketOrders and its founder Sukhi Jutla have already won a number of awards, most recently being named as one of the Top 20 ‘Industry Visionaries’ by Outlier Ventures.
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