Bowr is raising capital via a Crowd SAFE at a valuation cap of $5 million with a 10% discount. Despite the company only launching its product in 2020, it has gained around $500,000 in revenue year-to-date. Thus, this funding round has a 10x revenue-to-valuation multiple, which is average for the company type and very attractive for investors. This valuation is also fair because Bowr is a software company that already has manufacturers in multiple countries. Additionally, a $5 million valuation is very reasonable when compared to other early stage startups raising capital online. Overall, Bowr has priced itself very attractively for this funding round.

Bowr targets the global household furnishing industry. That market is worth $362.9 billion in 2021 and is rapidly growing at an annual rate of 9.7%. The furniture industry has countless existing players in it, so Bowr’s obtainable market will be only a fraction of this size. However, that obtainable market will still be sizable. Bowr’s business-to-business clients are spread across 19 countries, and its manufacturers are in 10 countries. This global footprint boosts the likelihood of Bowr grabbing a healthy market share. 

Bowr has huge market potential in the future, as it is a furniture e-commerce company. While e-commerce was a small percentage of the global home furnishing industry recently, it is expected to begin growing. Some reasons for this growth are more demand in the housing market, better shipping infrastructure, and larger homes and apartments. Moreover, Bowr is riding some trends of enabling customization and direct contact with designers and manufacturers.

Bowr is targeting a large, crowded market. However, the company will likely benefit from new consumer trends and a gradual shift towards online furniture sales. Bowr’s global footprint should help it in securing a market niche.

Bowr was founded by CEO Parikshit Guhabiswas and COO Kc Princess Guesdan.  Guhabiswas has a bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, and related support services from the University of Teesside and a master’s degree in business administration from Webster University. Prior to founding Bowr, he had some experience in the financial industry and also co-founded Pymlo Accounting, an accounting platform targeting businesses in Southeast Asia. While these positions might help in managing his current company, he lacks experience as well as a network in the furniture industry. 

Guesdan received diplomas in hospitality management from the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute and Stamford College. She has had a varied professional career, working in sales, project management, marketing, and as a voice-over artist. Her LinkedIn profile lists two years spent as a furniture consultant, but it’s unclear what that position entailed. Although her time in sales and marketing will help in increasing the company’s sales, Guesdan does not have strong expertise in the furniture industry.

Bowr only has one other team member, Community & Partnership Lead Nongluk Thongthaipha. While it is understandable that a company this early has a lean team, Bowr needs to scale its team in order to quickly grow. Scaling is especially crucial when the company’s main product is software and the team does not have a programmer or software engineer. Moreover, Bowr will benefit from additional employees as it looks to increase the number of designers and manufacturers it works with. 

The Bowr team is unproven and does not seem to have expertise in digital marketplaces or in the furniture industry. As such, it’s not clear that this team can lead the company to success.

The furniture Bowr lists on its platform is fully customizable. Customers can adjust the furniture to their needs in ways ranging from appearance to size. Most other furniture providers give consumers no ability to change a product’s specifications, and customized furniture is often extremely expensive. Bowr is providing an alternative to one-size-fits-all furniture purchases. The company also focuses on sustainability in its end-to-end supply chain system. Within its system, it is able to track raw materials from the source, the craftsman who makes the furniture, and the person in charge of delivery. 

Bowr also provides worldwide shipping. It currently has manufacturers in 10 different countries, including China, Germany, and Italy. These manufacturers’ locations serve as multiple shipping points. When a customer orders, the nearest manufacturer will fulfill the order. This supply chain system should enable the company to extend its global market adoption more smoothly. 

While these features are notable, the highly competitive furniture market makes it difficult for Bowr to stand out. There are established companies that also incorporate direct-to-customer business models in an effort to cut out middlemen and decrease furniture costs. In this case, the price of the furniture as well as the company’s branding is crucial. All of Bowr’s products are made with high-quality and sustainable raw materials and are relatively expensive. Bowr’s founders expect the price will get more competitive once the company has successfully optimized its supply chain process. The company’s branding also needs to be strengthened. Hence, Bowr still has a long way to go to prove its sustainable key advantage over competitors.

Bowr has done tremendously well considering the short period of time the company has been in business. The company only launched its platform a year ago. Since then, Bowr has gained $489,000 in revenue and projects a combined revenue of $1 million from Bowr Co. and byBowr at the end of 2021. Bowr Co. has 1,345 annual subscribers with an average order value of $3,600. ByBowr has 280 business-to-business clients that are spread across 19 countries. The company has successfully secured 61 specialized independent manufacturers and suppliers across 10 different countries with more than 500 stock-keeping units as of July 2021. 

Bowr’s supply chain system requires the customer to pay shipping costs from the nearest manufacturer to their location. In effort to keep these costs to a minimum, Bowr has partnered with shipping companies and last-mile delivery companies. These partnerships allow the company to deliver the furniture for a fraction of the cost that a traditional agent would charge. Additionally, the company has served giant brands such as AirAsia, Airbnb, Google, and Kempinski Hotels. It is even more impressive that Bowr has achieved all this traction without receiving any exterior funding. Overall, Bowr looks to be on the path to growing revenue and operations.

Overall, Bowr is a low-risk investment opportunity. The founders have limited experience in the furniture industry, creating some team risk. Additionally, the team is still very small and young. It needs to scale to expand Bowr’s reach to a wider customer base and onboard more independent manufacturers and designers. On top of this, since the company mainly focuses on its business-to-business model, it might have longer customer adoption time. The company also charges annual membership fees for single buyers, and this might be a double-edged sword. The membership fees increase the customer retention rate. At the same time, this fee can also hinder customers from buying in the first place if they are not ready to commit for one year or if they only want to buy one piece of furniture from the platform.

On top of the founders lacking industry experience, Bowr’s team is also small and young. Having a more developed team is crucial for the company to rapidly grow its products and services. Bowr competes with numerous competitors in the market, and the company does not have a sustainable key advantage nor it is defensible. Although the current business model and supply chain system have their advantages, there are some concerns worth noting. Bowr’s current supply chain system matches the customer location to the nearest manufacturer. However, since the company is still in an early stage, its manufacturer locations are pretty limited. While the shipping fee is currently unspecified, the fee might exceed the price of the product itself. Additionally, the company’s business-to-customer model charges a $100 annual membership fee even for one-time buyers. This business model might not make sense for customers who only want to buy a single product and are not a recurring customer. Even though the company plans to add more home decoration products that are bought more frequently, there might still be little incentive for single-purchase customers to pay this annual membership fee. It’s unclear if Bowr’s business model will be a good fit for e-commerce furniture transactions.

Bowr utilizes a creative business model that could increase customer retention. It enables the company to smoothly onboard manufacturers and designers, as it does not take a percentage or charge anything from the sale of the furniture. The furniture sales fully go to the designer or manufacturer, and Bowr gains its revenue from membership fees and subscription fees. 

Bowr has shown tremendous traction for a company that only launched its product one year ago. The company also has expanded its global footprint to multiple countries, which gives Bowr a head start compared to its competitors. Bowr has manufacturers spread across 10 countries, and it has business-to-business clients across 19 countries. Bowr achieved all of this without external funding, which indicates impressive capital efficiency. This efficiency should greatly help the company as it expands to its new products, Bowr Upcycle and Bowr Trade-In. Both of these products have huge potential as they stand out among current market offerings. Moreover, the company seems to be confident that its furniture prices will decrease once its supply chain system is fully optimized. Price reduction will be crucial to attracting more customers. 

Bowr is an online furniture platform connecting customers directly with specialized independent manufacturers and designers across the globe. The company offers both a business-to-business model and a business-to-consumer model. It also plans to expand into furniture exchange services in the near future.

Bowr is embracing a unique model with annual membership fees. This structure could help to increase customer retention and loyalty. Bowr has already established a global footprint and expects furniture prices to decrease as it continues to optimize its supply chain. In just a year and with no external funding, the company has seen revenue approach $1 million. Based on that growth, the company’s $5 million valuation is quite favorable for investors.

However, Bowr’s team is still small, young, and unproven, so the company might not be able to scale quickly. Bowr’s products and services do not currently have sustainable key advantages over the countless competitors in the industry. The company’s business model and supply chain system might repel single-purchase customers who don’t want to pay the annual membership fee. If Bowr is unable to expand the number and locations of the manufacturers it works with, the shipping cost for pieces might exceed the cost of the furniture itself. Considering all these factors, Bowr is a Neutral Deal. 

For questions regarding the KingsCrowd staff pick or ratings for this company, please reach out to support@kingscrowd.com.

Analysis written by Inez Sanjaya, October 6, 2021.