Framed by Karl | Fundwise

Quick Pitch

I am Karl Annus, the owner of Framed by Karl – a wooden spectacle manufacturer in Tallinn. I have been making them for the past 6 years and now I want to expand my business globally. I have a dedicated team, infrastructure to grow, a growing market and a strong business plan. All I need is your help. We have already gained 50 000€ export support from Estonian government accelerators. Professional partners have started working with updating our visual branding and building our new webpage and web shop.

To make this project a success story, we need extra funding. We need to cover our own 30% contribution to the support, to develop our production and to train and recruit new people to the team.

Problem & Solution

Everyone who has ever had to shop for glasses knows a simple truth – it’s pain. Either you find the frames you like but they don’t sit comfortably or they fit perfectly but don’t have the looks. And when you happen to have a nose or a head that is not considered “standard”…well, it’s impossible.

I have a working solution that no competitor uses – I make my frames in 6 different sizes, from XS to XXL (link).

And I offer 9 different frames in many different woods.

So you get both the perfect size and also the looks.

Traction & Accomplishments

The glasses have won both local and international awards, most outstanding achievements being honourable mention from Estonian Design Awards 2012 and Emerging Talent Award from London Fashion Showcase 2013 (link).

They have also been mentioned in Estonian (Postimees, EstonianWorld) and non-Estonian publications (Vogue.it, opticalvisionresources.com, Monocle). Among my clients there are many Estonian well known figures and even ministers of the government (link, link). Some of my frames have already even gone out of Estonia.

How We’re Different

Wooden glasses are an upcoming trend with competitors from low quality Chinese mass product to high-end products costing more than 1000€. But Framed by Karl has several unique selling points.

Framed by Karl:

Sustainable manufacturing practice
Made to measure - from XS to XXL - a unique feature not only in wooden glasses but in eyewear sector as a whole
Wide range of frames and woods
Reasonable price range considering the level of personality
Quality proof - produced in EU / CE mark
Beautiful timeless design
Only high quality hardwoods without staining or colouring them

Uses of Funds & Timeline

We have already started executing the project. Budget of the project is 71 428€ and 50 000€ of it is support from Estonian government accelerators. We need to gather at least 20 000€ to cover our own 30% contribution of the project. Activities of the project are:

Researching, updating and registrating our new brand
Creating our new visual identity
Creating photo materials for homepage, lookbook, e-shop, etc.
Producing marketing materials – lookbook, business cards, fliers, etc.
Designing and building our new webpage and e-shop
Visiting and participating in fairs and festivals – Milano Design Week, Estonian Design House exhibition in Stockholm, Helsinki Designers Market, etc.
Services of Polhem PR Stockholm showroom

Additionally we need funding for the activities that are not part of the supported export project. If we manage to gather 40 000 €, then we can build our team.

Training
Salaries

If we manage to gather 80 000 € or more, then we can develop our production, increase our productivity and be able to start our marketing campaigns even bigger.

Development
- Applying for CE-mark
- Implementing quality management system
- Buy CNC (Computer Numerical Control) mill
- Product development
Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Google AdWords
- Make our promo video

Obligations to Investors, Profit Distribution

Framed by Karl is an established company with global ambitions. Our business model is to maintain a steady growth and therefore offer the investors a stable owner’s profit.

Our goal is to reach 135K € revenue (250 frames sold) by 2016 and 1,25M € (2000 frames sold) by 2020. Starting from 2017 we are planning to pay 50% of the profits out as dividends. You can see more details from financial forecast table.

Some extra motivation:

a 20% discount for all the investors (up to two frames a year)
a 35% discount for investments over 1 000€ (up to two frames a year)
a free pair of frames for investments over 5 000€ (one time)
a one-of-a-kind custom-made frames for investments over 10 000€ (one time)

Stop by our studio and let's chat:

April 7th and May 5th from 15:30 till 19:00 at Telliskivi 57, Tallinn.

There's a sign on the door, but in case you get lost, call +372 5620 8789.

Risks and Mitigation

Selling eyewear online is growing year by year but it might not grant the required results. For that reason we have already started looking for retailers. Our goal is to find at least one retailer in each bigger European metropolis.

Opening a webshop might mean temporarily bigger demand that our current workshop can produce. We have already started training new craftsmen’s apprentices and can double our manufacturing capacities. In the long run we are considering a CNC mill meaning a fast, highly productive automative manufacturing.

Company name: Karl Disain OÜ
Company's registration code: 12124457
Company's address: Aia talu, Vääna küla 76903, Estonia
Company's e-mail: karl@karl.ee
Homepage | Facebook

Fundwise's e-mail: info@fundwise.me

Investment amount

19 231 - 99 808 €

Equity offered

3,70 % to 16,64 %

Equity offered per investor

192 € to 19 231 €

Current share capital

2600 €

Company current valuation

500 000 €

Share capital after campaign

2 700 - 3 119 €

Company valuation after campaign

519 231 - 599 808 €

1 € nominal share price

192 €

TEAM

Karl Annus

Founder, designer, product developer, business manager

Karl has all the characteristics of a perfect eyewear maker - handcrafting before he could walk, 20 years of experience as eyewear user and a combined Masters degree in Design & Engineering from Tallinn Technical University and Estonian Art Academy

Maarja Koovit

Sales and marketing

Every workshop needs a spark (even considering we are working with wood). Maarja is just that - a hyperactive creative bomb turning everything into a possibility that just makes you go “wow”. Might be her unorthodox schooling from both legal and art studies, years of experience in sales and passion for outstanding design.

Mart Ahun

Eyewear craftsman

If there is one man who knows wood (and turning it into awesome things) it’s Mart. 25 years of experience means he was already behind the workbench before Lennart Meri (or Bill Clinton on the global level) stepped into office.

Polhem PR

PR partner

Our PR is handled by Northern Europe’s leading PR Company in the fashion, beauty care, home furnishing and food sectors. They have press offices in all our target markets from Sweden to Denmark, from Poland to France.

Hmmm Creative Studio

Creative partner

Our amazing creative partner working on the visuals, lookbook, webstore and so on. This design boutique has been changing the industry for the past 5 years and has an impressive collection of both local and international awards. Oh, they have even done two projects for the President of Estonia.