Printerous raises US$1.4mil in pre-series A funding

• Funding comes primarily from Singapore's Golden Gate Ventures
• Printing market in Indonesia is estimated to be worth US$9.1 billion

INDONESIAN online printing platform Printerous received US$1.4 million pre-series A funding from Singapore based Golden Gate Ventures, with participation from US-based Sovereign’s Capital and Indonesia-based business group Gunung Sewu Kencana.

This is the first time in the more than 60 years that Gunung Sewu Kencana has popped up in the nation’s tech scene. The Gunung Sewu Kencana team is dedicated to helping the Printerous’ co-founders with valuable advice and business synergy

“One of our key advantages has always been our network in Indonesia, with strategic partners, corporates, and investors.

“Not only will we capitalise on this network to help Printerous grow its already robust sales pipeline and increase its bottom line, but we will tap our partners to help continue financing Printerous into self-sustainability,” explains the principal of Golden Gate Ventures Justin Hall in a press release.

Printerous enables companies and individuals to custom print designs on various products, and deliver the orders to customers directly.

The startup now offers custom printing for business purposes such as business cards, calendars, banners and flyers. It also continues offering such as photo prints, photo books, wall decors, gadget cases and pillows to individuals.

Printerous connects Printing Service Providers (PSP) with customers. The startup’s proprietary technology creates an effective way to match the printing needs of small and mid-sized businesses to production capacities at PSPs.

How it started

Co-founders Kevin Osmond (pic above), Christian Soeseno Boenarso, and David Soong created Printerous in 2012 with the mission to make design and printing efficient for personal and business use in Indonesia.

“Printing in Indonesia is always a hassle – from getting yourself to a print shop, to getting a price quotation until getting the job is done.

“We believe through our technology, we can make printing more convenient and accessible for every business,” stated co-founder and chief executive officer Kevin Osmond in a press release.

Kevin is a serial tech entrepreneur who previously ran the digital agency Weekend Inc as chief executive officer. He is also a shareholder at one of Indonesia’s biggest women’s online media portals Fimela.

Prior to running Printerous, Kevin was involved in co-founding travel e-commerce firm Tiket. He made a successful exit with social network startup Bouncity.

Leading the market

pPrinterous’ Previous funding round was led by RMKB Ventures and joined by the members of the Tahir family. Since then, Printerous has started operating with a business to business (B2B) model, aiming to become the go-to printing service for Indonesian companies. The startup has also received angel investments from several high profile backers including network chief executive officer of KapanLagi Steve Christian.

“We started as a MVP (Minimum Viable Product) back in mid-2012. After two years of bootstrapping, I decided to take Printerous to another level and raised funds from angel investors in late 2014 until now,” said Kevin via email.

Printerous will use the US$1.4 million for customer acquisition and retention by expanding all aspects of its business to become the clear market leader in Indonesia.

According to Hewlett Packard Asia Pacific, Indonesia’s overall printing industry was worth US$5.5 billion in 2014.

Another study from the Economist Intelligence Unit forecasts Indonesia’s printing sector to grow to US$9.1 billion in 2017. Indonesia remains the biggest market in the printing industry in SEA.

In terms of challenges, Kevin feels that the idea of competition will stimulate creativity and innovation in their products and services.

Printerous is planning to expand its business to other cities in Indonesia.

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