Dragoneer Investment Group led a Series F round of funding for ManoManoo, a French startup. The company is an e-commerce platform that sells DIY, home improvement, and gardening products. It is currently available for purchase in six European countries. The company's valuation has reached $2.6 billion after today's funding round.Dragoneer Investment Group is joined by Temasek and General Atlantic. Also, Bpifrances Large Venture Fund, Bpifrances Large Venture Fund, Agla Ventures Kismet Holdings, Armat Group, and Eurazeo are all participating.Philippe de Chanville, co-founder and CEO of the company, told me that we operate in Europe. He also said that they are the industry leader for online sales. The company has been profitable in France for several years now, especially in France. The company's total gross merchandise volume grew to 1.2 billion in 2020 ($1.42 billion today).Why did the company raise when it was already in a strong position in Europe to copy the same model? They could, and they didn't have to. ManoManoo could raise a lot of money with a high valuation without having to sell any of its equity.The startup is also active in France, Spain, Italy and Belgium. It plans to expand its operations in Germany and the U.K. with today's funding round. These are Europe's largest markets for gardening and home improvement.ManoMano is a company that sells products to hobbyists. ManoManoPro targets the B2B market. It's working well in France, with small teams of 1 to 5 employees. The company is now expanding its offering to Spain as well as Italy.The startup will also invest in its product more and create a better logistics infrastructure. We work with third-party logistics firms because we are a tech company. Christian Raisson, my co-founder, and co-CEO, told me.ManoMano does not have any inventory and has no warehouses. ManoMano intends to hire 1,000 people in the next 18-months, most of which will be tech-related positions.ManoMano boasts 7 million customers, but most home-improvement and gardening products are still sold in brick-and mortar stores. It's not about having the best products at a good price.ManoMano has partnered with advisors (or Manodvisors), so that experts can offer advice to customers who need it. In 2020, customers had 2.3 million conversations to advisors. To gain market share, advice and recommendations will be crucial. The company has the resources to be innovative and stand out from other ecommerce platforms.
