Indonesia’s Tees.co.id grabs seed funding led by 500 Startups

Tees.co.id, a marketplace that sells artwork in the form of T-shirts, posters, phone cases, and more, announced today that it closed a round of seed funding of an undisclosed amount led by 500 Startups, and followed by Singapore-based 8Capita and a group of angel investors led by Badroni Yuzirman, the founder of Indonesia’s Tangan Di Atas (TDA) entrepreneur community.

The funding comes just days after Tees.co.id announced a partnership with Indonesian music streaming site Ohdio.

“We’re happy to be a part of 8Capita and 500 Startups big family, their world-class mentor network and connections are crucial in helping us achieve our growth targets post-investment,” says Gary Lilardi, co-founder of Tees.co.id. “The combination of local and regional investors provides us with the necessary funding and guidance to expand our services to neighboring Southeast Asian markets.”

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Currently, Tees.co.id claims more than 100,000 crowdsourced designs available for sale on its website. Founded in 2012, Tees.co.id started by allowing customers and would-be store owners to customize T-shirts only. The company since expanded to enable customization of more than 20 product categories, ranging from fashion to gadget accessories and home decorations.

“This model had proven to be a big business in many parts of the world. What better next place to grow this than Indonesia and Southeast Asia?” says Khailee Ng, managing partner of 500 Startups’ Southeast Asia operations.

The funding will be used to expand regionally, hire additional talent, add more product categories, and develop mobile apps for Tees.co.id.