In October 2019, Lemonade Fashion was one of the four startups that flew from Lebanon to San Francisco to attend a 5-week bootcamp powered by Draper University, as part of LebNet’s Ignite program.

In January 2021, online designer marketplace with made-to-measure technology, Lemonade Fashion received financing of $300,000 from a syndication by seven LebNet members, with plans to raise additional funds to complete the seed round from VCs in the US and GCC to further expand its presence in Dubai and scale to San Francisco in the next six months, where the startup is incorporated.

“We had a really good relationship with LebNet. We were in San Francisco, met with LebNet members there and stayed in touch. [...] LebNet decided they wanted to help us grow,” said Arthur Bizdikian, co-founder and CEO at Lemonade Fashion. With the raised amount, the team will use the money to expand to new markets, develop a mobile application, uplift the quality of designs, focus on marketing and partnerships and put together an ambassador program.

Since its graduation from LebNet Ignite and after receiving funding from Draper University Ventures right afterwards, Lemonade Fashion grew from 5 to 18 employees, enlisted over 150 designers on the platform and featured over 3,500 items. The Lebanese startup was initially discovered, funded and supported by tech accelerator Speed, which  sponsored Lemonade Fashion's participation in LebNet Ignite in San Francisco. 

"Lemonade Fashion made quite an impression on our LebNet mentors when in November 2019 Arthur attended the Ignite bootcamp in Silicon Valley. We felt compelled to help in the fundraising for such a promising Lebanese startup. We are very grateful to our members who took part of the syndication and we're assuming our board seat representation resolutely and with the utmost dedication,” said George Akiki, CEO and co-founder of LebNet.

In 2020, the marketplace - which connects emerging designers all over the world to clients looking for bespoke fashion clothing to fit them from the comfort of their home - saw a 2000% growth over the year, with a 400% growth in the last quarter only, according to Bizdikian. “We’ve been able to manage and maintain that momentum in Q1, 2021. We know much better what we do today. We handpick the designers, the photoshoot and content creation and this builds trust with our clients.”

Lemonade Fashion keeps adding new collections and helps more local and international designers sell their designs globally. Its current run rate is $500,000 per year and the co-founder hopes to grow the number by five to six times by the end of the year.

“We’re very happy with our growth and the partnerships we were able to build with LebNet. We’re excited about 2021. This is a very important year for us and we are glad we have the right people to back us up,” he concluded.