The trials and tribulations of raising a plant in your NYC apartment is no small feat. Many New Yorkers admit that they’d love to grow a plant, but it just seems like a hassle and the plant, unfortunately, ends up dead. Well, The Sill changes that by through its modern, direct-to-consumer plant offering. This brand embarks on an environmental and social mission to make plant parenthood accessible and easy by providing all the gardening essentials, even for the busiest of New Yorkers. The Sill even offers educational workshops that are available online or in-person.
AlleyWatch chatted with founder Eliza Blank about redefining what it means to be a gardener and its recent funding round, which brings the total funding amount raised to $7.5M.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised a $5M Series A, led by Raine Ventures (Cheddar, Tastemade, The Black Tux). Courtney Favreau, a partner at Raine Ventures will also join The Sill’s board. The Sill launched in 2012 following a successful Kickstarter. In 2017 The Sill secured $1.5M in Seed funding led by Brand Foundry Ventures (Allbirds, Lola, Harry’s, The Wing). In 2018, we secured another $6M in funding, between a $1M Seed extension and $5M Series A round with support from investors including Brand Foundry Ventures, The Chernin Group, Tuesday Capital, BBG Ventures, and Blue Seed Collective.
Tell us about the product or service that The Sill offers.
The Sill is modernizing what it means to be a gardener. Our mission is to make plant parenthood accessible to everyone. Part of that is providing the tools necessary to get started: gardening essentials, potting soil, and education. We also offer easy-to-care-for plants that come with basic care instructions, and educational workshops, which you can take online, or in-person if you are in NYC. We also launched our first membership program this year, the Plant Parent Club, which has been really popular with customers.
What inspired you to start The Sill?
I founded the company as a result of my own experience of wanting to buy plants and realizing how limited the resources were for learning from the perspective of a “newbie.” The first time I bought houseplants for my New York City apartment, I killed them all.
What market does The Sill target and how big is it?
We consider ourselves a part of the Gardening market — which boasts participation from 77% of all US households.
What’s your business model?
The Sill is the first digitally native, omnichannel, direct-to-consumer plant brand. We have big ambitions to modernize the garden center, and we do that in part by combining commerce with content and community.
What type of plants can New Yorkers grow in their apartments? Is it possible to create an indoor urban farm?
The answer is – it depends! We always steer our customers toward easy to care for plants that can withstand a wide range of environments and lifestyles (No A/C? No problem). That said, there are all types of micro-environments in NYC, whether you have a Brooklyn backyard, a Harlem rooftop, or an East Village basement. Each scenario will have a different range of plants suitable for the space. The key is educating the customer—what we do best!
What was the funding process like?
Our first fundraise was longer and more difficult than the second. The reason being – I had to cast a wide net and talk to a lot of investors to get a sense as to who might be the best fit (and vice versa). Our Series A process, in contrast, was very short. At this time, I had a definitive point of view on the types of investors that I knew would be a good fit for The Sill.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Raising capital tests your mental stamina. You need to be able to deliver your pitch at 110%, often multiple times a day. I always find this to be one of the more difficult parts of the process. You end each day both energized yet totally exhausted. Also, being pregnant during the raise meant more breaks for water and snacks! You might think to eat and stay hydrated come naturally, but honestly, it’s not always top of mind for entrepreneurs. Being pregnant actually gave me a good reason to keep myself in check during the process which probably helped my raise overall.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Certainly, the fact that we had strong performance metrics influenced our investors. That said, I believe it was the size and scope of our vision that ultimately made us a fit for venture funding. We see this as a huge opportunity and we were able to tell our story accordingly.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We plan to use the new financing to open additional brick-and-mortar retail locations, branch into new product categories, expand our plant education program, and build out more offline events and experiences for our customers. Everything we do ladders back to our mission of making plant parenthood accessible to everyone.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Keep going! Founders don’t start companies to raise money – they start them to build something they believe will be groundbreaking. Stay focused on why you started your company and the rest will come.
Keep going! Founders don’t start companies to raise money – they start them to build something they believe will be groundbreaking. Stay focused on why you started your company and the rest will come.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We’re very focused on broadening the scope of our offerings as well as the geographies of our physical presence — all exciting stuff!
