It's any boyfriend's worst nightmare: What started as a thoughtful birthday gift almost lead to a breakup when Ajay Kori’s flower delivery never made it to his long-distance girlfriend.
Kori, who had waited all day for a thank-you call, never heard back from his girlfriend. It wasn’t until just before midnight that he decided to reach out himself, only to be met by an angry voice who thought he had forgotten her birthday.
"Sending flowers should be something that makes you happy,” said Kori. "There's absolutely a way to create a much better experience."
Anyone who has sent flowers to a loved one will recognize this anxiety. But unlike some of us who file a complaint only to end up using those services again, Kori had different approach in mind. Along with his friend and former housemate Jeff Sheely, he decided to reimagine floral delivery altogether.
Together, the two launched UrbanStems, which aims to cut the middleman out of the flower delivery equation. The company launched in Washington, D.C. in 2014, and since then, Sheely and Kori have planted business roots in Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia and — as of Feb. 1 — Austin.
“We’re really excited to be in Austin,” said Kori.
Kori said UrbanStems provides the infrastructure to send someone flowers and gifts with same-day delivery starting at $35.
They source flowers directly from certified farms and ship to local distribution centers within 48 hours. From there, orders are prepared for delivery. UrbanStems hand-delivers orders using an in-house courier as quickly as an hour after an order is placed with a personal note attached. Once the gift arrives, the sender receives a photo confirmation of the gift at the location to ensure quality.
All bouquets are designed by Cameron Hardesty, UrbanStems' head of products and a former White House florist. Hardesty and her team release new designs every month that are seasonal or stylistic in theme.
According to Kori, the startup is the only floral company to keep all employees in-house, offering full-time positions and employee benefits across the company, from staff on the farms to local courier teams.
“When something has been done the same for 100 years, everything just kind of falls into the piece of the puzzle for the existing system,” said Kori. “Creating this entirely new supply chain, and making them part of the experience… All of this was much more complicated than you expect because we built it from the ground up.”
This setup has led to more affordable pricing, Kori said, because cutting out the middleman also cuts extra fees. For instance, what costs $35 at UrbanStems would most likely run $55 from a local florist and $75 from a large online marketing and wire service, he said.
This unique approach to the industry has caught the eye of Under Armour’s CEO Kevin Plank, who backed the startup with a $1.5 million seed round by his private venture capital firm, Sagamore Ventures, in Feb. 2015. He again contributed to their $6.8 million funding round the following April.
UrbanStems is currently booking orders for Valentine’s Day deliveries from a selection of pop-star-themed bouquets called The Adele, The Gaga and The Bey.
Following the holiday, Kori said they plan on incorporating local Texas flowers in their seasonal bouquets, as well as expanding their full menu of items to the city — which includes dinosaur-potted succulents (pictured left).
Locally, the team consists of two operation members and a courier network that's already in place. Kori said they expect to hire more individuals for both roles over the course of the year.
Images provided by UrbanStems.
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