Seed Funds for Product Validation Platform Prelaunch

Armenian product testing and validation platform Prelaunch.com has secured $1.5 million in seed funding, and says it will use the funds to expand in the US and elsewhere, and to develop its product.

CEO and founder Narek Vardanyan (pictured) says he established the company after reviewing existing methods of assessing product potential and finding them entirely based on people's opinions. Prelaunch.com's 'reservation funnels' ask customers to actually pay a deposit to put themselves in the queue for new products - in return for a discount - providing more concrete proof of their intent to purchase. The company, which says it has nearly a million community members, then runs a series of surveys and analytical measures to further determine the idea's potential. If a product doesn't launch, money is returned, but Prelaunch says more than 90% of reservations via the platform turn into future sales.

The seed round was led by Big Story VC with continued support from Formula Venture Capital, and with contributions from Granatus Ventures, the Business Angel Network of Armenia (BANA) and an individual angel backer.

Web site: www.prelaunch.com .