Want custom art: Book an Artist
The low-down on Book an Artist, the go-to marketplace for commissioning custom artwork, and a quick conversation founder Gaurav Kawar.
tl;dr: limerick style
There is a common problem with artists
Finding one being the hardest
Along came a place
To find them in one space
Book an artist being the largest
When our team first began looking at Book an Artist, a marketplace that connects artists and customers to help manage commissioned artwork from start to completion, we began to see artwork everywhere. My walk into the office became characterised by how many murals or painted utility boxes I could spot (11 pieces of art in 12 minutes). And although Brisbane isn’t known for its street art like Melbourne, our inner city neighbourhoods have been transformed the last few years with a resurgence in street art.
The Book an Artist platform aims to be the one-stop-shop for anyone who wants to commission artwork and helps artists to manage the admin associated with managing their jobs and communications with clients. Whether you’re an individual who wants to commission a painting, or a business who wants a mural done, Book an Artist will facilitate your engagement with a range of talented and accomplished artists.
We recently led Book an Artist’s seed round to help fuel the platform’s growth into new art categories and cities around the globe. Below is a summary of our investment notes, followed by a conversation with founder Gaurav Kawar.
Behind the investment in Book an Artist
When we first met Gaurav, Book an Artist had already begun achieving a few critical elements which are critical to success in a marketplace.
The team has consistently grown transaction volume, alongside supply and demand sides, despite challenging global circumstances.
The past two years have seen Book an Artist’s top two cities — Sydney and Melbourne — weather considerable lockdowns. Despite the significant impact of these lockdowns on Book an Artist, the company has hit consecutive record highs in GMV at the end of 2021. Annualised GMV is sitting above AU$3.2M, an increase of over 66% since we started chatting with Gaurav in September 2021.
The team has refined Book an Artist’s expansion playbook so that they can acquire artists in a new city with no boots on the ground, and no connections into the art world. As the team continues expanding into new cities globally, we have seen their playbook start to generate the flywheel necessary to get Book an Artist off the ground in various geographies. There are now over 500 artists on the platform globally.
They’ve demonstrated that the platform is robust, functional and servicing the needs of the users on both sides of the marketplace.
On the supply side, nearly half of all onboarded artists to the platform have completed at least one job, and total cumulative churn of artists who have left the platform sits below 3%. For artists, Book an Artist provides them with access to high quality, reliable clientele, as well as a tool to manage communications and engagement with their clients.
And the customers are happy too; the average job rating on the platform is 4.96/5.00, from 269 customers. The demand side of the platform is incredibly diverse, split between private individuals, small businesses like cafes and restaurants, local franchises, government agencies, schools and large multinational corporations. Approximately 70% of all jobs done on the platform are B2B, and 20% of all jobs on platform are repeat bookings.
In our conversations with businesses who use the platform, they noted that Book an Artist solves the problem of artist accessibility and flexibility for them. One customer noted:
“Our biggest constraint around opening [new franchises] was flexibility with artists. Having an artist do a bit of wall art or mural in the stores makes a big difference and helps foment a connection to local community.”
Franchises and other businesses are able to engage Book an Artist to service locations across multiple cities (and even countries!), taking the leg work out of understanding the individual art scene in each new location and sourcing artists afresh.
And, we really like founder Gaurav.
When you first meet Gaurav, you wouldn’t think he’s a solo founder. He is disciplined, organised and incredibly calm. The capital raise process can be challenging for the strongest of cofounding teams, and Gaurav managed the entire raise process alongside hitting consecutive month-on-month growth records with Book an Artist — a gargantuan feat, and one which underscored our confidence in backing him.
Because of Gaurav’s background in accounting, it comes as no surprise that he maintains a highly sophisticated financial model and demonstrates a deep understanding of key drivers and unit economics in the business. Throughout our due diligence process, we were impressed by his methodical approach to mapping out everything in the business. The financial model, tech roadmap, growth and hiring plans were all interconnected and underpinned by the business’s core strategic goals. I’m not one to lightly use the term “weapon” to describe someone… but Gaurav absolutely is one.
Additionally, the close relationship that Gaurav has maintained with his existing investor group was a strong positive signal to our team. He was after a long term partner, something which we pride ourselves on being for our portfolio companies.
Chatting with Gaurav
Tell us a little about yourself and how you founded Book an Artist.
My name is Gaurav Kawar, founder of Book An Artist, food enthusiast and travel fanatic. The idea of Book An Artist began on my 2018 trip to Cuba when my friends and I visited Mural de la Prehistoria. The enormous outdoor painting is located in Vicales and depicts human evolution. Despite its impressive size, it is often the subject of tourist criticism. On the way back, my friend couldn’t help but mention the underwhelming nature of the mural and how a “new, local artist would surely do a better job.” There wasn’t an answer to “how do I find a local artist?” so I took that question back to where I lived in London, and Book An Artist was born.
Your background is in accounting. Why pivot to creating a start-up that revolves around art?
I wanted to make art accessible for everyone! We have created easy access to booking holiday properties via Airbnb, catching a ride is simple with Uber, or Airtasker is available to fulfil odd jobs and chores. I recognised a gap in the market and seized the opportunity to create a safe and easy way for artists to promote their work and art-lovers to buy art.
What’s been Book an Artist’s journey thus far?
Book An Artist’s journey has been full of excitement. Two years of COVID presented us with plenty of challenges, that despite the odds, we managed to overcome. Since then, the Book An Artist team has continued to grow and have worked with incredible brands and talents. We are looking forward to seeing what the future brings!
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your founder journey?
Hiring the right people who trust the Book An Artist vision has been somewhat of a challenge. I am trying to build a team of experienced, hard workers who care as deeply for Book An Artist as I do. A strong, dedicated team is very important to the progression of the business.
What do the next few years hold for you and Book an Artist?
Grow, grow and grow some more! I’m very excited about how quickly Book An Artist has grown over the last few years and I truly hope and envision the pace of growth only increases. We intend to continue our expansion across the United Kingdom and through the United States.
Do you have a favourite mural?
My favourite mural to date is certainly a piece we did during COVID lockdown in 2020. We donated the artwork to show support and appreciation for health workers who were and continued to put themselves on the front line during the pandemic. Mase, a brilliant mural artist from Melbourne, painted and designed the artwork for us.
Inspired to get some new wall art? 🧑🎨
If you’re in need of a new canvas painting — or perhaps even a mural for the lounge — you can support your local artists by commissioning a piece through Book an Artist. Black Sheep’s partner Dan Gavel recently got a painting done through the platform and loved the end result (see below). And if you’re a business, Book an Artist also has signwriting artists.
And, for people or creatives who are interested in joining the Book an Artist platform — this is the link.
We’re thrilled to continue working with Gaurav as him and the team continue their push to expand into new cities across the globe. Welcome to the portfolio, Book an Artist!
