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🦄 Unicorner Startup of the Week: Kittl
✍️ Notes from the Editors
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Everyone wants to design well. And everyone wants to use AI to design. But in a sea of AI tools, who is building practical AI for industry design? Kittl may be the answer, and we’re excited to see where the Berlin-based company goes in the coming years.
This week, we’re excited to have long-time reader Matthew Huo write this deep dive on Kittl. Matt is a PM at Capital One and has been reading Unicorner since our early days in 2020. Hope you enjoy the article!
Quick note: if you’re one of our LA-based student readers, come join us at UCLA on Tuesday, November 7 (tomorrow) at 7 p.m. for a VC chat with Harlem Capital. Let us know if you register and we’ll tell the team to approve your registration.
The most intuitive design platform
Kittl is a software platform that allows anybody with design needs to easily build professional-level designs. Powered by AI, Kittl allows individuals and businesses to use and modify existing professional templates or generate their own.
🔗 Check it out: kittl.com
💰 Business Model
Kittl has free and paid offerings and serves both individuals and businesses. It has four tiers: A free plan, a paid Pro plan, an Expert plan, and a Business plan, which are primarily differentiated on the number of accounts allowed, storage, and projects allowed.
📈 Traction and Fundraising
Has grown over 1 million users since January 2023
Raised a ~€11 million Series A in January 2023 led by Left Lane Capital and included Shaan Puri and Des Traynor
Used by notable brands like Warner Brothers, Harley-Davidson, Netflix, and Penguin Random House to name a few.
📖 Founder Story
Kittl CEO Nicolas Heymann and Chief Product Officer Tobias Saul were friends from college, with Heymann having a background in business and Saul coming from a creative background as a designer. They started Heritage Type (which eventually became Kittl) as a business that sold graphic templates, more focused on vintage sets for designers. However, they realized that many of their customers were struggling to use other tools and platforms, so they pivoted. They rebranded as Kittl in 2022 with the mission of democratizing graphic designs.
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🔮 Our Analysis
Every business, regardless of its size, encounters design needs such as creating logos, labels, and website mockups. However, smaller businesses and solo entrepreneurs often face constraints in terms of time, energy, and resources for these specific design requirements. Kittl addresses a diverse array of design needs, offering the flexibility to either modify existing designs or generate entirely new professional designs from scratch.
For hands-on designers, the platform provides manual editing tools supplemented with automated services for on-the-fly assistance. On the other hand, for users seeking to minimize manual design efforts, Kittl offers AI-powered solutions that generate professional designs and aid with various design tasks. Though it is competing with established giants like Canva, Kittl does shine by serving a wide range of user personas and use cases, from the solopreneur who just needs a nice logo to the design professional who wants a starting point to tinker with, thanks to its flexible platform.
Considering the relative youth of the company, the combination of flexibility and existing traction on the platform holds immense promise. This adaptability positions Kittl well for continued growth and potential pivots or specialization in a specific niche.
📚 Further Reading
Berlin-based design platform Kittl raises $11.6M Series A to take on Adobe and Canva [TechCrunch]
(From 2022) Meet Kittl Founder Tobias Saul [Kittl Blog]
Written by Matthew Huo
Is this week's company a future unicorn? |
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