Martin Lansard, EDHEC 2008 secures his first round of fundraising for his tech media startup Aniwaa  

Martin Lansard, EDHEC 2008, has raised funds for his start-up Aniwaa, co-founded with his partner and friend Pierre-Antoine Arrighi, and is now growing and expanding their activity.

Can you explain in a few words how your company was born? (team, origin and why this project stands out)

When 3D printers became really popular around 5 years ago, my partner Pierre-Antoine and me got hooked and started looking for as much information as possible to educate ourselves on this topic. What we soon realized is that it was hard to find a one-stop website where we could get reliable information and tools to compare and select the right 3D printer for our needs and budget. That’s when we got the idea behind Aniwaa: an information and comparison tech media focused on 3D printing.

Our focus on 3D printing hardware enabled us to quickly become a reference in this niche industry. We also developed methodologies and work process which are now applicable to other high-potential product category, starting with VR headsets which we just added to Aniwaa.

What are some initial takeaways you can share with us from this entrepreneurial adventure?

Our goal is to build a platform for comparing hardware from high potential emerging technologies. By selecting Aniwaa, the SADIF investment fund (based in Cambodia just like Aniwaa) validated our growth potential and strategy.

This partnership helped us secure the funding we needed to accelerate our growth and expand our coverage beyond 3D printing, starting with VR and AR. I must say that I’m glad we waited before reaching out to investors and bootstrapped our operations until recently.

Have you been able to benefit at one time or another from the EDHEC graduates network?

We’ve had the pleasure of welcome several EDHEC trainees in our Phnom Penh office, and I look forward to continuing this and furthering these types of exchanges with my school.

What are some of Aniwaa’s current projects and what’s coming next?

Aniwaa has just launched a brand new comparison engine dedicated to VR and AR headsets, marking the first stage in our expansion. This has been possible thanks to the investment secured which has allowed us to make a couple of key hires to help drive the development and growth of the company. This is just the beginning for us, and we will be working even harder on our next update. Next milestone: the launch of a drones comparison engine early 2019!

Aniwaa in the media :

http://sea-globe.com/smart-axiata-innovation-fund/

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/first-three-winners-smart-axiata-fund-announced

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5090720/smart-supercharging-digital-growth-adds-forte-mix/

http://geeksincambodia.com/forte-insurance-hops-on-smart-axiata-digital-innovation-fund-partnership-and-first-investees-batch-announced-joonak-morakot-and-aniwaa/

Website and social media : 

www.aniwaa.com
https://www.facebook.com/Aniwaa3D/posts/1877269072300857
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6336867419285487616