Revel table 1
The Revel Body will debut on July 15

There was certainly a lot of buzz around Robin Elenga’s latest angel financing round, literally and figuratively.

Elenga is the maker of the Revel Body, an innovative new vibrator that we’ve written about in the past for being faster and quieter than other sex toys on the market.

The tennis ball-shaped product, which can operate at speeds between 24 and 200Hz, is set to debut on July 15th at a retail price of $180.

Ahead of the launch, Elenga, a former technology consultant, went out to raise some cash. Before he knew it, the $800,000 round was oversubscribed, with existing investors signing on in about four hours.

“It went fast, real fast,” said Elenga, who also happens to be a member of Seattle’s Alliance of Angels. He said they expanded the round to include two strategic investors, but 15 others couldn’t get into the deal.

What’s all of the buzz about?

Well, as Elenga told us a couple months ago, the vibrator industry is ripe for a revolution.

Robin Elanga of Revel Body
Robin Elenga of Revel Body

“A lot of the older brands on the market have a heavy porn metaphor, and a lot of the newer brands have a sensual metaphor,” says Elenga. “But if you talk to consumers, this is a healthy part of their life that makes them feel good, so we have this very modern design.”

But investor interest was driven by more than a sleek design and “disruptive technology.” Investors liked the potential for a big return in an industry that Elenga said is going mainstream. In fact, he said their first customer initially wanted 200 vibrators, but upped the order to 1,000 recently.

That order “totally blew our projections,” and helped drive even more investor interest, Elenga said.

But the entrepreneur also admits that there’s the potential of “cocktail value return” where angel investors can boast about being a part of — well, for lack of a better word — a sexy industry.

“(This) trumps any other company at a cocktail party in my humble opinion,” says Elenga.  “What is more interesting to talk about: A revolutionary sex toy company investment or a new social media integration platform investment?”

Here’s Elenga talking about the technology behind the vibrator in a recent visit with GeekWire:

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