Howbout is a millennial-focused social calendar and planning application. The app allows a group of individuals to instantly find when they’re all free, easily organise any social plan & quickly manage what they’ve got on. The company soft-launched in December 2019 and after strong early traction raised £100,000 – co-led by mobile heavyweight Claire Valoti – to refine the product ahead of its full launch in July 2020. Howbout argues that its app downloads have grown >500% since then. The company has been featured 3x by Apple and >75,000 events have been organised by users in >100 countries, despite 100% UK marketing focus. Howbout was also named in TechRound’s 2020 list of top 100 startups. Howbout sees a socialising boom waiting to happen and believes itself uniquely positioned to capitalise on overdue drinks, catchups and holidays in a post-pandemic world. It will use the investment to focus on company growth and begin monetising.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£505,010
Clin-e-cal is a medical technology company that has created a 'Clip-Tone Buddy' app. The app uses Clin-e-cal's patented Sound Response (SR) technology to give real-time feedback helping patients understand how to use their inhalers correctly. The company intends to become a disruptor in the estimated £300 million inhaler technology market. It asserts that its app can help streamline clinical trials, identify patients most at risk and impact future respiratory device design. Clin-e-cal was short-listed for the Tech4Good award 2020 and rated 79% by The Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Applications (ORCHA). Clin-e-cal will use the investment to progress commercialisation of the Clip-Tone Buddy, scale its sales activity, and optimise the company's marketing, regulatory and legal aspects.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£132,354
Cuckoo is an internet broadband provider. The company claims that incumbent internet providers treat customers with poor customer service, high prices, and complicated contracts. Cuckoo aims to change this by providing users with fair and transparent prices, simple contracts, high-quality routers, and responsive customer service. The company is currently developing its website and billing engine ahead of launching with its first customers in the second quarter of 2020. Cuckoo's business is in the pre-revenue stage. It expects to start generating revenue in May/June 2020 when they launch their broadband service. Cuckoo will use 50% of the investment towards paying salaries to staff, 25% as technology development fees, 10% as professional fees, 5% as rent, and 10% as AOB. Cuckoo's exit strategy is via a trade sale or listing in the United Kingdom.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£69,622
Drop Drinks creates vintage beverages with a distinctive taste. Theses beverages are inspired by traditional British sweets like Pear Drop and Cherry Drop. The company has sold more than 10,000 units since its launch in 2018. With more than 9,000 followers on social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, Drop Drinks aims at increasing its product range to become a popular and leading drink brand domestically and grow globally. The company is now raising funds to increase production, execute an extensive go-to-market strategy, and hire key staff.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£127,690
Go Zero is an electric taxi service. Since its inception in 2017, the company has completed over 10,000 journeys, saved an estimated 174 tonnes of CO2, and witnessed £530,000 worth of sales. The UK taxi industry is a £9 billion-pound industry and Go Zero, with its fleet of electric taxis powered by 100% renewable energy sources, aims to be a major disruptor. The company has received 100+ 5-star customer reviews and in 2019, it added 1600 new customers to its network. In February 2020, it launched the Go Zero Network, a network of 1,000 electric taxi franchises across the UK to expand electric travel for all. Being a part of the Go Zero Network offers a franchisee the opportunity to purchase a 5-year licence enabling them to operate their own business under the Go Zero brand. It also gives them the potential to earn between £30,000 and £50,000 after costs, based on performance metrics. With the investment, the company aims to recruit a high performing team to deliver market share, focused on sales, digital marketing, social media, franchise recruitment and management.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£124,530
Accunea is the world’s first real-time continuous organ function monitoring company, specializing in biomarkers for kidney transplantation. Targeting NHS hospitals in the UK undertaking renal transplantation, the company aims to provide relief to patients awaiting organ transplants by ensuring availability of more organs for transplant and reducing the numbers of deaths due to increasing waiting list times. For this purpose, the company has designed a miniature analysis device which constantly monitors markers of kidney function and metabolism through a standard dribble line put into the vein of a patient. Accunea is raising £400,000 at a pre-money valuation of £2,230,000. The funds will be used to achieve clinical utility in Kidney and Pancreas.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£388,038
Balkerne is a tech start-up providing software as a service to the property and insurance sector. They have developed SmartResilience, a real-time loss prevention software platform, which helps insurers and the insured understand the value at risk. Insurers spend £1.3bn a year on commercial property claims and £2.3 on domestic property claims, work on squeezed margins and struggle to differentiate with the competition. Balkerne provides customers with pre-emptive, bespoke information and actionable advice, allowing insurers to minimise claims, uninsured losses and improve the customer experience. Moreover, they helped businesses reduce their long term property risk through proactive mitigation and make insurance affordable. Their SmartResilience platform has been developed with the technical ability to integrate with both Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure Cloud. The company is registered on the AWS Partner Network and with Microsoft for Startups. Modular functionality is core to the platform, with the ability to seamlessly scale to meet customer requirements.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£150,000
Flooring Hut is a UK-based technology company that aims to disrupt the UK flooring industry valued at £2bn in 2017. Touted as the smarter way to buy new carpets & flooring, Flooring Hut has made 24,000+ online sales across domestic and trade sectors by building a huge network of independent installers. The company's USP is to connect a disjointed market and allow customers access to value products, samples, leading brands and a suitable, vetted local installer to perform the work. The key to its success to date has been a consistent and reliable mix of pricing, availability, and selection. Till date, the company has 786 registered trade customers, 140+ Flooring Hut Installer Network of members, and 12,000 products available for sale. With the proceeds, the company will develop its self-service platform functionality for customers and expand its reach on social media and affiliate marketing.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£57,077
Glug provides a platform for businesses to let customers order from a digital menu and have them served to the table or pick up from the bar. It points out that its system is designed to be user friendly and easy to set up wherein restaurants or bars can upload and digitalise their menu and can be discoverable within 24 hours. Consumers can discover the restaurant, book a table, place an order, and browse for offers and discounts, amongst other features using the company's community app. Glug asserts that more than 16,000 users have ordered food and drinks through its app in less than four months since the company's launch. It intends to become a contender in the UK dining and pub market that is a £40 billion+ industry. Glug argues that more than 20,000 users have downloaded its app from the App Store and Google Playstore. It will use the investment for marketing, hiring, technology development, attract 1.5 million users and onboard 1,000+ venues over the next 12 months.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£73,114
Lux is a premium alternative that rewards high-spending customers, without devaluing restaurants’ brands. Powered by the latest card-linking technology, LUX offers premium reward schemes that give users up to 10% of their restaurant spend back as luxury rewards. So far, Lux has attracted more than 50 restaurants including JKS & Mews of Mayfair and Browns. Moreover, accountants, banks, law firms and consulting firms have accepted to distribute LUX. The company will use the funds to grow the customer base and the business.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£241,580
