HairFare is an end-to-end hair and beauty chair rental platform that connects beauty professionals to salons, studios and barbershops across the UK. It asserts that the hair and beauty industry was worth £10 billion in 2018 and is set to increase. HairFare aims to be a contender in this segment. HairFare asserts that it has expanded to five cities within the UK with no marketing budget. The platform has featured in media platforms including The Barber Magazine, Islington Gazette, Startups of London, Business Daily, ITProPortal, ExBulletin, Compsmag, and LinkedIn News, to name a few. It will use 40% of the investment for creating its proprietary app, 40% towards marketing to increase the number of business owners and beauty professionals on the platform, 10% towards setting up its merchandise line, and 10% towards establishing the HairFare Academy.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£57,736
Nourish is a company that makes snacks free from refined sugar, gluten, and dairy. The company's mission is to become one of the UK's most popular free-from brands. It aims to provide a range of delicious treats and snacks to consumers, athletes and those with specific dietary needs, ensuring that they possess sustained energy. The company's products are stocked by retailers including, Ocado, Wholefoods, Planet Organic, and Daylesford. Its online sales grew by 740% in April 2020. The company has featured in publications like Ooh Magazine, VeganLife, and Natural Health. It became 'Organically Certified' in 2017 and 'Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA) Certified' in 2018. Nourish will soon launch its new product line in the next 12 months. The company will use the investment received to build the team, continue to raise brand awareness by investing in more price promotions in stores, and undertake geo-marketing campaigns.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£133,207
Ruby Violet (RV) creates ice cream flavours, vegan sorbets and iced delights. It asserts that it has grown from a market stall in 2011, to two parlours and an accompanying vintage van, tricycle and trolley, almost doubling its revenue from 2016 to 2019. RV aims to become a contender in the ice cream industry that is worth £1.4 billion in the UK and £44 billion worldwide. It asserts that 90% of the packaging used by the company is either recyclable or compostable. It has featured in press entities like The Times, The Guardian, Vogue and the BBC, to name a few. RV has also collaborated with noted gin company, Gin Mare, creating gin ice cream and sorbet specific to their infused botanicals. RV's clients include Costa Coffee, Nike, McVitie's, and Moet & Chandon. It will use 75% of the investment for capital expenditure, 15% for marketing activities, and 10% for hiring key personnel.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£357,173
Aloha is a barrier-free WiFi hotspot and data-sharing platform. The company estimates that 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide pay to access the web with many unable to access the internet daily due to technical or financial constraints. Conversely, 67% of smartphone users do not consume all of their mobile phone data available to them each month. Aloha aims to change this scenario. It enables users to get paid for sharing unused data and be rewarded with 'Aloha Tokens' that can be exchanged for cash, bitcoins and exclusive offers from Aloha's partner companies. Business users and advertisers can use the advertising tools in the Aloha application and broadcast offers and promotions directly to a targeted audience within the Aloha community. The company will use 20% of the investment to list the Aloha Token with one or more key Crypto exchange platforms, 15% to expand the application development team, 17% to complete development of the Aloha Marketplace, 20% for marketing and PR, 16% for running monthly costs, 3% for Aloha app upgradation, and 10% as contingency funds.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£307,707
NOQ aims to solve the issue of queuing at events by digitising the process and bringing increased sales and profit for event management companies, coupled with data-driven insights. It aspires to capture the UK market share through partnerships with event management companies, food concession groups, PoS (Point of Sale) systems, and WiFi providers. NOQ offers a three-step solution for event-goers namely, pre-order ahead of time, click and collect or deliver to a location within the event. The company also claims that it provides a bespoke solution specific to suit the needs of each event and ensure seamless execution of the same. NOQ has overseen transactions worth £275,000+ on its platform, onboarded 13,000+ active users across iOS and Android, and covered 190+ events in 2020. It will use the investment for hiring key personnel, marketing and operational expenditures.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£214,393
Tom & Teddy Limited is a family-centric global swimwear brand started by Bristol-based female-founder. Tom & Teddy is a beachwear brand for men & boys that has sold more than 55,000 shorts in 2018 generating a revenue of approximately US$1.8m. The shorts are made in a quick-dry microfibre fabric with UV protection and a super-soft finish. The company aims to grow to £8m by the year 2023 (with significant upside potential), £1.6m EBIT.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
Withheld
Troubadour is a London-based menswear brand specialising in designing minimalist bags & accessories by combining performance design with a clean & modern aesthetic feel. The company has delivered its products to 60+ wholesalers. It is backed by Pembroke VCT, a luxury-focused venture capital firm based in London. Troubadour is planning to work with non-traditional retailers including Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, and Equinox. It has also collaborated with many world-renowned brands such as British tailors 'Thom Sweeney' and British essentials brand 'Sunspel' that is famous for clothing James Bond. The company has also been a case study for classes at the Harvard Business School. With the investment, the company will support sales growth to its customers and retail partners and also fund working capital requirements from its forecast growth plan.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£621,240
Beacon is a company that offers software and supporting services to help a client optimise their digital marketing efforts and improve their marketing Return-on-Investment (ROI). The company offers clients services like campaign management, PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign analytics, social media analytics, and anti-fraudulent click system etc. Using the company's portal, marketers can compare costs and revenue across all digital channels, channel by channel, and with their off-line marketing efforts. Beacon aims at removing ‘non-human clicks’ and giving direct independent attribution of emails, posts, ad’s, etc. to specific website actions and business goals thereby improving engagement and reducing costs. According to Stratistics Market Research Consulting, the web analytics tools market is expected to reach $4.9 billion by 2022, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.8%, in which, Beacon aims to be a leading contender. The company will use the investment to grow its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£240,000
Hypha is an innovation intelligence platform. The company combines ontology mapping and graph processing to connect and leverage knowledge such that it is contextually aligned to an enterprise’s unique structure, systems, processes, and strategic objectives. Hypha deploys features on its platform such as clustering boards, browser extension tools, custom branding, and cloud-based deployment to help organisations achieve growth and profitability. The company has onboarded multiple entities on its integration roadmap, such as Miro, Microsoft Teams, Office 365, GSuite, and Dropbox, to name a few. The company has secured 6 enterprise clients worldwide, with IKEA as one of their illustrious clients. It will use 80% of the investment for product development and 20% for sales and marketing.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£222,100
Aguulp innovates and curates liquid formulas using liposomal technology. The company asserts that vitamins in pill form have an absorption rate as low as 5% which is further eaten by stomach acid upon consumption before a person gets a chance to absorb it. Agullp aims to resolve this. Its product, NutriProtect, shields nutrients from corrosive stomach acid and helps 98% of nutrients reach the small intestine for absorption. The company estimates that over 3 million people in the UK and more than 10 per cent of the world’s population is malnourished for a variety of reasons, including environmental pollution, unhealthy diets and stressful lifestyles that block nutrient absorption and compound deficiencies. Aguulp aims to change this with its product line that includes Aguulp for Gut, Aguulp for Brain, and Aguulp for Immunity. The company will use 55.6% of the investment for marketing purposes, 44.2% for paying their staff, and 0.2% as other expenses.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£317,993
