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
White Peak Distillery (WPD) is a whisky distillery that aims to change the way whisky is made and create authentic flavours. It has so far invested £1.4 million in tried and tested plant equipment producing 400,000 bottles of maturing whisky. The company aims to become a contender in the $60 billion global premium whisky market. WPD has received 'Gold Awards' from The Wizards of Whisky World Whisky Awards. It has come out with programs to monetise its maturing whisky including its Cask Sales program, Temperance Club membership and its Prologue 2.1 release 2-year aged single malt spirit, that has been received with positive feedback. WPD has also been awarded visitor business in The Peak District, which receives 13 million+ visitors per annum, boosting its Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) model. It will use the investment to grow its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,301,320
Serious Pig (SP) aims to become the UK’s number one premium savoury snack brand. The company is backed by BrewDog co-founder James Watt and aims to become a contender in the UK savoury snack market valued at £3.2 billion. SP's range consists of products like 'Snack Salami', 'Snacking Cheese', and 'Snacking Pickles'. Its most recent innovation is 'Sourdough Snacking Croutons'. It has a loyal fanbase of nearly 9,000 'Club Seriously' members. The company's sales have trebled since 2018 to £1.35 million in December 2020. SP claims that despite COVID-19 shutting down hospitality in 2020, it quickly adapted and developed significant Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) revenue, in particular with Amazon, where sales grew by 235% between the first and second half of the year, touching £187,000 between June - December 2020. The company will use the investment for sales and marketing, logistics, New Product Development (NPD), and cut plastic packaging to reduce its carbon footprint.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£648,854
Tethered Drones Systems Limited (TDS) builds and develops autonomous tethered drones for use in surveillance and communications scenarios. Its product, Tethered UAV, exhibits a flight duration of 24 hours or more with secure communication via a tether. The platform can carry a range of payloads to meet client needs. The company asserts that the product has multiple uses for broadcasters such as telecasting outdoor sporting events. The UAV's blue light services, including search and rescue, holds prominence in high-risk maintenance inspections for oil and gas platforms and wind farms – both on and offshore. The company will use the investment to grow its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£73,125
TiPJAR is a cashless and contactless tipping platform that allows guests to tip workers in under 8 seconds via their phones, with no app required. TiPJAR's distribution engine empowers staff to control and share their tips and takes the admin burden and risk away from business owners. The company estimates the global tipping market to be worth a combined $100 billion per year, and it aims to be the worlds first multi-currency, scalable solution in this segment. The company's clients include Honest Burger, Yard Sale Pizza, and BrewDog. TiPJAR will use the investment to have live clients by November 2020 and expand across Europe and Australia.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£699,748
Screach provides consumer focused venues with the ability to intelligently engage and interact with their customers via installed digital displays (TVs) and mobile phones. The Screen Reach software dynamically changes the screen content to improve its effectiveness in driving more sales by displaying relevant engaging content and promotions.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£590,000
Using digital technology to help manufacturers reduce costs and increase profits whilst cutting their environmental impacts. Manufacture 2030 has developed a highly scalable, cloud-based software platform for businesses to utilise and become more resource-efficient. The software contains project management features, technical information and the best action to take in particular scenarios. As the software sits in the cloud, manufacturers can quickly and easily access the platform without modifying their current IT configurations.
Manufacture 2030 generates revenue via licensing fees sold to individual factory sites owned by businesses. Current clients include Mars, ABP Group and Interface who are all ready to scale the product further. The company has also gained support from the UK and US Department of Energy, as well as the University of Cambridge.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£280,120
As a way for you to own your personal data, HATDeX have built the HAT micro server to give people more control and power when online. There are currently more than 1150 HATs created with RCUK providing £3.2m in funding value. HATs are versatile and can be used by their owners to create apps with major customers such as Tata Motors UK.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£236,740
SortFlow's proprietary software solution intends to optimise the design and operation of waste recovery and recycling plants. The company argues that the UK, Europe and North America are expected to increase their recycling capacity over the next decade, which requires building more sorting and recycling facilities and maximising the amount of waste they can process. SortFlow claims its software can help the aforementioned parties save time, recycle more materials, and be more profitable. SortFlow released Version 1 of its software in October 2020, which is still being used in 5 countries by early adopter customers, including leading industry players such as Suez & Bollegraaf. SortFlow intends to release Version 2 later in 2021 and commercially roll it out to the broader market. The company aspires to become a contender in the waste management industry valued at an estimated £295 billion. It states it will use the investment to accelerate its growth by investing in product development, boosting its sales and marketing effort, and growing its team.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£339,957
Marine Power Systems (MPS) states that it has developed a technology that can harness wind power, wave power or combined wind and wave energy at grid scale. It argues that governments worldwide are looking for alternative sources to meet global energy consumption needs. MPS endeavours to usher in an energy revolution and become a contender in the floating offshore energy market that is set to be worth over $100 billion by 2035. MPS claims to have successfully tested its medium-scaled prototype in the ocean, demonstrating the ease of transportation, deployment, and showcasing the devices ability to generate grid compliant electricity. The company has been awarded a £12.8 million grant by the European Union (EU) to deliver a full scale, grid-connected commercial demonstrator in 2022. It says it will use the investment to conduct its final phase of development and testing before taking its devices to market in Q1 of 2024.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£4,151,001
