Black Ballad (BB) is a subscription media lifestyle platform that uses media, community and data to empower black women in Britain and beyond. The company asserts that since its inception in 2014, it has become a dominant force for Black women in Britain, with thousands of members paying upwards of £4.99 per month or £49 per year to access BB's combination of content, events and lifestyle perks. BB claims that it has been the recipient of over £125,000 in grants from organisations that include NESTA, Deutsche Bank and Kings College London. BB argues that it launched two successful surveys about Black Motherhood and Black Women in Britain producing over 400,000 data points from nearly 6,000 respondents. The company has also signed a content partnership with BBC to launch Steve McQueen's 'Small Axe' mini-series. It will use 35% of the investment on technology evolution, 23% towards content creation, 23% towards audience development and marketing, 13% for business development, and 6% for legal, accounting and miscellaneous expenses.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£337,885
Boring Money is an investment guidance platform that presents users with investment/pension guides & comparison tables to help them make sound investment decisions. The company asserts that 47% of the UK's 16 million investors lack confidence and want clearer communication to make better investment decisions. BM sees itself as the solution to the aforementioned issue and aims to be a market leader in the segment. The company earned £1 million+ in revenue in 2019 and a 4.8/5 rating on Trustpilot. BM's clients include organisations like BlackRock, Barclays, Wealthify and Nutmeg. The company has also featured in publications like The Financial Times, The Times & the BBC. It will use the investment to grow its presence, monetise its website, and help more people make better investment decisions.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£900,009
Donr is an online fundraising platform intending to revolutionise access to donation solutions for welfares and charities of all sizes. The company has served over 1,450 charities to raise £500,000 in the first year from launch. The Northstar Ventures has invested £300k, who are following on. Donr was on #33 in BusinessCloud's 100 FinTech Disrupters of 2019. The funds will be used for powerful fundraising tools, team expansion and team growth.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£249,740
PRYNTD is an immersive on-demand and live-streaming platform. The company enables content creators to create, convert and share 2D content and live streams as immersive experiences that audiences can access on their smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs, augmented and virtual reality devices. PRYNTD claims that its website witnessed 200,000 views to date, supporting 100+ artists, and onboarding 50+ affiliate partnerships. The company aspires to dominate the immersive content market that is set to grow to $900 billion by 2026, with entities like Apple, Facebook, Microsoft as key players. PRYNTD has been applauded by UK innovation agency, 'Digital Catapult' and accepted to the Mayor of London's 'Growth With AI' programme. The company states it will use the investment to improve its technology, reach a wider audience, and maximise exposure for its creators.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£84,473
PANTSANDSOCKS.COM is an online retailer and subscription service that helps men buy branded underwear and socks. They state their mission is to be a convenient, one-stop-shop for top brands in the market. PANTSANDSOCKS.COM argues that it is an ‘Authorised Stockist’ of 16+ leading brands including Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. The company claims to have fulfilled over 2,000 orders, welcomed over 100,000 unique website visitors to its site, achieved a 4.6/5, ‘Excellent’ Trustpilot rating, and signed up over 4,000 people to its database. The company has integrated with Amazon and Google Shopping to provide additional revenue streams. They state they will use the investment to achieve 100,000 unique visitors per month by the end of Q3 2021, meet its business targets, and continue to develop its internal capabilities at a sustainable rate.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£205,504
Cranes Drinks is the fastest growing cider company in the UK, producing a range of innovative fruit ciders. By utilising the fruit’s natural sweetness, its drinks contain 30% fewer calories compared to that of brand leaders. Cranes ciders come in 3 flavours: blueberry & apple, cranberry & lime, and raspberry & pomegranate. As per Cranes, 34% of cider drinkers haven't consumed cider drinks much because it’s too sweet or has too much sugar. This makes Cranes a top contender in a growing fruit cider market worth £1.3 billion. The company's entire range is available on Ocado, and it has received 3 national listings in prominent retail chains like Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons. The brand has won 3 awards for its spirit range including a Gold Award in the Liqueur Masters organised by The Spirits Business and two awards from the International Wine & Spirits Competition. It has also received substantial media coverage in publications like Made In Chelsea, Dragons Dens, The Daily Telegraph, The Evening Standard, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Bella amongst others. With the investment, the company aims to use 25% of it as working capital, 60% in marketing, and 15% in managing key finances.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£246,046
SEVEN BRO7HERS BREWING CO. is a brewery created by seven brothers from Salford in 2014. The company has rapidly grown after seeing a 181% increase in turnover between 2017-2019. It has already launched two beerhouses, the site for the third in Liverpool has been secured while the fourth in Leeds is under negotiation. The company also plans to open a partnership bar in Manchester Airport around October 2020. The brewhouse production capacity has increased by over 800% in 5 years. The company has secured deals with Co-op, supplies to all Booths stores, and recently clinched a deal with Ocado. It will use the investment to procure six new beerhouse sites in the next two years, expand production capacity to 2 million litres per annum, and grow its business further.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£420,837
Using artificial intelligence and robotics to increase farming efficiency whilst reducing the environmental impact. Small Robot Company is utilising Farming as a Service (FaaS) and has created three robots to perform a farmer's usual tasks. These lightweight machines do not damage and compact soil, as heavy tractors do which leads to decreased plant growth and increased time spent ploughing to revive the topsoil.
Their three robots, named Tom, Dick and Harry, each have unique responsibilities. Tom collects information on the farm, Dick looks after crops and Harry plants individual seeds. The company's AI, dubbed Wilma, provides a digital scope of the farm and dictates which plants require the most attention Small Robot Company has already received a £5,000 deposit from 20 farms and manufactured concepts of their machines.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,173,940
Itasca Wines is a Hampshire-based vineyard and winery that produces fine English wines. The company is raising funds for its contract winemaking facility, to fulfil the growing demand from vineyards. There are over 760 vineyards in the UK currently, 111 have their own winery and only a handful of these provide contract winemaking services to other vineyards. Itasca Wines aims to become a major winemaker and create award-winning wines at Penn Croft. The company planted its first vineyard of 16,000 vines in May 2019 and has featured in Vineyard Magazine in February and May 2019.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,147,003
Meeow is a company that seeks to offer unlimited, on-demand business networking. It argues that Covid-19 has changed the idea of networking with an increasing demand for in-person online networking solutions. Meeow aims to capture this sentient through its app. The company's AI-driven proprietary platform brings four people together for 1 hour in an interactive video session through a combination of random selection and machine learning. Meeow's ongoing BETA saw more than 420 Meeowists using its service. The company will use the investment for marketing its service network, further develop its platform, and expand its early adopter community to a minimum of 10,000 users by the end of 2021.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£125,235
