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
Nooro makes cannabidiol (CBD) snack bars. Company founder J.D. Furlong asserts that blending CBD and certain nootropics lead to better cognitive functions in individuals. Nooro also argues that it is the UK's first CBD snack bar seller that is plant-based and gluten-free. The company's products are stocked across 250 retail outlets, cafes, gyms, and delis across the UK. Nooro pivoted to Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) sales during COVID-19 to get better margins. It invested in creating a business model with four distinct revenue streams with 60% earnings coming via e-commerce D2C sales, 15% via digital affiliate sales, 15% via direct sales to partners, and 10% via wholesalers. The company will use the investment to launch an additional three new flavours by February 2021 and grow its business across different verticals.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£235,819
Stark is a blockchain connected software application that allows businesses to accept digital currencies peer-to-peer via online and instore routes. The application supports same-day settlements supporting 30 international currencies and endeavours to make acquiring a 'Merchant Acquiring Account' (MAA) an effortless task for business owners and entrepreneurs. Payment companies, gateways and financial technology providers can integrate with Stark to offer new solutions to their business clients. Stark's goal is to build a team that is passionate about technology and helping businesses succeed. The company will use the investment to enter the market with an effective sales-focused marketing campaign.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£182,366
Sweat IT is a fitness studio in London, which provides supreme high-intensity training experience with the hardest workouts. The UK fitness industry continues to grow high at a value of over £5 billion because of increasing demand for a healthy lifestyle. Sweat IT redefines this with healthy eating and exercise. The company has the vision to take its business growth to the next level and become the leader of boutique fitness. They have partnered with Gympass, the world’s leading corporate fitness platform to deliver high-intensity fitness classes to London based corporate clients. Till date, they have had over 50,000 class bookings with more than 13,000 Instagram followers and a database of 10,000 customers. The company intends on using the investment for marketing and product branding and next-level growth. They are also looking to fund their second studio in London and have ear-marked a potential site in the City.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£211,220
Thrillz is a portal that aims to create life-changing moments for users by allowing them to personally connect with their favourite celebrities. The company intends to become a leader in the global gifting market that is worth £450 billion. It argues that its average monthly revenue growth of 157% in 2020 was driven by the recruitment of high-quality celebrities with 75% of sales accomplished via organic growth, by word of mouth, product virality, and PR in national outlets. Thrillz was named as a 'Top UK Startup in 2020' by Startup Pill and has featured in press publications like The Sun, The Times, and The Evening Standard, to name a few. The company has launched its app on iOS and Android platforms and achieved a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 82. It will use the investment to scale its celebrity network, usher New Product Development (NPS), and hire personnel across marketing and operations.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£552,304
Effie is a machine designed to automatically iron your clothes at home. The prototype of the machine was created to automatically iron the shirt regardless of its size, colour, or cut. This technology is patent-pending that underpins this process. There are over 350,000 registrations from customers who are willing to buy the product. The product has been covered by many reputed media platforms like Evening Standard, House Beautiful, UNILAD and many more. With the investment proceeds, the company will take its patent-pending technology and further develop it into a fully-completed prototype which is fully user-tested.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£1,021,600
CakeDrop is a cake scheduling and delivery platform revolutionising office cake culture. The company's products, it claims, helps save office managers' time, brings teams together, and provides a lucrative route to market for local artisan bakeries. In the wake of Covid-19, the company adapted itself to provide cake by post which has proved to be a profitable move with companies wanting to treat staff at home. CakeDrop sells packages of 5, 12, 25 or 50 cakes, which appear as a credit on a customers' online account for them to schedule for delivery as-and-when required. The company delivers its cakes via zero-emission bikes. It has featured in publications like British Baker Magazine, City AM and Business Daily and has witnessed an 84% repeat purchase rate on packages from 2018 onwards. The company will use the investment to improve its marketing campaign, upgrade its platform, hire staff and boost product development.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£100,621
Muniy makes banking easy for everyone, spreading a digital banking revolution with a focus on improving user experience, not only for familiar banking functions, but extending into other areas, such as retail experience, where people spend money. With Muniy's recently launched personal mobile money application as well as Muniy contactless card in the UK and Europe, the company aims to be at the forefront of banking innovation. The application can be used to pay via QR code, Mastercard, or for P2P transactions. By paying with Muniy, customers connect with merchants anonymously allowing the latter to profit from lower transaction processing costs. The company aims to introduce personalised rewards to its customers and soon launch the application in the Middle East. The company will utilise the investments to run a pilot in the UK and the European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member, and leverage a mature market to establish a foundation quickly in order to introduce their core financial services to key markets in the Middle East.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£207,510
UnderPinned gives freelancers a single, dedicated platform to learn how to build a successful business, find clients, manage their work, and help them get paid on time. The company aspires to build a connection with users that ensures everyone thrives through its accelerator programme, community, and content. UnderPinned asserts that its accelerator programme allows it to achieve day one unit profitability before converting users to subscribers. It claims to have made £12,772 in revenue with £8,000 spent on marketing in its first month of programme sales in January 2021. The company argues that COVID-19 has accelerated freelancing, moving away from traditional employment. UnderPinned has a community of over 20,000 subscribers and growing. It says itvwill use the investment to scale its team, marketing and product development as it focuses on expanding in the US and EU markets.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£629,086
StanMe aims to be the first community marketplace to enable collaboration and co-selling between independent creators. It asserts that the majority of creators have to continuously learn techniques to market themselves, adapt to social platforms’ ever-changing algorithms, and grow and maintain a large community to generate a sufficient amount of sales. StanMe claims that not all can do so and intends to address this situation with its services. It launched its public beta in July 2020 with more than 1,000 users and has processed over 130 transactions since its beta launch. StanMe claims it has more than 1,900 pre-registered users on its waiting list and aspires to become a contender in the creator economy valued at $11 billion in 2019. It will use the investment to accelerate its growth, invest in technology, and boost marketing initiatives.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£164,080
