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
Gively is an online marketplace where users can give and get secondhand items for free. The secondhand clothing market will double in value to £50 billion annually by 2023, and the company finds itself as a suitable contender in this domain. They aim to lower greenhouse gas emissions and minimise landfill sites through its portal. The company has reached over 5,000 users, 70% of which came from unpaid channels. Gively won an SME (Small and medium enterprises) grant worth £10,000 of television advertising and has received rave reviews from its users through the App Store, social media, and in person. They will use 50% of the investment for marketing purposes, 25% for technology up-gradation, and 25% for hiring human resources.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£105,207
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
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
Smartlands is a blockchain-based digital finance and investment ecosystem. It allows asset owners to turn an ownership right to a share of any asset, into a tradable digital token attributing it almost unlimited liquidity. In the UK, Smartlands is the first platform for crowdfunding investments that allows investors to use digital currencies alongside fiat currencies to raise capital. The platform boasts of a 16,000 strong community following with over 11,000 wallets opened since its inception. It has a reputed list of partners including Colliers International, CMS, Archax, UK Sotheby’s, and many more. They have been awarded the 'Best Crowdfunding Platform' at the 2020 FinTech Breakthrough Awards and have been featured in Yahoo Finance, Forbes, Coindesk, Benzinga, and Investors Chronicle to name a few. With the investment, the company will grow its internal engineering team and obtain the necessary licenses to move its business forward across Europe.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£379,183
Algarve Rock Brewery manufactures Portuguese craft beer. The company aims to put Portuguese craft beer on the map with flavoursome beers that embody local ingredients. They have won Best Stout award in Trujillo Festival 2018- Spain. They supply to major Portuguese outlets including Emprodalbe distributors, Apolonia supermarkets, prestigious Quinta do Lago resort and 'house' beers to Casa do Frango group in London. The proceeds will be used to start its themed Brewbars and Brew kiosks, to increase exports to the UK and USA, strengthen brand identity, team expansion and expansion of brewery to cope with increased demand.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£205,456
WyzePay is a platform for the issuance and sale of corporate digital currency. It helps businesses by giving them access to advance working capital, customer acquisition and retention, and consumer behaviour analytics into one turnkey platform. It gives customers access to a marketplace to avail discounts, where they can buy, manage and spend their currency. The company strives to ensure that customers receive tangible financial benefits while helping local businesses to prosper. WyzePay claims that its coins are stored in a digital wallet that can be used as a payment method on NFC terminals or online. It further stresses that its coins can’t be lost or stolen, are fully transferable, and never expire. WyzePay states it will use the investment for product development and team growth.
days to go:
Expired
investment:
£617,214
