Findr launches first crowdfunding campaign
UK-based partnerships platform Findr has gone live with its first crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs.
It will be open for a week for its private network before opening it to the public.
The funding, currently standing at £289,417 from 15 investors, will be its second investment raise. It aims to reach £500,000.
The investment will be used for acquiring new users, launching new subscription plans, adding new features to increase engagement, expanding to new sectors, raising awareness through PR and social media, and funding the core team.
Findr was launched at the end of October 2020 by resident FinTech Futures expert, Greg Watts.
Findr’s first investors were a combination of friends, family and angel investors.
Its first pre-seed round was raised last spring, which was used to design, test, build and launch Findr.
Launched at the end of October 2020 by resident FinTech Futures expert, Greg Watts, the platform aims to fix what Watts refers to as “the partnership problem”.
“We fix this problem by providing access to key decision makers who have a specific business requirement and are ready to engage with prospective, relevant partners,” says Watts.
“I’m delighted to say we’ve received significant interest in this round and anticipate closing it soon. We will then start a third raise for £500,000 later in the year,” he adds.
Findr is approaching 200 users, including a wide range of start-ups as well as established global players such as Mastercard, Visa and Uber.
Users sign up to Findr for free, create a profile and provide Findr with details about their business and what they’re looking for.
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“When they see a relevant partnership opportunity, they can request a one-hour ‘discovery call’. If the other user – the key decision maker – accepts the request, both businesses are sent a Findr-branded Zoom calendar invite for a discovery call to discuss the opportunity,” Watts tells FinTech Futures.
The requesting business pays £99 when the request is accepted and results in a call.
Watts notes that Findr will launch two new price plans targeted at larger businesses for fixed monthly fees in the spring.
Watts will also aim to apply machine learning to Findr’s data so it can offer hyper-targeted recommendations to its users – “similarly to how a dating app works,” he notes.
This will automate the process and cut down time which previously went into cold prospecting.
“We’re also growing our team,” he notes. “We’ve just recruited a vice president of partnerships who will focus on selling our subscription-based plans and cultivate relationships with larger users.
“We’re also hiring a machine learning engineer and are taking part in the UK government’s Kickstart Scheme, through which we’re recruiting a marketing assistant and operations assistant.”
Read next: Ask the expert: what’s the “partnership problem” – and how do I solve it?
