Led · Equity · Nov 2018

Tandem Bank is a Blackpool, UK–based purpose-led digital bank focused on helping households reduce their carbon footprint and supporting the UK’s transition to a carbon neutral economy. It offers sustainable ways to save, borrow, spend and share through products including savings, home improvement loans, mortgages, motor financing and consumer-sharing offerings. Underpinning these propositions is a fintech banking platform that includes a mobile app and a digital franchise supporting a network of financial advisers and brokers. Led by CEO Alex Mollart, Tandem is building and expanding its digital banking platform and distribution network. The bank secured £20m in Tier 2 capital from Quilam Capital and intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and its business reach. Tandem Bank is a London-based digital challenger bank that provides virtual banking services and a technology platform. The bank has more than 300,000 customers and reported an annual revenue run rate of £15m. Tandem Money, the parent company, recorded total costs of £23.5m in 2017, up from £20.4m in 2016. Tandem acquired Harrods Bank last year, which allowed it to regain a banking licence and provided £80m of capital after a prior funding partner reneged. The company plans to expand into Asia—targeting Hong Kong—to challenge incumbent lenders and capitalise on shifting virtual banking regulation, leveraging partnerships and its technology to grow internationally. Tandem Bank operates as a mobile-first digital retail bank focused on millennial customers. The company is led by CEO Ricky Knox and is already authorized by the FCA and PRA. Tandem raised £22m in a Series B-1 venture capital funding round that valued the company at $65m. It is launching a £1m crowdfunding campaign via Seedrs (live May 20). The bank plans to launch operations in late 2016. The funding and regulatory approvals are positioned to support its market entry and product rollout.

Led · Equity · Oct 2018

Goxip operates a shoppable Instagram-style platform that helps users discover and buy high-end fashion, listing retailers such as Net-a-Porter, Harrods and ASOS and brands including Nike, Alexander McQueen and Topshop. It reports 600,000 monthly users and average orders of $300, and is getting close to breaking even. Goxip says it will use new capital and a partnership with Convoy to offer installment-based financing via a virtual credit card, enabling staggered payments over 6–12 months. The company recently opened an office in Bangkok and plans an imminent launch in Thailand, its second expansion after Malaysia. Goxip has also launched RewardSnap, an influencer-marketing service similar to RewardStyle, with 150 influencers signed up and a combined following of over 14 million; one example is Elly Lam with 140,000 followers. Management sees flexible payments and influencer integrations as ways to better address Southeast Asian consumers who typically spend less. Goxip is a Hong Kong-based social shopping service whose core app functions like a 'shoppable Instagram,' enabling users to post outfit photos, wish lists and earn money when followers click and buy. The company claims about 300,000 users mainly in Hong Kong and Malaysia and has partnerships with Net-a-Porter, Harrods, and ASOS. Most of its 20-plus employees are based in its Hong Kong office. Goxip plans to expand into Thailand and explore opportunities with Southeast Asian retailers while shifting its main focus toward influencer marketing via an upcoming service called RewardSnap. RewardSnap, launching in the coming months, will be invite-only for influencers (Gimenez suggested a 500,000 follower minimum) and will allow influencers to post content anywhere on the internet, not just the Goxip app. The company is partnering with Meitu and expects to leverage Meitu's regional user base and apps to accelerate growth in Southeast Asia. Goxip is a Hong Kong-based startup that describes itself as a "shoppable Instagram" for fashion followers in Asia, using image recognition to match uploaded images with items sold by retail partners. The app originally launched on Android, was redeveloped, and now has an iOS version. Goxip aggregates 400–500 merchants selling over two million items from upwards of 15,000 brands. The company is led by CEO and co-founder Juliette Gimenez with co-founder and CPO YC Lau, and it won the top startup award at the inaugural Rise conference months after being founded. Goxip closed a $1.62 million seed funding round, which the company says will be used to expand from Hong Kong into Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia. The product includes social features—Instagram sync, tagging up to five items, searchable celebrity looks, and user-uploaded photo browsing—and the company plans to help bloggers monetize via commissions and in-app stores. Goxip faces stiff competition from major players like Facebook and e‑commerce investments such as Alibaba's backing of Lazada, but maintains an Asia-first growth strategy.

Led · Equity · Nov 2016

Nutmeg is a digital wealth management platform offering online investment and advisory services. The company says it will use new funding to deliver innovative products and features that expand its offering. Management plans to expand via an international B2B plug-and-play partnership model that leverages its proprietary technology. Nutmeg has grown to become the largest digital wealth manager in Europe and the eighth largest wealth manager in the U.K. The platform serves about 60,000 investors. The recent $58 million investment led by Goldman Sachs reinforces the firm's growth strategy. Nutmeg is a UK fintech that manages investment portfolios on behalf of retail customers. The company pulled in an additional £12m ($14.6m) into its Series D from Taipei Fubon Bank, bringing the Series D to $51m (£42m). Last month Nutmeg announced a £30m raise led by Convoy with participation from Balderton Capital, Pentech, Armada Investment Group and Nigel Wray; the company has now raised $86.8m (£71m) to date. The £12m investor, Taipei Fubon Bank, is a subsidiary of Taiwan’s second-largest financial services firm. Nutmeg says the proceeds will be used to fuel innovation, expansion and to maintain its growth trajectory, and CEO Martin Stead said the company will invest in product innovations and expand into new categories and territories. The firm manages approximately £600m in assets under management on behalf of about 25,000 customers. Nutmeg is a UK digital wealth manager that offers automated investment portfolio management with a friendly UI and goal-based settings, accepting investments from as little as £500. Customers can open ISAs, pensions, or other wrappers and set risk levels that determine monthly automated investment and diversification. Founded in 2012, Nutmeg says it manages more than half a billion pounds for a growing base of over 20,000 customers. The company has raised just shy of £60 million over the last five years and last fundraised in June 2014. The new capital will be used to expand product offerings, add new investing options and tax wrappers, further develop the advice element of the service, and scale the business. Convoy's investment is described as strategic and is said to open the door to expansion into Asia. Nutmeg is a UK-based online investment management startup offering portfolio management services to anyone with as little as £1,000 to invest. Its fees start at 1% and go as low as 0.3%, undercutting traditional managers' average 1.36% commission. The company reports over 35,000 registered users, Q1 customer acquisition up 350% year‑over‑year, and is already in the top 25 wealth managers in the UK. The new funds will be used for customer acquisition and product development as Nutmeg aims to deliver "Amazon-like" levels of customer service. Nutmeg was founded by Nick Hungerford and William Todd; Hungerford initially raised from Draper Associates after his Stanford MBA and previously worked as an investment manager at Brewin Dolphin. Schroders executive chairman Massimo Tosato will take a seat on Nutmeg's board. Nutmeg is a U.K. online investment manager that aims to simplify financial products through a web-based UI. It aligns users' savings and investments with stated life goals, reducing the need for individual stock picking or paid financial advice. The service is partially algorithmically driven and positioned as a more accessible alternative to traditional investment management. Nutmeg charges an annual management fee of up to 1% (including VAT) and offers a loyalty scheme where users can reduce fees to as low as 0.3% through referrals and invested pounds. The company has raised a £3.4m ($5.3m) VC round to support its plans. It is gearing up for a U.K. launch this summer.