• Picfair

  Participated · Equity · Sep 2017

  Picfair operates an online marketplace serving roughly 35,000 photographers, allowing them to sell image licenses and prints. The company has launched Picfair Stores, giving each photographer a free independent online store while keeping images available on the central marketplace. Customers can purchase licensed digital copies or on-demand physical prints through those stores. Picfair positions itself as a blend of marketplace exposure, website-builder control, and on-demand print functionality aimed at amateur and professional creators, per founder Benji Lanyado. It has also launched a photo agency unit that leverages its photographer network to fulfil briefs for brands and agencies such as Google, VisitBritain and Ogilvy. Financially, Picfair recently completed an equity crowdfunding round and previously raised a £1.5 million seed round a year earlier. Picfair operates an open photo marketplace where anyone from smartphone shooters to professionals can upload images and set their own license prices. The platform takes a 20% cut on each sale and uses curation technology to surface quality images regardless of photographer credentials. Picfair hosts around 25,000 photographers and has grown largely through organic word-of-mouth among creators. The company positions itself as a provider of more authentic, unique imagery for publishers, creative agencies, SMEs and corporates. Future plans include introducing affiliate revenue to give photographers an extra 10% on direct sales and building tools (embed buy buttons and promotional assets) to make marketing easier. Picfair raised £1.5M in new funding to help scale marketing and 'weaponise' its photographer base. Picfair is a London-based online image marketplace where photographers upload and sell photos, with Picfair taking a 20% commission on top of photographer-set fees. The site organizes images by themes and uses an algorithm to track which images are being shared across the web to surface popular content. Since opening for business in August 2013, Picfair has seen about 40,000 images uploaded from 50 countries. Founder Benji Lanyado expanded the operation from a one-person band and has hired four people following the seed round. The company plans product enhancements including dynamic pricing recommendations and automatic surge pricing when images begin to buzz. The recent seed funding will be used to build out more features in the marketplace.

• OnePulse

  Participated · Seed · Oct 2015

  OnePulse is an online platform that gives global brand and product leaders instant access to verified respondents and delivers results in real time via a mobile app. The service enables rapid insight gathering to narrow research, speed innovation, and focus product and marketing efforts. It has established a large community of mobile app members in over 50 countries and serves clients including Netflix, TikTok, Coca-Cola, M&S and Channel 4. Run by CEO Mike Billingsley and founder/CTO Cameron Gordon, the company plans to use new funding to grow teams in both continents and continue its global expansion. Financially, OnePulse secured a follow-on investment of £420k from Blackfinch Ventures; the firm had previously invested £1.5m in 2021 and £2.1m in March 2022. The company intends to build on its existing international client base as it scales. OnePulse operates a platform that converts market research into real-time conversations between brands and consumers via micro-market surveys of up to three questions. It targets Millennials and Gen Z, delivering instantaneous feedback through a gamified app where consumers earn micro-payments. Brands can ask follow-up questions on the platform to iterate products quickly and maintain product agility. OnePulse counts Coca-Cola, TikTok, Marks & Spencer, Channel 4, Zenith, SC Johnson, and Boohoo among its clients. The company operates across the UK, US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, India, Australia, Canada, and Kenya, with plans to expand into Russia, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and Ireland. It has raised £2 million to fuel global expansion; the round was led by Blackfinch with follow-on investment from Nexus Investments. OnePulse operates a mobile and web platform that lets companies ask groups of highly targeted people up to three questions and receive instant responses. To respondents, OnePulse is positioned as a lifestyle app where users give opinions on news, products, interests and hobbies and earn micro-payments and experience points. The company already has a significant presence in the U.K. and North Africa and serves over 300 international clients, including Aviva, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, Marks & Spencer, Coca-Cola and KFC. Led by CEO Atul Choudrie, OnePulse combines consumer-facing incentives with a B2B insight product for brands and agencies. The company plans to use the recent funding to launch in the United States in Summer 2017. No revenue or user-count figures are stated in the article. OnePulse operates a mobile and web platform that lets companies ask people around the UK questions and receive instant consumer feedback, with results available online for analysis and export. The app rewards users with micro-payments for answering “pulses” from brands. The company serves over 300 clients, including Aviva, CGA Strategy, Coca-Cola, Bartle Bogle Hegarty and LBi Digitas. Led by CEO Atul Choudrie, OnePulse offers on-demand insights to brands and businesses of any size or stage. The company plans to use recent funding to grow its user base, release a new version of its client tool, and begin international expansion.

No current team members are available.