• Prowly PR Software

  Led · Seed · Jan 2016

  Prowly offers a SaaS platform for PR teams and agencies, centered on 'Brand Journals' that consolidate social and video channels, photos and blog posts in one place. The product also includes contact database management, creation of polished brand releases, and distribution tools. The company has been on the market for almost two years and counts customers such as IKEA, Spotify, National Geographic and Allegro. Prowly's business model is monthly recurring revenue, which the CEO says enables transparent planning and easy trial by potential clients. With the fresh funding the startup plans to market the platform heavily abroad. Financial specifics in the article note the recent seed funding but do not disclose other financial metrics like revenue or user counts.

• Azimo

  Participated · Series B · Jun 2015

  Azimo is a money-transfer fintech headquartered in London with the majority of its staff based in Kraków, Poland (130 of 160 employees). It offers low-cost international payments to 200+ countries and territories and claims 2 million registered customers. The company has raised $50 million of equity to date from investors including Rakuten, eVentures, Greycroft and Frog Capital and reported it was profitable in August. Azimo plans to use new capital to accelerate R&D and scale its proprietary payments platform, including hiring engineering and product talent. Management also intends to increase marketing spend to scale faster across Europe. In response to Brexit it has secured an e-money licence in the Netherlands to continue trading in Europe. Azimo offers mobile- and web-based money transfer services that focus on speed, low fees and emerging-market corridors. The company launched Azimo Business to serve SMEs across the U.K. and Europe, enabling payments to 189 countries. Azimo says its business pricing undercuts banks by 50% or more and aims to deliver faster transfers and a smoother UX via its apps and web platform. Business users must pass KYC and KYB checks to meet anti-money‑laundering regulatory requirements; Azimo has built technology and processes to scale those checks while minimizing false positives. While running in beta, Azimo Business customers on average sent six times more money than Azimo’s consumer customers. Popular sending countries include the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and France; top receiving countries include Poland, China, Singapore, Pakistan, Hong Kong and South Africa. Azimo provides digital remittance services focused on migrant workers sending money home, supporting endpoints in 190 countries and 80 currencies. The company says roughly 500 million people have transferred money through its app since its 2012 founding. It has been an early mover in social and messaging integrations and plans to expand further into Asia, building on existing services to the Philippines and Thailand. Azimo aims to undercut offline rivals by offering transaction fees below 2%, versus typical offline fees of 5–8%. The business is popular in Europe and is experimenting with integrations into messaging platforms to drive growth. CEO and co-founder Michael Kent said the company’s valuation has increased since its prior round and that it is likely to raise a larger round next year. Azimo is a London-based mobile-first remittance service that provides all-digital money transfers across roughly 200 countries and supports about 80 currencies. Founded in 2012, the company focuses on migrant customers in Europe and emerging markets, with popular corridors including Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and parts of Asia. Its product targets smaller remittances—the average transaction size is about $700, typically representing 25–50% of a customer’s take-home pay—and Facebook-based transfers account for roughly 25% of transactions. The company reports a five-fold growth rate (specific values not disclosed) and emphasizes lower costs and economies of scale from its digital network. Azimo has raised $31M to date and was valued at just under $100M according to sources. Management plans to use new funding to build out operations across Europe and deepen engagement with migrant communities. Azimo offers an online and mobile remittance service that lets users transfer money internationally to bank accounts, local cash pickup points, or as mobile-wallet top-up credit. Launched in August 2012 and headquartered in the UK, the company supports transfers from numerous European countries to 192 destinations worldwide. It charges between 1% and 2% per transaction, positioning itself as significantly cheaper than incumbents like Western Union, PayPal, and banks. Azimo reports fastest recipient growth in Latin America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. The company plans to use new funding to accelerate European expansion and to target key markets in North America and Asia. Its distribution channels include the web, native mobile apps, and Facebook integration.

• Auctionata

  Led · Series C · Mar 2015

  Auctionata operates an online auction platform that livestreams auctions of art and luxury collectibles, enabling global bidders to tune into the hall and bid via its website or mobile app. The company auctions items across categories including contemporary and fine art, antiques, Asian art, watches, wine, vintage luxury goods and classic cars, and leverages patented real-time streaming technology. In 2015 Auctionata reported a Gross Merchandise Volume of €81m, a 165% increase versus the prior year, with around 76% of GMV generated from livestream auctions and 24% from fixed‑price sales. Nearly 80% of GMV was realized through the Berlin office, with the remainder from New York City and London; the strongest turnover categories were Watches (25%), Classic Cars (23%) and Fine Art (22%). The company sold about 16,000 items in 2015, held 249 auctions (44 broadcast live from New York), recorded more than 100,000 bids totaling €483m, and reported net commission revenue of €21m versus €6m in 2014. Auctionata operates a live-streamed auction platform for fine art, antiques and luxury collectibles, running weekly live auctions since May 2013. The company combines online streaming with an expert-driven vetting process, calling on about 300 experts across 40 countries. It maintains full offices in Berlin and New York and smaller offices in London, Zürich, Rome and Madrid. Auctionata plans to expand into new geographies and new categories, and to invest further in the technology behind its live-stream format. New auction areas it intends to add include musical instruments, memorabilia, architectural and garden pieces, diamonds and real estate, while continuing investments in watches, classic cars, wine, jewelry, design, contemporary art, fine art, antiques and Asian art. In 2014 the company reported net sales of €31.5 million and posted €12.5 million in net sales in the first quarter of 2015. Auctionata operates an online platform for art, antiques and collectibles, broadcasting live auctions in HD to computers, tablets and mobile devices and providing valuation and auction-house services. Its categories include Old Masters, modern and contemporary art, porcelain, silver, antiques, design, photography, jewelry, watches, wine, Islamic and Asian art, textiles, books and manuscripts. The company leverages a global network of 250 experts to provide free valuations and has conducted 17 online live auctions in 2014 with total net turnover of €4.6m. Auctionata reports 75,000 customers from over 100 countries and about 500,000 website visitors per month. It employs over 100 people across offices in Berlin and New York. The company intends to use the new funding to expand globally. Auctionata is a Berlin-based online fine art auction house that brings the services of a traditional auction house to the internet. It broadcasts live auctions in TV quality to computers, tablets and mobile devices. The company operates a global network of 250 experts who provide free valuations for art, antiques, collectibles and luxury vintage items. Founded one year ago by Alexander Zacke and Georg Untersalmberger, Auctionata also maintains a New York office and employs about 100 people. The company recently raised $20.2M in funding and previously secured a $2.5M round from Bright Capital Digital in 2012. Auctionata, founded in 2011, operates an online auction platform focused on antiquarian items and collectibles. It offers a patented real-time bidding system run by international experts, state-licensed auctioneers and experienced professionals. The platform enables users to bid on and sell items such as diamond rings, works of art, furniture and rare stamps. Sellers can list via weekly auctions (every Friday at 6pm CET), special themed auctions, or a sales gallery offering expert-priced fixed listings. Experts provide valuations and professional photography for auction catalogues. Financially, the company has raised $2.5M from Bright Capital Digital and is also backed by e.ventures and Holtzbrinck Ventures; the company is currently hiring.

• Oktogo

  Participated · Equity · Mar 2015

  Oktogo is a Russian online travel company that operates hotel booking service Oktogo.ru and the travel portal Travel.ru. Oktogo.ru lists more than 8,000 hotels in Russia and 350,000 hotels worldwide. Travel.ru was purchased in 2013 to provide editorial and user-generated travel content to Russian travelers. Led by CEO Marina Kolesnik, the company intends to use the new funding to increase sales and marketing efforts in Russia and CIS countries. The company raised more than $5m in the reported funding round and had previously raised $30m in venture capital from Mangrove Capital Partners, Ventech, VTB Capital and others. Backers in the recent raise included MCI Management and Mangrove Capital Partners. Oktogo operates a hotel-booking website and recently acquired travel information site Travel.ru. The company is rebranding itself under the Travel.ru name following that acquisition. It received a $5 million investment to fund marketing expansion and a revision of its business strategy. The financing is intended to support the rebrand and strategic overhaul. Oktogo is targeting Russia's growing online travel market, noting about 66 million Internet users in the country. The company is based in St. Petersburg, Russia. Oktogo.ru is an online hotel reservations agency designed for Russian travelers, led by founder and CEO Marina Kolesnik. The service lists over 5,000 hotels in Russia and more than 250,000 hotels worldwide. The company is based in St. Petersburg, Russia. In March 2013 it raised $11M in venture capital to support brand building and development in Russia. Backers included Mangrove Capital Partners, Ventech and Victor Sazhin Group, and Victor Sazhin joined the board. The company previously raised $10M in 2012 and $5M in 2011. Oktogo.ru is an online hotel booking and travel company based in St. Petersburg, Russia, led by Founder and CEO Marina Kolesnik. The company operates a database of over 2,500 hotels across Russia and the CIS. It raised $10M in the reported financing to expand its presence in the Russian online travel market. Oktogo.ru intends to provide most of Russia’s roughly 10,000 hotels with an online presence. The company previously raised $5M in April 2011, bringing total equity capital to date to $15M. Philip Wolf, founder and chairman of PhoCusWright, was added to the board as an independent director. Oktogo.ru operates an online hotel-aggregation service offering contracted hotel inventory and travel-related services. The company says it currently reaches 2,000 contracted hotels and claims the largest contracted hotels database in Russia and the former Soviet republics. It also markets what it calls the largest and most relevant hotel offering for Russians traveling abroad, including offline payment methods and visa support services. The new funding is intended to help Oktogo.ru sign up more Russian hotels as customers (7,000 mentioned in reporting), accelerate growth and build the company’s brand awareness. Management emphasizes experience in international online travel and IT with sector knowledge of Russia and the CIS. A partner at Mangrove Capital framed the investment as backing the current and potential growth of the Russian travel market.

• asgoodasnew

  Participated · Equity · Mar 2015

  asgoodasnew electronics GmbH, operating under the Wirkaufens brand, purchases used mobile phones, portable music players, Sat Nav units and digital cameras, then quality-checks, reprocesses and returns them to the market. The company is led by CEO Daniel Boldin and was founded in 2008 by Christian Wolf. It employs more than 110 people across Frankfurt (Oder) and Berlin. The core product flow is device procurement, refurbishment and resale through its consumer-facing channels. The recent financing indicates the company is seeking capital to support its operations and growth in the refurbished-electronics market. No revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.

No current team members are available.