Investment app with a difference smashes fundraising target within two hours
Investment app, tickr, achieved its £500,000 crowdfunding target within two hours of its launch on investment platform Seedrs.
The Liverpool-based fintech firm plans to use the injection to accelerate user acquisition, while building several new features including a visual newsfeed giving users an interactive overview of the companies in their portfolio and the work they are doing to make an impact on the world.
Founded by former Barclays Wealth and Investment Management colleagues Tom McGillycuddy and Matt Latham last December, tickr appeals to a new generation of investors who are focused on ethical businesses who can make a difference, both socially or economically, in today’s world.
They include industries such as clean energy, clean water, low carbon, gender equality, diversity and inclusion, innovative healthcare, ageing population, automation and robotics, digitalisation, and cyber security.
Examples of current investments are Danish wind turbine company Vestas Wind systems and Xylem Clean Water, which aims to meet the world’s water, wastewater and energy needs and is listed on the New York stock Exchange.
User statistics from tickr show the scale of appetite for disruption in the investment market, with women making up 40%, while 90% of are between the ages of 25 and 39, while 65% are first-time investors entirely.
The funding campaign kicks off at a time of rapid development for tickr, which marked its formal launch into the market five months ago on iOS, with Android following in February.
Initial funding of almost £1m came from a range of investors including Dutch venture capital firm SLJ Investment Partners B.V in Summer 2018, who said: “The technology has the power to be an insightful force for good within the financial services industry, and appeal to a whole new generation of investors.”
The venture was recently named as one of Tech Nation’s 2019 10 rising stars and one of the world’s most innovative companies by WEALTHTECH 100.
Its team has expanded to 11 full-time members, with offices in London and central Liverpool.
Tom McGillycuddy said: “Millennials are twice as likely to invest in a portfolio that reflects their values and beliefs, but it’s still the wide held view that investing into companies doing good and promoting change in the world is difficult, or even impossible.
“Tickr was built to smash this perception by providing a simple and forward-thinking way to invest in truly transformative companies, combating social and environmental injustices, while potentially earning strong returns on their cash.
“We’ve been amazed with the uptake so far and we’re confident this crowdfunding campaign will take us one step further in realising our ambitions,” he added.
Despite achieving target within a couple of hours, the co-founders will leave the campaign open for a while: “The support from new and existing investors has been great so far and we are looking forward to seeing how the campaign progresses over the next few weeks,” they said.
