Birmingham Science Park firm secures £100,000 investment
THE firm behind a social network based on people’s hobbies has secured £100,000 from private investors and Birmingham City Council, delivered via its Finance Birmingham subsidiary.
Oxygen Accelerator 2011 start-up firm Hobzy, based at Birmingham Science Park, will use the cash to help generate 300,000 users for its online hobby platform by July next year.
Whilst Facebook’s connections are based on friends and family, Hobzy.com’s users upload examples of their hobbies to gain feedback, find inspiration and join a worldwide like-minded community.
The revenue generation model for the website has a number of strands, including lead generation, selling advertising and encouraging registered users to buy ‘Hobzy credits’ for featured slots, themes and domain names.
The three founders of the company are all 23 year olds: Alex Major, an Aston University graduate, Coventry University alumnus Dan Rice and Andy Robinson – who worked worked with BBC Apprentice 2012 finalist Nick Holzherr, who is also based at the science park.
Andy Povey, client relationship Manager at Finance Birmingham, said: “Hobzy is a great example of a tech start-up that has created an online platform which is capable of appealing to a mass, worldwide audience.
“We are really impressed that on being selected onto the Oxygen Accelerator programme at Birmingham Science Park in September 2011, Hobzy.com attracted 8,200 registered users in its first week.
“New user registrations have continued to grow to 15,000, without a marketing campaign being in place. This £100,000 investment will pay for targeted advertising to significantly enhance awareness of the site and ensure a critical mass of registered users are captured within a matter of months.
“At that point the revenue generation model will kick in, creating a highly sustainable business.”
The Oxygen Accelerator programme secured a 6% stake in Hobzy.com in return for the intensive support and upfront investment the team received over six months at Birmingham Science Park, where the company has chosen to remain to develop its business.
Mark Hales, founder of Oxygen Accelerator said: “Innovative online concepts which have mass market appeal can become highly valuable businesses in a very short space of time. With the main age group being 25-45 year olds, Hobzy.com is very attractive to potential advertisers.”
