Mother-backed business incubator and accelerator Broody has acquired a five per cent stake in crowdfunding platform Crowdfunder. The deal will see the two organisations working together as partners to cement Crowdfunder’s position and give Broody’s portfolio of start-ups access to the benefits of crowdfunding.
Crowdfunder, now valued at £16.8m, has over 600,000 members and has raised more than £45 million for crowdfunding projects across the UK since 2014. It aims to be the biggest social funding platform in the world. As part of the deal Broody will have a seat on the Crowdfunder board.
Crowdfunder executive chairman Rob Love says: “We are delighted to team up with Broody and Mother as we move to a new stage of growth. The Crowdfunder team are passionate about ideas that might just change the world and Broody shares these values. Broody will bring a new level of experience and expertise as we focus on developing our brand and partnerships with businesses, grant makers and government.”
Broody co-founder Pippa Dunn says: “We believe that crowdfunding is part of a societal shift towards world class brands demonstrating measurable social impact. It’s therefore integral to Broody’s future as we help turn great ideas into successful businesses. This partnership enables us to offer our business partners unique access to the benefits of crowdfunding – whether that is raising money, validating ideas, creating advocates, building skills, trialling products, prototyping and researching innovations at a grass roots level.”
Over 900 investors have taken part in the latest round for Crowdfunder including cornerstone investors Creative England, Nesta and Crowdcube.
Mother has a long history of mostly successful investments in related businesses, many have which have been sold on.
