London based investment and advisory firm Ariadne Capital has secured GBP2.9 million of funding for five UK based high growth start-ups in the last six months, with several additional deals soon to close.
Ariadne focuses on early stage investments in internet and mobile companies led by entrepreneurs with an existing track record. In particular, Ariadne prioritises ‘game changing ideas’ in the areas of business applications, media technology, digital entertainment and financial services for consumers and small business.
“The winners of this stage of web development are those companies whose business models organise the economics of the ecosystem in which they operate," says Ariadne founder and CEO Julie Meyer (pictured). "By cutting in all stakeholders in the company’s transactions through an economic alignment, these companies are taking off with market traction – because it’s in everybody’s interest that they are successful."
Ariadne Capital pioneered the "Entrepreneurs Backing Entrepreneurs" financing model in 2000, and half a dozen of their 56 leading entrepreneur shareholders have invested in these deals.
"We see the investment opportunities in data monetisation, smartphone applications, social media + just about everything," adds Meyer. "But overall we’re looking for entrepreneurs who have a track record of solving big problems – non-trivial – where the solution is something which can’t just be copied – it must be executed well, but there’s an inherent cleverness to the solution and their expertise and trackrecord leads them to seeing the problem before others."
The companies for which Ariadne has raised money in the last six months are:
Everyclick – www.everyclick.com – Run by award-winning entrepreneur, Polly Gowers, Everyclick have pioneered the "Give As You Live" technology which puts the user in the driver seat to cut his favourite causes into his online transactions. Backed by Stanley Fink, new investors, Sir Peter Vardy and Midven have joined the investor base with Stanley Fink increasing his stake.
Geocast – www.geocast.co.uk – is an award-winning, local advertising network. The company serves location-based ads across both the online and mobile channels. In the UK Geocast has over 10,000 advertisers – ranging from small businesses to thousand-chain restaurants – all with a single goal of generating local footfall. The Geocast publisher network reaches over 30 million users per month. Partners include Ask Jeeves, Touch Local, DMGT and mobile platforms such as Layar. Investors in the round included Alice Avis, former Chairman of Sanctuary Spa Products. Founder and CEO, Brad Liebmann and co-founder Colin Bruce worked together successfully in their previous business.
Near Global – www.nearglobal.com – Near delivers a new kind of interactive experience. Using the latest video-game technology Near enables users to walk the streets, browse and buy from retailers, watch concerts and films and share information with friends, all in a beautifully realised environment. Founder and CEO Alex Wrottesley co-founded international exhibition company which was sold to ITE Group Plc in 2000, and led the brand launch of Real Madrid in Asia.
EGS – www.egsgroup.com – Led by serial business builder, Peter Whent, EGS Group provides Cloud-based solutions to automate and accelerate expensive and time consuming back office processes including corporate procurement, invoice processing, e-sourcing and accounts receivable. Paul Barry Walsh, the founder of SafetyNet (sold to Guardian IT) and former Chairman of NetStore, has invested alongside EGS management.
Enrich Social Productions – www.enrichproductions.net – Led by Jonathan Lakin, a serial entrepreneur, ESP creates and distributes multi-platform media formats in the areas of entertainment, music and sport. This deal was supported by Andrew Black, the co-founder of BetFair. ESP will be announcing many new deals this spring.
