Ada Ventures has led a GBP570k seed funding round into Organise, a platform aiming to empower workers to campaign for better rights.
Ada Ventures has led a GBP570k seed funding round into Organise, a platform aiming to empower workers to campaign for better rights.
Also joining the funding round were Form Ventures, who back startups tackling markets shaped by regulation and policy; RLC Ventures, a seed-stage fund who commit a portion of their profits to charitable causes chosen by founders; and Ascension Ventures, a UK seed VC who made the investment via their Fair By Design Fund, which focuses on alleviating challenges faced by low-income households and individuals impacted by the Poverty Premium.
The funding round is meant to support the platform’s growth, which has increased from 90,000 to 500,000 members during the last three months.
“We’ve seen an explosion in demand over recent months and we’re proud of the impact our members have had. We cannot allow this crisis to erode hard-won rights for our workforce, we must provide the technology and tools they need to come together and affect change,” said Nat Whalley, who founded Organise in 2017.
To date Organise has allowed workers to campaign against working practices at companies such as McDonald’s, Ted Baker, Amazon, Uber and Deliveroo. The technology and support provided by Organise are designed to complement Union membership and activities, according to the company.
Its investors believe it is a well needed tool for today’s atomised workforce. “As tech transforms the workplace, and policymakers struggle to respond, a platform like Organise simply needs to exist,” said Patrick Newton, partner at Form Ventures.
Examples of campaigns that has taken place via the platform so far include the petition to NHS by 21,000 Organise members to demand that all pregnant staff be given the right to work from home with full pay during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as a campaign to extend the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme.
Waterstones staff active within Organise also created an open letter to their CEO asking the book shop to financially support the Black Lives Matter movement.
