Cycling Tech Start-Up Raises Over £255k by Crowdfunding

Body Rocket, the Brighton-based sports tech start-up whose revolutionary world-first devices measure aerodynamic cycling performance with live, on-the-bike feedback, has successfully raised over a quarter of a million pounds in its first investment round, on the crowdfunding platform Crowdcube.

Body Rocket set out looking to raise a minimum of £80,000 but surpassed this figure in just  24-hours on Crowdcube following input from private investors. The listing went from strength-to-strength, over-funding and setting new targets throughout its campaign. The team, who’ve developed the world’s first Direct Force Drag Measurement to give real-time, on-bike feedback to the rider, was looking to raise capital to take its current prototype device to MVP stage. This progress will enable testing with leading professional cyclists and triathletes, with whom there has been a lot of early interest with several testing days already lined up for once lockdown restrictions are lifted.

As well as attracting hundreds of investors, Body Rocket also made several other exciting developments along the way. The first of these was partnering with premium multi-day cycling holiday and event agency HotChillee to provide top investors with a bespoke aero-training weekend in Girona together with the Body Rocket team. Multiple national time trial champion, former Commonwealth Games athlete and aerodynamics expert Michael Hutchinson also joined the board of advisers, while there was interest from individual Olympic athletes and WorldTour professionals too.

Eric DeGolier, Body Rocket CEO and Co-Founder, said of the hugely successful campaign: “We’re blown away by the support we’ve had during this campaign. It’s gone beyond just raising funds and has introduced us to people with expertise in all aspects of the business that are excited and want to help us make a great product.The enthusiasm and engagement we’ve had from riders and triathletes of all levels speaks for itself in what Body Rocket can do and how it will change the industry. To confirm that belief from the wider community really gives us the drive to keep forging ahead and developing our MVP and final devices.”

The capital raised will not only help develop the next stages of Body Rocket’s product, but it will also enable the company to deliver testing for a range of WorldTour cycling teams, professional triathletes and Olympic track cyclists later this year. As well as this, the team will be able to build and deliver an effective marketing strategy to help take the product to market.

Body Rocket eventually reached 320% of its initial funding target through over 370 individual investors. The final figure raised by the end of the Crowdcube campaign was £255,424.