This article does not constitute financial advice and is designed for information purposes only.
There’s a clear thread running through this week’s crowdfunding roundup – money and the tech that moves it. One is a money app teaching children financial literacy. Another is a POS system helping merchants to sell both on and offline. A live shopping platform rethinking how we buy.
Learning to save at one end, taking payments at the other and plenty of commerce in between. It’s a reminder that some of fintech’s best work is the every day buzzing behind-the-scenes to make an experience possible.
So, who are the startups crowdfunding this week? Here they are.
1. Sunshine + Kittens
How much are they raising: £1,500,048
Website: www.sunshine-and-kittens.com
SEIS/EIS? Yes, EIS
About: Sunshine + Kittens is a money app built for children aged 6-12, giving them a real environment to earn, save and spend while learning how money actually works.
Financial literacy is one of those things that almost everyone agrees should be taught earlier in life, yet most of us pick it up through trial and error well into adulthood. Sunshine + Kitten lets kids learn through doing rather than through a lesson – earning, making choices about spending and seeing what saving gets them. For parents, it’s a way to hand over a little responsibility without handing over the whole wallet.
Where to invest: Europe Republic
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2. Pronto POS
How much are they raising: £150,021
Website: www.prontofoods.tech
SEIS/EIS? Yes, EIS
About: Pronto POS gives merchants an omnichannel point-of-sale system that handles selling both offline and online. Users get one platform, one view of the business, wherever the sale happens.
For most small and mid-sized merchants, the split between the till and the website has always meant two systems, two sets of numbers and a lot of manual reconciliation in between. Pronto POS brings it all together so that inventory, sales and customer data all live in one place regardless of channel. The merchants who deal with this daily know exactly how much it costs them in time and errors.
Where to invest: Europe Republic
3. Tilt
How much are they raising: N/A
Website: www.tilt.app
SEIS/EIS? Yes, EIS
About: Tilt is a live shopping platform where products are discovered through interactive streams – and where sellers can start and grow a business without needing a shop or website.
Live shopping has been enormous in Asia for years, and the model is slowly proving itself around the rest of the world. People tend to like buying from a person who can answer questions in real time. It’s a low barrier to entry, offers a direct relationship with customers and the discovery happens naturally through the stream rather than through an algorithm.
Where to invest: Crowdcube
4. Nusa Caña
How much are they raising: N/A
Website: www.nusacana.com
SEIS/EIS? N/A
About: Nusa Caña is on a mission to reawaken Indonesian rum, a spirit with genuine heritage that most of the world hasn’t heard of yet.
Indonesia has been making sugarcane spirit for centuries, and there was a time when it travelled to European countries. That history largely faded and Nusa Caña is trying to change that, drawing on the Spice Islands story and reintroducing a style of rum that deserves a place on the back bar.
Where to invest: Crowdcube
