Artfinder
With the online art market set to be worth $9.3B by 2024, it is clear that the sector is embracing digitalisation and Artfinder, a marketplace for affordable art is disrupting the online art sector. The company aims to make art accessible, affordable and is also the art world's first Certified B Corporation. It is also creating a platform to make being an artist a viable career for more people. Artfinder connects artists and art lovers in hundreds of countries and helps anyone own original and limited edition art from as little as £20.
To date, the startup has raised £5M from Wellington Partners, Oxford Capital and angels and since then has grown its artist and customer base, developed its lean and remote operation and achieved a product-market fit. Amid uncertain times, Artfinder is crowdfunding to help even more artists able to make a living and with the raise intends to accelerate its growth, hire more people and enhance its platform.
Good Club
Having increased its sales by 1,200% in less than a year - somewhat encouraged by the pandemic, Good Club is an online grocer selling sustainable household goods in the UK. Good Club aims to make products (both food and non-food) affordable to everyone as part of a service that provides a range of 4,000 sustainable household staples. The demand for sustainable goods is estimated to reach £61B in the UK and the market for ethical products grew at 16.3% between 2017 and 2018.
Good Club opened its first distribution hub in North London to support the increased demand and accelerate sales further. Additionally, is has developed and tested its prototype packaging to be closed-loop, and has built and tested the front end experience with trial customers. The startup is crowdfunding to continue to grow its revenue, scale up its marketing strategy for growth and be ready to roll out the closed-loop service.
Square Mile Farms
A recent study conducted in Japan revealed that keeping a small plant on your desk and looking at it for a few minutes helps reduce stress at work, and in this Square Mile Farms saw an opportunity for a revolutionary project. The startup installs innovative, productive vertical farms in the workplace to engage employees and help businesses create a culture of healthy living.
With employee wellbeing at the core of the post-COVID situation, employers are rethinking the function, layout and appearance of the workplace. Square Mile Farms creates green, inviting spaces for engagement and collaboration, helping attract talent back into the office, and visibly demonstrate commitment to sustainability, and employee health. In 2019, the startup created a vertical farm in Paddington Central for British Land, one of the UK’s largest landowners, which is now the company's hub for its office farm installations.
