Flabba, whose advanced remote working software is used by the Home Office and the NHS, has raised £400,000 from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), and angel investors.
Leeds-based Flabba’s platform integrates with standard videoconferencing software such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams to provide a complete workflow solution. It enables professionals to collaborate with colleagues in different locations and manage projects from start to finish – for example booking appointments, managing and sharing documents, recording meetings and creating reports.
Flabba was founded by Colin Rhodes, an HR professional who had worked for enterprises including Microsoft, and software engineer Anthony Marris. The platform, Neugo, was created in 2017 to enable Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to manage recruitment of doctors and nurses from locations worldwide and has since been deployed across 20 other NHS Trusts and service providers.
It has also been adapted to help the Home Office to interview visa applicants and been approved by the NHS for remote patient consultations. The company has now developed specific versions for sectors such as legal, financial advice, professional services and creative industries.
The funding will enable the team to work with existing partners Zoom and Microsoft Teams to develop apps, and with Amazon Web Services to incorporate machine learning. Flabba, which currently employs nine staff, is planning to create a number of new jobs in Leeds.
Rhodes said: “Remote working is here to stay and we are very excited to be driving innovation to make collaboration easier and more effective for everyone. The funding will allow us to add new features, drive uptake across different sectors and establish the Neugo platform as the leader in the field.”
The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
