Manchester ecommerce start-up, Veo, has raised £300k of angel investment.
The online shopping and lifestyle marketplace aims to make sustainable shopping accessible to everyone, through a curated platform of independent brands.
The investment comes from Solid Bond Venture Builder (£150k) and a grant award from Innovate UK.
It will be used to further develop the platform technology, its marketing strategy, operational costs and team expansion.
“Veo combines the scope and convenience of a multi-vendor marketplace like those we are familiar with, but for high quality, sustainable goods with traceable origins,” explained founder Joe Darwen.
“Consumers are becoming increasingly mindful of the social and environmental impact of their purchases and eager to support unique statement brands and diverse artisans struggling in the current crisis. So, our core innovation solves the scalability problem inherent in large marketplaces, and allows Veo to democratise technology from which many SME businesses are currently largely excluded. The Innovate grant supports Veo’s mission to help sustainable businesses flourish and become resilient, by enabling conscious consumers to discover sustainable products and brands that promotes independent business.”
Veo currently works with more than 300 independent brands and employs 7 staff at its Manchester base.
“Founder Joe Darwen and his experienced team have succeeded in finding a commercially viable way of creating a multi-vendor online shopping and lifestyle marketplace with high quality, yet affordable, sustainable goods with traceable origins championing health, diversity and sustainability and we look forward to witnessing their progress,” added NorthInvest Investment Director, and Access to Finance Manager at the Innovation SuperNetwork, Jordan Dargue.
The investment in Veo came following a pitch event delivered jointly by NorthInvest and the Newcastle Angel Hub.
