NEWS May 29, 2018

Wehype – the innovative advertising platform that helps advertisers reach gamers – closes funding round

Wehype helps advertisers conduct influencer marketing campaigns targeted to the gaming world. Now the company is backed by John and Martin Wattin, of Inbox Capital, along with several other well-known investors.

Wehype makes it easy and painless for advertisers to reach the huge audiences that follow gaming and esports. In Wehype’s digital platform ad buyers are provided powerful tool allows them to launch scalable influencer marketing campaigns targeting millions of gamers around the world, in under ten minutes.

Watching other people play computer games is a trend that has exploded in recent years. In 2017 Superdata reported that more people watch gaming videos online than those who watch HBO, Netflix, ESPN and Hulu combined.

– We have a product that is unique on the market today. We cut out the unnecessary intermediaries and put ad buyer in direct contact with those influencers who have the most relevant audience. In addition, we use a number of technical elements to simplify time-consuming steps such as communications, payments and data collection, says Robin Åström, founder and CEO of Wehype.

Now the company has closed a successful funding round and Wehype’s shareholder list has grown to include a number of renowned and experienced entrepreneurs and investors, including John Wattin and Martin Wattin of Inbox Capital, Betsson founder Pontus Lindwall, and Christian Ehrhardt (e.g. Vitamin Well).

– We have worked a long time on finding the right investors who can support us in our continued growth and international expansion. We primarily chose to bring in people who see their ownership in the long term and that can contribute and add synergies to our operations, said Robin Åström.

Wehype’s network already consists of thousands of influencers, reaching an audience of tens of millions of people. Its customers include well-known brands such as ASUS, Warner Music, Hertz and SJ.

– Wehype is a very exciting company that is at the forefront in its field. I look forward to being on this journey with them and contributing with my experience, says John Wattin.

Wehype was part of the Sting Accelerate program in the spring of 2017.

BlueCall secures millions in new funding – will help employers increase the wellbeing of employees

BlueCall, the app for anonymous therapeutic calls and chats, teams up with Soläng Invest, a former KING Studio Manager, and a stress researcher from Stockholm University in a new investment round. The money will be used to finance a new partnership strategy aimed at employers and health service providers.

–We are thrilled to bring even more skills into the company and now we can take the leap from being a start-up to becoming a more established company. Having research expertise in our core area, as well as experts in the field of digitization amongst the investors, we are convinced that we can strengthen our position as the service that prevents mental illness. With our anonymous solution, we lower the thresholds for individuals to dare to and want to address their situation, said Caroline Rödén, CEO of BlueCall.

The new funds will be used to finance a new strategy for partnerships with employers and health service providers. A new sales manager, head hunted by Wise Professionals and with a solid HR background, will lead the launch of the new strategy. The investment will also help BlueCall prepare to launch their service in new markets.

–As an investor, I am drawn to simple solutions to difficult societal problems and to driven founders who are determined to succeed. BlueCall has a business idea that addresses a huge and global societal problem, and a prominent issue for employers – mental health issues account for 46% of all sick leave. The company has launched an effective tool to prevent mental illness by getting the employee to act even before the situation has become serious. I am convinced that many employers will benefit greatly from this, says Anders Göransson from Soläng Invest, sometimes referred to as Sweden’s largest technology investor.

The new investors are

Soläng Invest, Anders Göransson
Fredrik Åhlberg, former studio manager at KING
Oddball Ventures, Ashkan Fardost
Helena Schiller, stress researcher at Stockholm University
Cecilia Storåkers Hjelmstedt

BlueCall was a part of Sting Accelerate in the fall of 2016.

About BlueCall

BlueCall was founded in 2016 by Caroline Rödén, Lisa Löfgren and Tamara Bernad. The service is an app for anonymous therapeutic conversations over phone and chat – a simple and scalable solution to the huge social problem of mental health. The vision is to help millions of people across the world to better wellbeing. BlueCall has 10,000 users and over 150 call therapists connected to the service. The company is based in Stockholm, and consists of a team of 8 people.

Press Contact

Lisa Löfgren
Lisa@bluecallapp.com
+4673 905 16 05
bluecallapp.com

NEWS May 7, 2018

Friendship app GoFrendly raises 3 MSEK

Julia Sporre, CTO, Claudia Gård, CEO and Ulrika Lilja, COO. Photo Simon Hellsten

GoFrendly, an app that offers women of all ages an opportunity to create new friendships through accurate and secure matching, has closed an investment round of 3 MSEK. Among the investors are the founder of Apotea, Pär Svärdson, and the former Klarna Manager, Louise Samet. The company will now expand and develop the product further.

The founder team behind GoFrendly, Claudia Gård and Ulrika Lilja, got the idea of the company through their own need to meet new friends. The friendship app targeted exclusively towards women was launched in October 2016. The timing for a social platform where women can meet new friends has proven to be perfect.

“We see a huge need in a market with few players. Now it’s all about running fast and that’s exactly what we’re going to do with the capital injection. We will develop the platform to create more physical meetings and a premium service is also close in time, explains CEO and co-founder Claudia Gård.

The interest in investing in GoFrendly has been great and the team has had to say no to investors. Among the investors are the founder of Apotea, Pär Svärdson, JNE Invest, angel investors like former Klarna Group Product Manager, Louise Samet, and many others. In addition to capital, the investors also contribute with skills and networks, which is invaluable to the team.

“It’s wonderful to see that so many believes in the potential of GoFrendly and are ready to invest,” says founder Ulrika Lilja.

GoFrendly has users between 18 and 82 years and is used extensively around Sweden. GoFrendly has also launched in Oslo with successful results. Today, the app is free and that has been important in order to attract early users. Revenues so far come from ads and partnerships.

“Our goal of the app is to create physical meetings. Being able to offer our users events with partners has proved to be a winning concept. Many brands want to reach a large female audience, both digitally and physically, and we can offer a comprehensive solution,” Ulrika continues.

“We are proud to address the problem of finding new friends and we already know that our service has changed people’s lives – our goal is to make the world a less lonely place,” concludes Claudia.

More info
Claudia Gård, CEO and co-founder, claudia@gofrendly.com, 070-710 45 56
www.gofrendly.se

NEWS January 31, 2018

The app for riders, Ztable, raises 3 MSEK

The Ztable app gives riders the opportunity to develop their riding and share their passion. The company has now closed its first investment round of 3 MSEK to further develop the service and start an expansion abroad.

Ztable is a training calendar, exercise library and a social network in one app, specially designed for riding. Behind Ztable stands a founder team who are dedicated riders themselves and have developed a service they have missed.

So far, the development has been funded by the founders and through loans from Almi, but now the company raises 3 MSEK in its first investment round.

One of the investors is the business angel and entrepreneur Lena Wijkström:
“There are three reasons why I invest in Ztable. The company has a strong team that lives with its target audience and its customers. They have already proven that they can create growth, both in terms of users and revenue. And equestrian sports is an incredibly exciting niche that is digitally underdeveloped and has a strong community”, says Lena Wijkström.

Ztable participated in the accelerator program Sting Accelerate in the fall. Four of the investors come from Sting’s investment network Propel Capital.

“This investment enables us to increase the development pace further. Our focus now, in addition to increasing the number of users, to improve the user experience, create a premium version and then go outside Sweden”, says Ingrid Sundqvist, CEO and one of the three founders.

The Ztable app was released in June 2017 and today has 22,000 downloads to date. In Sweden, 500,000 people ride regularly and the sport has a turnover of SEK 50 billion a year.

For more information, contact
Ingrid Sundqvist: 0708-83 83 69 or ingrid@ztable.se

About Ztable
Ztable gives riders the opportunity to develop their riding and share their passion. Ztable is free on AppStore and Google Play and includes training calendar, social networking and an inspirational part of filmed rides, where several famous riders and coaches participate. Ztable was founded in 2016 by Ingrid Sundqvist, Totta Ogander and Erika Hjertén.

NEWS October 19, 2014

Apply to FastForward’s next batch!

The next application round for the next batch of STING FastForward, FFW_04, is now open!

For 4 months, we gather Stockholm’s most promising entrepreneurs in the Internet/media sector at SUP46 in Stockholm. We select 7-8 startups that receive an investment of SEK 250,000, close to business development support and coaching, free office space. The companies are also invited to take part of STING’s international network of investors and experts.

> Read more about the program here.
> Apply here!

Application deadline is Nov 10 at midnight.