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Cosimo Art

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A marketplace and platform empowering emerging artists to sell directly to those who love their work.

103%
 - 
Funded 24 Dec 2022
£125,007 target
£130,077 from 173 investors
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Business overview

Location Birmingham, United Kingdom
Social media
Website www.cosimo.art
Sectors SaaS/PaaS Digital Mixed B2B/B2C
Company number 10942598
Incorporation date 17 Oct 2017
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Investment summary

Type Equity
Valuation (pre-money) £1.2M
Equity offered 9.70%
Share price £10.81
Tax relief

EIS

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Business highlights

  • Engaged Community - 600 Registered Users, 3k on Social Media
  • Marketplace Active - £10k+ in Transactions Facilitated
  • Revenue Generating - £1k+ in Subscription Revenue 2022*
  • Award Winning - Uni of Birmingham £15k Start-Up Scholarship
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Key features

  • Secondary Market
  • Seedrs nominee min. £10.81 +
  • Idea
  • Key Information
  • Team
  • Updates
  • Investors 173
  • Discussion
  • Documents

Idea

Introduction

Cosimo is an online marketplace and platform empowering emerging artists to sell their work directly to collectors - without commission fees - so they can turn what they love into what they do.

We founded Cosimo after frustrating experiences working in the commercial art sector, and particularly after seeing the impact of high commission fees (typically 30-50%) on buyers and sellers, both on and offline.

Having bootstrapped our platform from MVP to Early Traction & Revenue*, we’re seeking our first round of external investment to supercharge our growth.

We’ve worked closely with our early adopters to create a platform that works for both sides of the market, and we’re now ready to take it to a wider audience.

We’re on a mission to make art more approachable, accessible, and affordable for all; and we want you to be part of the new Renaissance.

Substantial accomplishments to date

Founder Recognition: Recipient of the University of Birmingham Start-Up Scholarship worth £15k. Shortlisted for Birmingham Tech Awards Young Person of the Year and Young Tech Talent Award for Business Live.

Revenue Generating: We’ve generated more than £4k in subscriptions since launching, with a current average expected artist lifetime value of c.£350*. We’ve also proven traction with tiered memberships up to £20/month - which will be introduced as we grow, and in the last year, we’ve had a churn rate of less than 4%.

Media Coverage: Cosimo has had exposure in a range of media outlets, from local to national news - most notably appearing on ITV National News and The Daily Mail in recent months.

Artwork Sales: We’ve helped artists sell more than £10k of artwork through the platform, with some artists selling more than 50 artworks each - saving them and their buyers £100s.

Built an Engaged Community of Artists and Art Lovers: We’ve developed a community with more than 600 registered users, alongside over 3,000 social media followers.

Strong Advisory Network: Our advisor and mentor network comprise art world experts and seasoned entrepreneurs; from tech founders with multiple exit experiences to artists who have exhibited around the world with leading galleries.

*Based on unaudited management accounts

Monetisation strategy

Artist Subscriptions: Artists can currently subscribe to access our full suite of business management tools for £69.99/year. As we introduce more features we will tier our memberships - we've already had successful paid trials up to £250+/year.

Buyer Protection Fees: We plan to launch the Vinted-style Buyer Protection Fee (3-5% charged to buyer) to increase consumer trust and generate revenue while staying true to our founding mission of not charging artists commission.

Education: Working with artist mentors to provide educative material to our community. We've already run workshops and see this falling within new tiered options, as well as one-off payments for events or resources.

Affiliate Marketing: We’ve had trials with companies such as eFrame, the UK’s leading framing website, taking a referral fee on sales directed from Cosimo.

Corporate Partnerships: We see the opportunity to work with corporates by connecting them with artists and commissioning projects as part of their CSR strategy.

Use of proceeds

Team (44%): We believe that the people behind the product are as important as the product itself. We’ve established a strong core team, whose early objectives will be to market, onboard, and support a growing number of artists in the months following the raise.

Marketing (21%): We’ve so far grown our audience largely organically. Our initial tests have provided the data and insight we need to quickly expand this through paid social media advertising and direct sales. We will also continue to expand our efforts in offline channels as well, hosting and attending events, pop-ups, and art fairs.

Tech (22%): We are confident that the platform is ready to go to market. In the next 12 months, the main aims will be to improve the UI & UX and to begin implementing some of the features in our product pipeline - such as building an app, adding artist/buyer matchmaking, and further business management tools.

Other (13%): Administrative costs such as legal fees, platform fees, and accounting.

Key Information

Outstanding debt

The company has an outstanding director loan of £22,412. This is not interest-bearing and is only to be repayable once the company is profitable.

None of the funds raised will be used to repay this loan.

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Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

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Investing involves risks, including loss of capital, illiquidity, lack of dividends and dilution, and should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Please read the Risk Warnings before investing. Investments should only be made by investors who understand these risks. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future.

This webpage has been approved as a financial promotion by Seedrs Limited ("Seedrs"), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. It is not intended to be a promotion of any individual investment opportunity and is not an offer to the public. The summary information provided about investment opportunities on this webpage is intended solely to demonstrate the types of investments available on the Seedrs platform, and any investment decision should be made on the basis of the full campaign. Full campaigns are available to investors who have become authorised to invest on the Seedrs platform. All investment activities take place within the United Kingdom, and any person resident outside the United Kingdom should ensure that they are not subject to any local regulations before investing.

Seedrs does not make investment recommendations to you. No communications from Seedrs, through this website or any other medium, should be construed as an investment recommendation. Further, nothing on this website shall be considered an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security to any person in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful. Seedrs does not provide legal, financial or tax advice of any kind. If you have any questions with respect to legal, financial or tax matters relevant to your interactions with Seedrs, you should consult a professional adviser.

Tax Relief (SEIS)

This business is eligible for SEIS relief - providing qualifying investors with income tax relief of 50% of their investment and certain other tax reliefs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Click to learn more.

Tax Relief (EIS)

This business is eligible for EIS relief - providing qualifying investors with income tax relief of 30% of their investment and certain other tax reliefs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Click to learn more.

Valuation (pre-money)

Valuation rounded from £1,201,110

This is the fully-diluted pre-money valuation of the business (i.e. before the new investment comes in and including issued options and other equity interests). In contrast, the post-money valuation is based on inclusion of the new investment in the value.

It is calculated as the pre-money valuation plus the amount of new investment. e.g. If Company A is ascribed a pre-money valuation of £1,200,000 by prospective investors investing £300,000, its post-money valuation is £1,500,000.

Pitch type

There are 5 types of investment pitch available on Seedrs.

  • Equity
  • Convertible
  • Fund
  • Cohort
  • Secondary

Investing in a regular equity campaign is the simplest and most common way to invest in a startup. You decide which business you want to invest in, and if the campaign hits its funding target then you will become one of their shareholders. As the company becomes more valuable, so do your shares; allowing you the opportunity to share in the future success of the business.

Learn more about pitch type on Seedrs

Equity Offered

The equity offered is the percentage of the company’s shares being issued in return for the amount of investment raised.

When the amount raised is less than 100%, the equity offered is based on the target raise. Once the company has raised over 100% it is based on the total raised.

In some scenarios, entrepreneurs may accept additional direct investment after closing their Seedrs campaign. Provided this is within 6 months of the closing and on the same terms, we do not typically offer pre-emption rights on that extra investment (where you have the opportunity to invest again to maintain your percentage shareholding).

Learn more about investing and pre-emption rights.

Seedrs nominee

This shows if you are able to choose, when making an investment, that you be represented by, and your shareholding be managed by, the Seedrs nominee.

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Custodian

If you invest in this Campaign, Seedrs will act as Custodian rather than provide our standard nominee service. This is due to the fact that the business is not directly involved in the share sale and Seedrs will not benefit from any rights under a shareholder agreement. As a result, Seedrs will handle administrative tasks as we do normally, but you will not have information or voting rights, updates from the business, preemption on future fundraising, or ongoing support about business trading activity.

Learn more about Custodian here

Secondary market

This shows if the business has opted-in or opted-out of allowing its shares to be bought and sold on the secondary market.

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Direct investment

This is an option to invest and hold shares 'directly' in the company (rather than via the Seedrs Nominee). This option is only available to those investing over the threshold amount, which is determined by the fundraising company.

If you choose to hold your shares directly, you will be responsible for any contractual or administrative arrangements with the company you are investing in.

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Payment options

We are not able to accept card payments for investments into this sector. You can pay for your investment by creating a bank transfer, using funds in your investment account or create a Pay by Bank payment. Your investment will only be completed once the funds have reached our account.

Business Involvement

This Campaign offers shares for sale in business that is not directly involved in this Campaign or the sale. As a result, the Campaign and post-investment experience, including investor rights, will differ from a business-led campaign on Seedrs. Most notably, the business will not engage with investors in the discussion forums both during and after the sale or provide any updates to investors.

Learn more here

Payment options

We are not able to accept Pay by Bank payments for investments into this sector. You can pay for your investment with a card payment, by creating a bank transfer or by using funds in your investment account. Your investment will only be completed once the funds have reached our account.

Drawdowns

This campaign offers the ability to pay for an investment by drawdowns.

Warning

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None of the information in constitutes part of the campaign and it has not been approved or reviewed by Seedrs.

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