Adludio is a multi-award winning company which develops and distributes a range of innovative, modern ads designed for the mobile generation.
One of their most popular products, PlayCaptcha, makes proving your human much more engaging than traditional online Captchas. Captchas are those frustrating validations which are often required to complete an online registration form or forum comment. They’re usually sets of distorted words or letters which the user has to type in before submitting a form to prove that they’re human
It is now almost impossible for humans to decipher them. Adludio makes Captchas usable again. Along with their PlayRoll and PlayUnlock products, Adludio is developing engaging, simple and secure experiences for users online, with the possibility of embedded interactive adverts to promote brand awareness.
Validation To Acceleration
Adludio initially came to Seedrs as Digital Spin in mid-2012 to raise £60,000 investment and validate their business idea. And that they did, with 70 people investing an average of £857 each. Not long after reaching its investment target, Digital Spin merged with competitor Future Ad Labs and changed their name. In 2013, the business went on to raise a further $1 million from an impressive list of backers including Passion Capital, who led the round, as well as Balderton Capital, Ballpark Ventures, Ignite100 and well-known angel investors to fuel their growth and technical development.
In July 2014, the business returned to Seedrs to raise £300,000 in the world’s first equity crowdfunding convertible. Convertibles allow investors to invest now, with their investment converting into shares in the future at a discount on the future valuation. This means that Seedrs investors receive more shares for their money than the future investors. Convertibles are very popular among startups and investors in Silicon Valley. They offer a way to raise and invest money now while deferring the need to place a value on the company until some time in the future. This can be particularly useful when a startup is looking to raise large venture capital funding in the near future but doesn’t want a valuation placed on their company now which may affect those negotiations.
This is exactly where Adludio found itself when they launched their convertible campaign on Seedrs.
Hitting It Out Of The Park
The pitch proved very popular, raising £515,680 – more than 171% beyond their target – from 408 investors, which included new and follow-on VC and angel investors. Founder Jacques Kotze didn’t want to turn away any interested investors, saying,
We’re not turning away from them, but we’re combining their value with the value of the crowds. We think it’s a wonderful opportunity for ordinary investors to invest alongside top VCs, such as Passion Capital and Ballpark Ventures, on exactly the same terms.
Learn more about Adludio and the future of digital brand engagement, at adludio.com