DealerDoc funding secured!
Happy to announce the first successful fundraise for DealerDoc - our eighth portfolio company, and the first to raise an institutional round in the United Kingdom.
We're happy to share a recent success.
12 months ago, Oliver, Arjun and James met a very pleasant gentleman in the UK called Richard Hannaford. Richard brought with him two complicated spreadsheets and told the guys how much his calculations had benefitted the motor dealerships he’d been working for.
Not only were these spreadsheets boosting staff morale and performance, but also they were directly saving cost and boosting revenue for the dealerships they were employed in.
Perhaps there was a way to turn it into a SaaS product?
Fast forward to now. Richard just closed his first round of investment for DealerDoc, raising £200,000 from a UK-based fund, ourselves, and some angels.
Not only that. Thanks to the British Business Bank and the wonders of the UK’s SEIS tax incentives, Richard was asked if he wanted to extend the round by a further £120K. This would include a further £80,000 of institutional money contingent on the company receiving a total of £50,000 in additional angel contributions (the money from us and the other fund is not considered, as this is about encouraging and supporting the UK's ecosystem of angel investors).
Having helped dream up the concept for DQ Ventures 3 years ago, I can’t tell you how great it feels to see entrepreneurs like Richard escape their day jobs and see their ideas come to life. We’ve now helped 10 great founders/founding teams to launch their own startup.
As someone quoted to James when he first announced this news on Linkedin:
"There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone’s life."
Mary Rose McGeady
Congrats to Richard and team - very well deserved!
More from DQ Ventures
Things continue to progress well here at DQ. We were recently introduced to someone who we hope might become portfolio founder number 11 (we love referrals!), and we're about to hire the latest member of our team - someone whose experience we can't wait to tap into.
We’re planning to turn 10 ventures into 50... then 100... then who knows?!
Do you know a wannabe founder?
As mentioned just above, the best source of leads has always been referrals from the people in our network. If you know someone fantastic, who has a brilliant idea but feels trapped by the necessity to bring home the bacon, please point them in our direction. We're easy to find on LinkedIn.
Wish us - and Richard - luck!