Photo-sharing platform Blipfoto secures new funding for international growth
Edinburgh-based Blipfoto has secured a substantial new round of investment, allowing the photo-sharing platform to further focus on its international growth.
The funding round was led by Steven Morris of the ESM Investments syndicate and includes Gareth Williams, co-founder and CEO of fellow Edinburgh-based online firm, Skyscanner.
Additional private investment has also come from North American, with more funding secured from previous investors, technology entrepreneur Ian Ritchie, former MIT managing director Ken Morse, and the Scottish Investment Bank.
Total investment in Blipfoto, including the new funds, is around £700,000 and will be used to build a scalable customer acquisition model and fuel growth.
Of the investment, founder and CEO of Blipfoto, Joe Tree, commented: “This is a massive step forward for the company, and provides the funding to build quickly on our established worldwide audience. Our new investors bring renewed strength and the experience of building big consumer brands online, so I'm really excited about this next phase of growth. 2013 is going to be a huge year for Blipfoto."
Investor Gareth Williams described Blipfoto as “a great concept, excellently executed”.
Whilst Ian Ritchie said: “I was delighted to invest in Blipfoto, a superb Scottish company with a genuine global scope. This is the site for people around the world who care deeply about the quality of the photographs that they take, and who want to share them with others who feel the same.”
ESM Investments’ Steven Morris, added: “Nearly one minute in every five minutes spent online is now spent on social networking sites, whereas this category accounted for only six per cent of time spent online in March 2007.
“The Blipfoto platform maps to this growth trend by delivering a clearly differentiated product that adds real value across many demographics and cultures."