EquityMatch is where aspiring entrepreneurs showcase their innovative ideas to find ideal investors. Max, the founder, and CEO of EquityMatch, serves as the moderator of the events, assisting founders in finding their ideal match for startup funding. On the 30th of January, the 99th pitch event was presented.

Max, opening the session, reminded everyone that the next pitch event marks the 100th event. Achieving 100 events and engaging around 500 founders within 2 years is remarkable. EquityMatch doesn’t charge a single penny to facilitate these events. Max also mentioned that they are ready to provide advisory assistance should anyone need it without any charges. Join the EquityMatch pitch events for engaging discussions every Tuesday and Thursday, streaming live on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. GMT. Feel free to raise any questions you may have regarding your startups or any investments. Write to [email protected].

Founders from Europe, Turkey and the US are taking part in today’s session. Max introduced the founders and invited Sam Gibson to start.

Sam Gibson, founder of Wick Entertainment based in London, is seeking £500,000 in seed funding to invest in the sector marketplace. Sam is an expert in the area of social content. He claims to have worked for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, distributing their content across various social media platforms.

He explained that the average person makes 5 to 8 online searches a day, and 20% of this traffic translates to some of the world’s most visited websites, surpassing “Netflix,” “TikTok,” and “Amazon.” A leading fan platform, launched in 2016, grew its gross merchandise value to $20 billion in seven years by utilizing user-generated content (UGC). Continuing, he stated that other much-established businesses fall behind due to a lack of tools to monetize UGC.

“Wick Entertainment“ offers a plug-and-play, user-generated content platform, and the turnkey solutions provided will assist in launching one's content platform. The solution is fully managed services, which have little or no technical/operational hassles.

The revenue stream comes from platform fees for every transaction. The targeted audience includes UK online brands with a monthly audience of 10 million, and the goal is to target another 100 partners worldwide by the end of 2025.

Max asked to clarify whether the application helps grow a website to a wider network. Sam explained the operational aspects of “Wick Entertainment.” Continuing he mentioned that the product is not generating any revenue at the moment, and he expects to launch the MVP by March.

Next Pitching by Meghaan Lurtz, Founding Strategic Advisor for “COUPLR.AI”. Based in Cheyenne US, a Technology, Information and Internet company. Seeking investment in the seed round for $2.5 million.
Meghaan shared that she is the Chief Behavioral Officer at “COUPLR.AI”. She is a professor of financial planning and financial psychology in several universities in the US.

Continuing, she highlighted that "COUPLR.AI" is a fintech company that facilitates professional financial services. The company is akin to others such as "CARVANA," "Bumble," and "STITCH FIX." She emphasized that what sets them apart is lack of personalisation of their clients and intelligent matching. "COUPLR.AI" operates as an AI-assisted platform, creating more personalised services for both financial advisors and consumers. By aligning the needs of consumers with ideal financial advisors, the platform aims to benefit both parties. It also assists financial firms in marketing their advisors without traditional advertising methods. The platform accumulates a wealth of information related to financial products and the interests of consumers.

Additionally, offering a white-label solution sets them apart from their competitors.

The revenue is generated through software as a service and is also charged to financial advisors individually or through their respective brands. She highlights the opportunities, noting that there are approximately 700,000 financial professionals in the US and over 30 thousand financial professionals in South Africa. "COUPLR.AI" aims to target 30% of these markets.

In the Q&A, Max was completely in agreement with Meghaan and said that most financial advisors are absolutely outdated.

Max asked how they filter the ideal advisor for a particular consumer. Meghan explained that the system presents a quiz to both the customer and the advisor, lasting 3.5 to 4 minutes, to determine suitability. She also mentioned that the system is already operational in South Africa.

In response to a question about traction, she mentioned that they are already working with a group in South Africa and are on the verge of signing contracts with two major financial companies in the US. She added that the CEO of the company is originally from South Africa and initiated the business startup.

"The funding is for strategic hires and marketing," she said.

Erkan Yidirim the Founder & CEO of “DigitalWisers”, is based in Istanbul Turkey. “DigitalWisers” a Community Management and Human Resources platform. Erkan is in the seed round seeking € 1million.

Erkan is an industrial engineer with business management background. Graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and Berkeley. Has 10 years of corporate experience in technology startups.

He states that 76% of internet users are connected to an online community. Communities, he emphasizes, are ubiquitous and indispensable, serving as business hubs, science parks, career centers, talent groups, and more. Further elaborating, he mentions that “Reddit” boasts 4.1 million active users, with a growing user base. Additionally, he highlights that 88% of companies have created communities as a resourcing platform to find talents and build brand loyalty.

“DigitalWisers” consolidates communities and corporations on a single platform. The platform supports community leaders in adding their community as a block and utilizing tools to manage community activities. These blocks serve as marketplaces, news feeds, and job boards. Community leaders can monetize by connecting talents with job opportunities for corporations.

Since the beta version's launch in the third quarter of last year, the platform has attracted over 100 blocks and garnered participation from more than 45 companies with free memberships. Erkan stated that their target is to reach 40 million in the next four years.

Q&A: Max inquired whether the initial target is community managers. Responding affirmatively, Erkan stated that the communities targeted specifically involve talents that would be of interest to corporations, excluding communities like food and yoga clubs.

Erkan elaborated on community monetization, suggesting leaders utilize talents for corporate hiring and sell within their block as a marketplace for benefits. He further discussed their revenue strategy, initially offering services for free but planning to introduce membership fees once communities start generating revenue.
He added that the investment will be utilized to hire strategic team members and develop product features. Additionally, a portion will be allocated to affiliates and marketing activities.

Final pitch of the day and the year by Alessandro Franzese, the founder and CEO of 'The PAAC,' a fashion leasing provider based in Naples, Italy. The company is seeking €1.4 million in seed funding to be invested in the Fashion Tech sector.

Alessandro's background is in international management, and he studied in India. He has worked in the UK, Philippines, and South Africa in startup venture capital and the fashion industry.

The startup, 'The PAAC,' was launched in 2020 as a fashion leasing service, inspired by Alessandro's personal experience with his girlfriend. The idea is to provide unlimited workwear at a fraction of the cost. Alessandro compares the service to 'Netflix' and 'Spotify,' emphasizing that this concept is exclusive to the fashion industry. The company combines rental and resale services, allowing users to select and use garments as if they own them for as long as they want.

He explained that this approach enables users to wear over 100 garments a year, resulting in savings of 250,000 liters of water and 250kg of CO2 emissions annually. Since its launch in 2020, the company has garnered over 70% recurring customers.

Alessandro confirms the successful closure of the pre-seed round, and the current seed round of €1.4 million is being sought to accelerate growth and internationalize the business. He also confirms the generation of €1 million in revenues.

Q&A: Max asked about the amount covered in the pre-seed round. In response, Alessandro stated it was €180,000 and confirmed raising an additional €900,000 through grants and debt financing.

Addressing a question from Max, Alessandro clarified that logistics are outsourced, simplifying operations as their partners handle physical garment handling. Regarding revenue, he highlighted the potential of selling both new and pre-owned garments, foreseeing the pre-owned market surpassing fast fashion by 2030, potentially reaching over €350 billion by 2027.

In the elevator pitch session Max invited “Wick Entertainment” to convince the investors in 20 seconds.
Sam said,” 'Wick Entertainment is a white-label turnkey solution that allows the launch of content platforms. We’re tapping into a $200 billion market. The plug-and-play solution is readily available for the platforms of tomorrow.”

Meghaan “COUPLR.AI helps financial consumers to make decisions. Helps financial advisers with the right people that want to talk. The firm can hire the right people and keep those people employed and grow their market share.”

Erkan on “DigitalWisers”, “Like crowdsourcing now it’s community sourcing. Its $ 50 billion Market. It’s growing. It’s the next big thing in the community Space. We’re aiming at intersections of three fields. Community Management, Community based job matching and Services marketplace. We believe it’s time for communities to become businesses. We lead the way”

Alessandro “Combining the advantages of rental & resale by offering a platform that can be used by brands as a B2C service. Really can make a difference by internationalizing this service and making it available for most users to make fashion more sustainable and profitable”.

Max concluded the session by reminding everyone how to join the pitch events if they are interested and thanked all founders and the audience.