Personal finance app Squirrel is bidding to raise £400,000 via crowdfunding platform SyndicateRoom to expand its business.
The idea behind Squirrel is to give people more control over their finances, when it is estimated 21% of people in the UK start living off their overdrafts within the first week after being paid.
The idea couldn't be simpler - Squirrel issues users with a bank account and creates a budget, which allocates income, expenditure and savings before the user can even access cash.
Money for essentials
This ensures money for essentials, like rent and bills, is set aside.
After just three years, the app has £2.9 million flowing through its bank accounts.
Students and pensioners
So far, Squirrel has seen strong traction with the lower-income demographic and over the next 12 to 18 months, it plans to reach students and pensioners.
“Squirrel is interesting in that it’s not only a highly investable idea with tremendous growth opportunity, it also has a really positive social impact,” said Jos Evans, the experienced seed investor, who is the lead investor in the app and has already committed £100,000.
“The people who use it are generally on lower incomes and Squirrel is helping them save money for the first time.”
Mutaz Qubbaj, the chief executive and founder of Squirrel, added: "Engaging online investors in a fundraise has been a route that we’ve been considering for some time.
“However, it was crucial to reach a point where we could demonstrate our success and track record, so we could make it a solid opportunity."
He said: "SyndicateRoom offers a professional and transparent way of accessing money from sophisticated investors – and this was a crucial part of our decision-making process.
SyndicateRoom is an online investment platform that allows retail investors to invest in early-stage companies at the same price and under the same terms as professionals.