Member Article

Neighbourhood social network startup raises £600,000

Local social network streetlife.com has secured £600,000 investment in another fundraising push in pursuit of their £3m 2013 target.

The free platform that allows users to share information with their neighbours and local community has attracted funding from existing shareholders, Shohet & Cie S.A, and the investment arm of regional publisher, Archant.

The money will be used to fund marketing campaigns overseas and follows Archant’s partnership with the platform in 2012.

Streetlife.com says it is approaching 100,000 users who share recommendations, organise social groups and discuss public services.

It has attracted the backing of high-profile investors such as Paul Ettinger, one of the co-founders of Caffé Nero and Steve Pankhurst of Friends Reunited.

Serge Taborin, managing director of Archant Digital Ventures, said: “Local media has played a key role in informing and engaging communities for decades. Digital platforms have opened up new opportunities to extend those relationships beyond editorial content, and Archant’s investment in streetlife.com is a prime example of that strategy.

“We are delighted with the extraordinary rise of the platform, which now provides a rich source of highly relevant local stories for our journalists, and we strongly believe that this latest round of investment will enable streetlife.com to accelerate its growth nationally.”

Matt Boyes, founder and CEO of streetlife.com, says: “Social networking has a key role to play in bringing local people together to talk about the issues they care about and make a positive difference where they live.

“We’ve shown that online interaction can facilitate real-world meetings, encourage people to become more involved locally, and enhance their sense of belonging. It’s a very exciting time for streetlife.com; this funding will enable us to bring the benefits of local social networking to new communities across the nation.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .