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Crowdfunding update: Takeaway startup Zing Zing breaks £1m mark

The crowdfunding investment drive from East London’s Zing Zing has reached another milestone, smashing through the £1m mark today (Tuesday) while the investment drive has been extended for another week.

It means the takeaway startup, which is the brainchild of EatStudent.co.uk entrepreneur Josh Magidson, is now overfunding by 305%, significantly over its original £350k target.

The takeaway-only brand already has two outlets in Islington and Camden, and aims to provide a modern take on Chinese takeout, with MSG-free recipes and fresh ingredients on the menu which has been created by executive chef Jeremy Pang.

Zing Zing is hoping to use the investment boost to fuel its expansion across the capital and the UK, and has drawn high-profile backing from Michael Sherwood, vice chairman at Goldman Sachs.

‘The response we received was incredible’

After breaking through the £1m barrier, Bdaily had a quick chat with Josh about the wildly successful crowdfunding effort, and how this might change Zing Zing’s roadmap in the coming months.

Why have you turned to crowdfunding to fund your latest venture?

We received a lot of demand from some very loyal customers who wanted to get involved in the business somehow. They suggested Crowdfunding, so we floated the idea out to our entire database. The response we received was incredible so it was really a no brainer. The PR we have received off the back of the campaign has also been second to none.

How does overfunding change your ambitions and priorities?

Our roll out plan is already ambitious and well thought out. The extra finance will not really change this - we still intend to run a very tight ship and grow in the right way. However, it does mean that we will not have to raise money through equity and debt for longer than originally intended.

This gives us a secure financial platform to implement our plans and also allows both myself and the other directors to focus on the business itself; raising money can be a huge time sink for founders and senior management that can remove them from actually running the business.

Why do you think your crowdfunding effort has been so successful?

I think it helps that Zing Zing is a tangible consumer facing concept. One of the largest recurring emails I have received from investors has been: ‘We have no good Chinese takeouts in our area, we need a Zing Zing here.’

A huge proportion of people connect with what we are trying to do very quickly. The brand is strong, as is the growth plan and our team, which is a great proposition for any investor.

We have had a few great investors (particularly Michael Sherwood from Goldman Sachs) that have received the attention of the media, who have alerted much of the city to our pitch. This has allowed us to build momentum quickly, which has attracted further investors in turn.

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