Member Article

Photography-based social media startup lands £100k North East investment

The Finance for Business North East Proof of Concept Fund, managed by Northstar Ventures, has backed a new photography-based social media app with a £100k investment.

Pogo Limited was launched to offer a new way of content sharing, adding a ‘bouncing’ function as its USP.

Bouncing allows a user to send their content to selected contacts, and those selected contacts can send it to their contacts and so on, creating an exponential chain.

Users will also be set a series of challenges when they sign up to the app, for example to try and bounce an image to every continent in the world.

Jack Francis, Founder and MD, explained: “Pogo came from the idea of the ‘six degrees of separation’- the notion that you can be linked to anyone in the world in six steps or less.

“We thought it would be really cool to see who you are connected to globally, through social media. This concept, combined with our image tracking software, led to Pogo being born.

“The investment from Northstar Ventures will allow us to bring on new staff, run the marketing campaign for the app’s launch and lease some new offices.

“As for the future, we would love to become the new go-to social media app for people looking to have their media shared all over the world.”

With its focus on geographical connections, Pogo sees itself as an addition to the social media that people use, rather than as direct competition.

The app would like to sit between Snapchat and Instagram, and it offers a way for brands to identify new audiences internationally, according to Jack.

On top of being a social media app, Pogo offers an analytics platform with varying levels of detail, allowing companies to see heat maps of where their media is being shared, compare the demographics between countries and identify their key social influencers as well as many other features.

Jack continued: “We’re working with several brands that are interested in finding new audiences, which are more likely to be receptive to their marketing content.

“Imagine as a brand if you discovered thousands of would-be customers sharing your content in another country – Pogo has the potential to help companies identify new markets, improve sales, as well as increasing brand awareness globally.”

Ian Richards, Director of Northstar Ventures said; “Social media marketing has dramatically increased over recent years and today most companies use social media to connect with their existing customers and to attract new business.

“Pogo acts as a conduit for brand owners to better track their marketing messages and engage with their audiences in an innovative way.

“Jack is extremely passionate about the business, and has worked hard to develop a product that offers something different to both social users and big brands. We look forward to working with Jack and his team as they continue to grow.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →