Home Articles Music startup GiggedIn tunes in to VentureCrowd for part of its $1 million...

Music startup GiggedIn tunes in to VentureCrowd for part of its $1 million cap raise

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Online subscription platform GiggedIn is transforming how live music and entertainment is consumed by making it more affordable, easier and accessible for Australians, particularly millennials, who love the nightlife. GiggedIn is determined to revive the live music scene and breathe new life into communities, promote artists and support venues.

The business is looking to close the last 20 per cent of its $1 million capital raise by tuning in to equity crowdfunding through VentureCrowd, to fund its expansion plans, accelerate its growing user base and increase market share.

GiggedIn has collaborated with renowned brands in entertainment, such as Event Group, Frontier Touring, Yours and Owls Festival, as well as the likes of payments innovator Mastercard and online fashion destination The Iconic.

GiggedIn’s raise through VentureCrowd will ensure the business is well capitalised to further build on key strategic partnerships and boost the growth of its customer base. The company has also recently signed a deal with one of the largest music media publishers in Australia, in a partnership to be announced in the near future.

What does this mean for VentureCrowd and GiggedIn?

Steven Maarbani, Founder and Executive Director of VentureCrowd, said, “We are excited about the potential of GiggedIn because it has mastered its technology, it has a rapidly growing user base and has the potential to be a truly global business. Alternative investments are gaining traction and equity crowdfunding is becoming a significant pool of new capital within the next few years for Australian startups and SMEs.”

Edwin Onggo, Founder and CEO of GiggedIn, said, “Crowdfunding is a great way for us to give investors an opportunity to join the GiggedIn journey and share in our success. We are excited to partner with VentureCrowd as it provides the right platform to build the GiggedIn brand and our community. We are achieving fantastic traction and I’m very pleased with our growth trajectory – this fundraise will allow us to double down on marketing and take GiggedIn to the next level.”

On average, nine out of 10 shows do not sell out – GiggedIn works closely with agents, promoters, and venue groups to help counteract this. It helps event organisers by sending more people to gigs – creating value for the industry through increased ticket sales, increased bar and merchandise revenue, and by introducing new fans for artists. For consumers, the product simplifies the process of going out and acquiring tickets by leveraging its data, technology and a user experience similar to Spotify or Netflix.

How is GiggedIn doing so far?

GiggedIn recently reported its revenue and users are growing on average by nearly 21 per cent monthly, with June exceeding as its largest month of growth yet. The platform has already sent more than 22,000 GiggedIn subscribers to over 2,300 events in Sydney and Melbourne – with eight out of 10 active members having said they have gone to a show through GiggedIn they wouldn’t have normally bought a ticket to or paid at the door for.

Events offered to subscribers which include live music, movies and comedy shows have risen to 100-150 per month. The company’s database has grown to over 50,000 however a key to its recent success lies with the use of its Facebook Messenger Bot.

Onggo is excited by what’s possible with GiggedIn’s Facebook bot.

“We’ve managed to grow our Messenger list to 10,000 in just a few months and our open rates are at 80-95 per cent. Our members love it. We get to have a two-way conversation with them on a platform they already spend lots of time on to give them personalised information on the events they care about in an automated way. It’s a bit rudimentary now, but it’s our first step towards our investment in artificial intelligence which will fuel a big part of the customer experience we want to create for the future.”

VentureCrowd shareholders and investors see great value in investing in innovative Australian businesses and contributing to the economy through job creation. Startups are now seen as leading job creators and have the ability to significantly contribute to the local economy according to the Crossroads 2017 report from StartupAUS, the national peak advocacy body for startups in Australia. Equity-based crowdfunding provides a cost-effective way for startups to obtain funding to help them expand and succeed in local and global markets.