Offering up his other insights on Pavegen’s highly successful Crowdcube initiative, founder Laurence Kemball-Cook shared details about the campaign with the equity crowdfunding platform.
Last summer, Pavegen secured over £2 million during the equity crowdfunding round. The company’s technology converts footsteps into electricity, making it possible to power services in high-footfall locations, as well as provide real-time data for analytics.
While discussing the project, Kemball-Cook revealed:
“Unlike other investment rounds we had completed to this point, crowdfunding was unpredictable. Even the most successful companies could struggle to reach their target if they’re unable to inspire investment from the crowd. At the same time, we were confident. Our product requires the power of community in order to work – without people walking over our tiles, the technology wouldn’t produce renewable energy. It seemed like a fitting investment round, harnessing power from the crowd to help Pavegen improve to the next stage of development.”
Laurence went on to explain what happened during the initiative:
“Despite the success, we found maintaining the momentum of the campaign throughout the fundraising period challenging. Initially we decided to ‘sell-in’ the story to varying publications, but after the first week, this becomes old news, and interest dwindles. To resolve this, Pavegen had a sequence of projects and installations planned throughout the campaign period which kept the buzz going and ensured we gained as much coverage as possible. We worked with Canary Wharf Group in the first week, installing tiles in the heart of the financial district and powering nearby streetlights – following with projects alongside Roland Garros, Sunglass Hut, and Formula E.”
In regards to Pavegen’s current projects, Laurence added:
“We’re getting ready to launch our new product; a sleeker, more efficient tile with a higher power output, shifting our potential towards a more permanent, large-scale system. We’re also installing the new array in a huge permanent project with a well-renowned shopping centre, and in public spaces in the States. We have a new advisory board, formed of former Apple Exec Jeff Martin and former President of Interface FLOR, Greg Colando. Our successes since the Crowdfunding round could not have been possible without the support and guidance of the Crowdcube team and all those who invested in our technology.”
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