Flowhaven Raises $5.2 Million in Seed Round!
We are thrilled to announce our continued investment in Flowhaven, alongside leading investors Global Founders Capital, as they raise a $5.2m (€4.75m) seed round! The funding round also includes Business Finland’s Young Innovative Businesses Support Program.
Icebreaker.vc and Flowhaven have been working together to accelerate their international growth, sales and marketing ever since our initial investment back in Q4 of 2018. We are happy to continue supporting Flowhaven as they seek to change the way brand licensing is done with their powerful platform that puts the focus on the quality of service and partnerships. With their platform, licensing deals are completed in a more efficient and streamlined way which frees up licensing departments to focus on strategic tasks that really matter. Using their platform enables brands to scale quickly and maintain their brand reputation and quality.
“Drawing on Flowhaven’s licensing and software expertise, the business idea provides a solution to a globally growing problem and serves as an example of our investment focus. We are proud to continue supporting the team in this funding round and welcome Global Founders Capital to join. We look forward to Flowhaven’s accelerating internationalization,” says Aleksi Partanen, one of our founding partners here at Icebreaker.vc.
“Brand licensing is a growing industry with enormous potential to benefit from emerging technologies. Flowhaven brings just that kind of market potential through passion, licensing expertise, and customer-driven design. We are thrilled to welcome Flowhaven to the Global Founders Capital family. We look forward to working together in this area to build a cross-border company, ” says Philippe Klintefelt Collet, Global Founders Capital Partner.
The funding will help Flowhaven’s goal of renewing its industry. With this, the company intends to invest in product development, international sales and marketing, and the hiring of new key-employees. Brand licensing is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. It is made up of Fortune 500 companies, a brokerage product manufacturer that aims to expand global brands into fan products and experiences. International revenue in the industry was over $ 280 billion in 2018.
“To achieve long-term success, we wanted great investors with previous experience of accelerating and consolidating business growth. We are delighted to continue to partner with Icebreaker.vc while also embarking on a partnership with Global Founders Capital, ” says Kalle Törmä, Founder and CEO of Flowhaven.
The company succeeded in expanding its customer base and continuing negotiations in North America and the UK while tripling its international market share. The company has established remarkable partnerships with international brands and brand agencies this year. For example, Brazil’s largest pay-TV provider Globosat, Europe’s leading media publisher Gruner + Jahr, and Crunchyroll, the world-famous animation brand, are now customers of Flowhaven. As an additional merit, Licensing International, a global licensing association, rewarded CEO Törmä with their coveted Rising Star Award for his pioneering work in promoting the industry in the Nordic countries.
Next, Flowhaven will move its headquarters from Espoo to Esplanadi in Helsinki and open a new office in Santa Monica, California. The company plans to expand into Central Europe and the United Kingdom, and will announce new appointments to the international management team soon.
”We have identified major changes in the market and the need for easier licensing management. It’s great that we can serve all the small entertainment and media companies to Fortune 500 companies, ”says Timo Olkkola, Founder, Flowhaven’s CCO .
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