London Brief #22: Monzo’s full license
70 startups from Argentina fight for a ticket to London, and a strip joint now considered an architectural landmark. Read more in today’s issue.
People
Marta Krupinska of Azimo, a money transfer platform, has moved to London five years ago. Now, she is trying to mitigate Brexit risks by setting up a new office in Dublin. We are pretty sure there are more foreign-born founders looking for a safe haven. If you would like to share your own Brexit strategy with our readers, please comment below or email us.
Damian Lopo, co-founder of Crowdium, a crowdfunding platform for real estate projects, goes in another direction. A visit to London and an opportunity to expand business here is Mr Lopo’s prize at the Startup Games held in the residence of the British Ambassador to Argentina, in Buenos Aires.
In the news
The big news of the week is that Monzo’s banking license restrictions have been lifted. This means you can soon have your current account with the bank of the future. Please, do not treat it as an endorsement of Monzo or financial advice, however, we see it as a good sign for FinTech usually forced by regulatory issues to work with the incumbents (think Meniga) rather than disrupting the market straight away.
Forward Partners is now offering seed and pre-seed investments to London- and UK-based startups with its new £60m worth fund. Check their Path Forward guide to learn about the profiles they are looking for.
Eye Candies
Scottish Stores, a pub close to King’s Cross, formerly known mostly from its strippers and bouncers has won The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) conservation award for its transformation into the Jacobean style wood-panelled glory. A good excuse to have a pint or two.
Business as usual
- Triptease, a SaaS to help hotels increase direct sales, has closed a $9m series B round led by BGF Ventures.
- CheckRecipient, an AI-based email security solution, has raised $2.7m in a round co-led by Accel Partners and LocalGlobe.
- Repositive, human genomic data portal, has closed a £2.5m series A funding round led by Ananda Social Venture Fund.
- Cortexica, a visual search technology spin-off from the Imperial College, has raised further £2m from Touchstone Innovations.
- Friction Free Shaving, a women razors subscription provider, has raised £1.25m funding from Athene Capital.
- Built-ID (aka IndustryHub), a platform that connects names of the professionals with real estate investments, has raised £1.1m from investors including Pi Labs.
- Fat Lama, a P2P platform to lend/borrow/share almost anything, has raised £1m from angel investors.
Number of the day
70 Argentinean entrepreneurs were fighting the Startup Games to win tickets to London. Falklands or Malvinas? Gibraltar!
Idea
London Brief is a weekly selection of essential information about startups, technology and the business scene in London. Got news? Give us a shout at londonbrief@netguru.co.
Aleksandra Prejs
On behalf of the London Brief Team
