U.K.-based startup with Ukrainian founders Poptop has attracted 440,000 pounds from its existing British investors, DSW Ventures and NorthStar Ventures, according to news website Uktech News.
Poptop — which develops an online platform to connect event organizers with music bands, dancers, clowns and other performers as well as caterers and photographers — plans to use the money to grow its platform and start expanding internationally.
Currently, Poptop operates in the U.K., Ukraine and Russia. In eight years of operation, it has managed nearly 500,000 orders. Among its clients are big names like Microsoft, Sony, Nestle and Yamaha.
Poptop cofounder and CEO Eugene Shestopal says that there’s many opportunities for further growth in the United Kingdom and other international markets, despite the current pandemic and the ban on mass gatherings. Shestopal thinks that the market will bounce back in 2021 and Poptop may play an important role in helping the industry.
“Our goal for 2021 is to penetrate the U.K market deeper… and start expanding to the U.S. market,” he told the Kyiv Post. “We see a lot of potential on the markets of developed countries.”
Shestopal says that being ambitious, energetic but down to earth while implementing the startup’s big goals has proven a successful strategy for Poptop.
When considering investors, Poptop has a number of requirements except for capital. It includes marketplace expertise and access to resources. “Our approach is to build a successful relationship with our investors and make sure we share the same goals and vision for the company’s development,” said Shestopal.
NorthStar Ventures, which specializes in early-stage investments, has put its money in Poptop for the second time because of its Ukrainian founders.
“They recognized the potential of the U.K. market and moved over to the U.K. with minimal funding to make it a success,” Rick Charnley, investment manager at NorthStar Ventures, told the Kyiv Post. “We consider that the way people book and consume online has changed with the proliferation of Amazon, e-commerce, and businesses like Airbnb.”
David Smith, cofounder of DSW Ventures, which invests in British startups in early-stage rounds, told Uktech News that Poptop delivers “a world-first real-time booking platform” and that 2021 will become a transformative year for the startup.
“The Poptop team has performed wonders,” Smith said. “Despite their core market being on the ice for nearly a year, they have evolved their product, found new revenue streams…”
Poptop was founded in Kyiv in 2012 by Shestopal and Ignat Thorovsky. Later, the founders took part in the Sirius Programme, a U.K. support program for entrepreneurs looking to start a business in Britain. There, they met their investor, NorthStar Ventures, and relocated to Newcastle in 2015.
