Three Hamburg-based start-ups raise millions in investments

Founded in 2010 by Jan Marius Marquardt and Daniel Busch, Coyo's B2B software has gone towards diverse applications for internal corporate communication. Apart from a desktop version, an app allows companies to contact their workforce at any time and any place. Coyo itself employs 140 staff. The founders have gone without the support of external sponsors i.e. Marlin Equity Partners or so-called bootstrappers hitherto. Marquardt, CEO of Coyo, said:  "We feel better prepared to help more international companies adapt to the rapidly changing work environment in future. Marlin will provide capital for our plans as well as strategic support on an international basis." The fresh capital will fund an expanded social intranet platform and Coyo’s international expansion.

The Hamburg-based Frischepost is now bringing BonVenture, a specialist in social venture capital, on board after concluding a seven-digit Series A financing round. Founded in 2015, by Eva Neugebauer and Juliane Willing, Frischepost sells seasonal produce online and makes deliveries in a resource-saving and climate-friendly manner. The online farmyard offers some 2,500 products and helps regional agricultural businesses with direct marketing. Frischepost has branches in Berlin, Munich and the Rhine-Main region. Plans are being laid to open five more German stores starting with a licensing model in Cologne next year. The next round of financing, which should enable Frischepost to expand across Europe, is scheduled for mid 2021.

Meanwhile, the sports start-up Sponsoo has secured an investment of EUR 1.4 million after closing a Series A financing round led by business angel Andreas Mihalovits, who had earlier invested in the firm’s seed round. The IFB Innovationsstarter GmbH counts among Sponsoo's other investors via the "Corona Recovery Fund" (CRF). The CRF provides venture capital for start-ups and SMEs wrangling with the corona crisis, which has dealt a severe blow to the sports business and other sectors. The investment will fund new jobs at Sponsoo’s branches in Hamburg and Ljubljana and pave the way towards international markets. Sponsoo is Europe's largest digital sports sponsorship market and helps over 10,000 athletes, clubs, sporting events and associations as well as more than 1,000 sponsors secure and manage sponsorships.

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