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media for growth

2022

Year in

Review

Total cumulative media worth invested in start-ups in 2022

$152,026,329*

Cumulative gross media value invested in start-ups by the following funds: Ad4Ventures, TelevisaUnivision, Arrandale Ventures, 5M, 8 media ventures, FAME, UKTV Ventures, dmg ventures, Brand Capital International, German Media Pool,
ITV AdVentures

1 World Online (1WO)

24h Bet

3DBear

9flats.com

AboutYou

Albert Learning

Alphapet

Apomera

BabySweets

Babyface

Babyshop

Badi

Bank North

Batteribrev

Beelivery

Billogram

Blachestories

Bloobloom

Boka

Bokbersen

Bom Pra Credito

Bonify

Book A Tiger

Boomin

Borevind

Boxmotions

Brit + Co

Brocc

Buser

Business Control Systems

Bustle Digital Group

Byhours

CBD LIFE

CLIP

CUDONI

Caffe impresso

Calmino group

Cannaray

Cardia

Carwow

CheckBonus

ChemistDirect

Clark

Clearlii

Clim8 Invest

Clintu

Coat

Colvin

CornerJob

CricClubs

CrowdCube

CurrencyFair

Deadhappy

Deliberry

Dentme

Der gepflegte Mann

Deskera

Deversify

Divacore

Durcal

Eleven

Elma

Entale Media

Entpro

FAMOSOS

Farewill

Fashmates

Feel

Fever

Fintech. TV

Framily

Freioel

Friday

Fundedbyme

GameOn

Geschenke.de

GetAgent

Gimi

God smak

Goodspirits

GroGro

Grover

HABI

HEY YOU

HUMANITI

Hambro Perks Ltd.

Havredals

Heilplanfzenwohl

Helpling

Hollistay

Home24

Housers

Humanova

Hundred Rooms

Hussle

Indorse

Ingresse

Intropris

Itravel

JUGGLE ST

281

Active (Privately-held) Companies, Including

World Map

How Do Regions Compare

United Kingdom: 51

North America: 4

India: 900+

Europe (non-UK): 312

LATAM: 16

Australia: 9

20

Years of Investments and Innovation

TelevisaUnivision (Mexico)

Inc.

2020

FAME Media Global (Singapore)

Inc.

2021

Grupo Globo (Brazil)

Inc.

2017

UKTV Ventures (UK)

Inc.

2021

8 media ventures (Finland)

Inc.

2021

ITV AdVentures (UK)

Inc.

2020

Arrandale Ventures (US)

Inc.

2019

Scaleup Fund (Australia)

Inc.

2016

Atres Media (Spain)

Inc.

2015

Media Digital Ventures (Spain)

Inc.

2015

Ad4Ventures (Spain & Italy)

Inc.

2014

Channel4Ventures (UK)

Inc.

2014

sevenventures (Germany)

Inc.

2009

dmg ventures (UK)

Inc.

2011

GMPVC (Germany)

Inc.

2011

5M (France)

Inc.

2012

Brand Capital Internationa (India)

Inc.

2005

Aggregate Media (Sweden)

Inc.

2002

TelevisaUnivision (Mexico)

Inc.

2020

FAME Media Global (Singapore)

Inc.

2021

Grupo Globo (Brazil)

Inc.

2017

UKTV Ventures (UK)

Inc.

2021

8 media ventures (Finland)

Inc.

2021

ITV AdVentures (UK)

Inc.

2020

Arrandale Ventures (US)

Inc.

2019

Scaleup Fund (Australia)

Inc.

2016

Atres Media (Spain)

Inc.

2015

Media Digital Ventures (Spain)

Inc.

2015

Ad4Ventures (Spain & Italy)

Inc.

2014

Channel4Ventures (UK)

Inc.

2014

sevenventures (Germany)

Inc.

2009

dmg ventures (UK)

Inc.

2011

GMPVC (Germany)

Inc.

2011

5M (France)

Inc.

2012

Brand Capital Internationa (India)

Inc.

2005

Aggregate Media (Sweden)

Inc.

2002

30+

New and Follow-on Investments including

easyGuide
Koremo
Lexlie Oy
Papier
Kontulan Oluttehdas
Bloobloom
Grover
what3words
Taxdown
Lumaly
QUINTOANDAR
HABI
JUSTO
FAMOSOS
UALA
Coat
LUUNA
Grover
weare8
Zcooly
Mous
easyGuide
Koremo
Lexlie Oy
Papier
Kontulan Oluttehdas
Bloobloom
Grover
what3words
Taxdown
Lumaly
QUINTOANDAR
HABI
JUSTO
FAMOSOS
UALA
Coat
LUUNA
Grover
weare8
Zcooly
Mous

For a complete list of our companies click here

Portfolio Momentum

We congratulate all the companies that announced significant liquidity events over the past year. There is one company in particular that we want to give a shout-out to:

Depor Village

Acquired by JD Sports for €140,400,000 (>10x return for Ad4Ventures)

Influencer Capital Logo
Prime Media and Entertainment

Emerging Media for Growth Funds to watch in 2023

Influencer Capital - a Netherlands-based fund investing influencer marketing in high-growth start-ups.

PrimeMedia - Guatemala-first DOOH firm operating 40+ billboards reaching more than 4.8 million daily impressions.

Working on establishing your own fund?

Connect with a global network of 20+ established media for growth funds. Get in touch

Six Bold Predictions

Sundaram Sivakumar

Sundaram Sivakumar

CEC BCCL (India)

For a startup, time can be the ultimate currency to achieving exponential growth. Since 2005 we have been fine-tuning our approach to helping young and established brands launch in India and shorten their path to growth. Looking ahead to 2022, we are bullish on the European startup ecosystem and expect a significant part of our portfolio to come from the region. Despite the current market volatility, we expect to grow our portfolio, even more, this year. We encourage founders to seek alternative forms of financing such as media for growth to grow their brands and revenue.

Jarkko NordlundSami Vikback

Sami Vikback & Jarkko Nordlund

ex-MTV management, co-founders at 8 media ventures  (Nordics)

There is still a lot of capital flowing into the tech market, even though the investment market is becoming more volatile. In the current environment, the media for equity business model is even more attractive to both founders and media owners than before. As traditional reach media companies are starting to look for additional revenue possibilities/streams, media for equity is a viable model to diversify revenue.

Founders should be aware of using the best possible reach media to secure their growth, in close co-operation with media for equity professionals. The Nordic market is been developing fast. We expect this funding option to become more prevalent in the next few years.

Dennis Ahrling

Dennis Ahrling

Partner, German Media Pool

In the current economic environment, media for growth can be an important strategic lever for consumer-facing companies. With media for growth investments, startups can shift their cash spend away from above the line marketing and extend their runway. At the same time, the growth engine keeps running at high power with premium media. At German Media Pool, we believe that this is an opportunity for top companies to rise up above the crowd by smartly working with media partners.

Srikanth Ramachandran

Srikanth Ramachandran

founder & CEO, Moving Walls (APAC)

One of the reasons media for equity is still at an emerging phase in Southeast Asia is the fragmented media landscape. There are multiple players that are strong in key areas but their inventory doesn’t cut across multiple media formats. Looking ahead, I believe there is a technology-based aggregation that needs to happen, making all inventory visible and accessible on a shared digital platform. And FAME Media Global plays a fundamental role in bringing all these key players to the table and working with startups to understand their needs and build a plan that goes beyond one form of advertising.

Kelvin Tan

Kelvin Tan

CEO Origin Capital Management (APAC)

One of the reasons media for equity is still at an emerging phase in Southeast Asia is the fragmented media landscape. There are multiple players that are strong in key areas but their inventory doesn’t cut across multiple media formats. Looking ahead, I believe there is a technology-based aggregation that needs to happen, making all inventory visible and accessible on a shared digital platform. And FAME Media Global plays a fundamental role in bringing all these key players to the table and working with startups to understand their needs and build a plan that goes beyond one form of advertising.

Diana Florescu, CEO & Founder, mediaforgrowth

Diana Florescu

CEO & Founder, mediaforgrowth

2022 has seen the 2nd largest no of deals closed on record (after 2021) and the formation of at least four new emerging funds (all independent funds aggregating media from various publishers). 2023 will be an economically challenging year, yet a defining one for our industry. I expect the no of media deals to rise as more late-stage companies will turn towards media capital to retain economic value. We may see lower entry ticket sizes (as low as 250K EUR) as the companies experiment with new channels (including Netflix signing up to BARB in the UK). Media agencies will play a more significant role in influencing the formation of new funds acting as LPs or launching their fund (leapfrogging media publishers).

Francisco Funes

Francisco Funes

General Director of the Growth and Venture Capital arm at Televisa (Mexico)

In the face of global uncertainty (the war in Ukraine, the US economy, record-high inflation, increase in interest rates, and a possible recession), the funds will become more selective when investing in startups. Founders will have to focus more on being efficient and less on “growth at all costs”.

Although the economic outlook may seem to impact negatively the whole venture capital industry including the “media for equity” model, we see this financial crisis as an opportunity. High-growth startups who have invested in communication and brand building pre-2022 are realising that any cut in spending will come at the great expense of their revenue and staying “top of mind”. With less capital available in the market and having to prioritise cash flow efficiency, founders should know that media for equity funding is the perfect formula to continue growing their business while preserving cash and reducing dependency on raising new rounds of funding.

Hear from our founders and investors

Chris Sheldrick

Chris Sheldrick

Co-founder & CEO @what3words

Open Testimonial
Boris Hodakel

Boris Hodakel

CEO & Founder @ FEEL

Open Testimonial
Dennis Ahrling

Dennis Ahrling

Partner @ German Media Pool

Open Testimonial
André Sousa

André Sousa

Co-Founder & CEO @ Tryp.com

Open Testimonial
Grace Ubawuchi
Open Testimonial
Christopher Kallhoff

Christopher Kallhoff

Co-Founder & CEO @ PKW.de

Open Testimonial

Are you fundraising? 

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Onward to 2023

We wish you a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season.

We are thankful for our community of innovative entrepreneurs, investors, media partners, and staff for a year to remember.