Gloucester-based Blackfinch leads £2 million investment round into London tech company

Gloucester-based Blackfinch Ventures has led a £2 million investment into OnePulse which has head offices in London and Austin, Texas. The investment, followed by Nexus Investments, will help OnePulse expand its clients' access to consumers into multiple new markets thanks to investment.

They were advised by PWC throughout the process via the PwC Raise|Ventures programme. OnePulse is led by CEO Mike Billingsley, Chief Product Officer and Founder Cam Gordon, and Managing Director Erica Kurowski.

The expansion will enable OnePulse’s rapidly growing international client base – such as Coca-Cola, TikTok, Marks & Spencer, channel 4, Zenith, SC Johnson, and Boohoo- to interact in real time with consumers in all key markets.

OnePulse’s intuitive, self-service client platform enables clients to perform bite-sized surveys of up to three questions (“Pulses”) at a time, and to receive instant responses from targeted audiences. For consumers, OnePulse provides a gamified app to give their opinions on news, products, and interests for which they are rewarded with micro-payments. Clients can send targeted follow-up Pulses which allow them to be both agile and thorough in their interactions with consumers. Its innovative subscription models, from pay-as-you-go to unlimited use, makes insight available to personnel in all departments and to businesses of all sizes.

Currently clients can Pulse consumers in the UK, US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, India, Australia, Canada, and Kenya, soon to be followed by Russia, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, and Ireland. Additional markets in Africa, Asia and South America will follow.

Mike Billingsley, Group CEO, OnePulse, said: “OnePulse is continuing to redefine the concept of market research with our fun, rewarding mobile app that can be used as part of people’s daily lives.

“There are few things as powerful as insight in the room at all times and with OnePulse, businesses no longer have to rely on gut feelings or out-of-date assumptions to make daily decisions with confidence. And with our global expansion, they can literally have their finger on the global pulse any time, any place, anywhere.”

Dr Reuben Wilcock, Head of Ventures, Blackfinch, said: “We are delighted to invest in OnePulse, a truly disruptive business, already expanding across several different markets. Mike and his team are now well placed to reach their goals for growth, allowing more brands than ever before to connect to consumers for near-instant market feedback.”

Matthew O’Kane, Managing Director of specialist early-stage Venture Capital investor Nexus Investments, said: “OnePulse traverses two of the four quadrants of Nexus’s investment focus and expertise: Data and Digital. We are big believers in the power and value of “community-generated” data and insights, and very excited to both announce the 14th new member of our Nexus Scale-Up Fund portfolio, and to partner with OnePulse on its next stage of growth, as it develops its activities and communities beyond those currently in the UK, US and Africa, to literally and globally “scale up”.

In addition to the global expansion, OnePulse will continue evolving both the app and client platform to integrate further AI capabilities and enhance the user experience for both clients and communities.