A Berlin startup which has dubbed itself the ‘Facebook for companies’ will launch a crowd-funding campaign this Sunday. With 2,000 organizations already signed up to the platform, swabr is looking to raise funding for the development of mobile apps and a premium version.
The micro blogging service will use Innovestment for the campaign, which enables the sale of silent shares via an auction platform to the highest bidders.
So far, the founders of swabr has been developing the service with their own money. Now, however, they have reached the point where new funds are imperative. Co-founder Lukas Pfeiffer said: “Currently, many innovative ideas emerge, but there’s a lack of capital to realize them.”
The idea of allowing micro-investors to support innovative concepts such as theirs, Lukas added, was one that particularly appealed to them.
With a name derived from the German term Schwarzes Brett 2.0 (which means ‘bulletin board 2.0’), swabr gives users the ability to quickly and easily connect with colleagues and partners; a private platform for businesses to communicate their ideas without the hassle of email.
It is looking to satisfy the growing demand from organizations for real time communication. Users can operate within networks, where they can access posts and short messages from people they work with without anyone outside the network being able to see them.
Ugur Tarlig, co-founder and CEO of swabr, told Silicon Allee earlier this year that a substantial problem currently facing firms is the sheer volume of emails that each person receives on a daily basis. He said: “The trouble with companies is that you open your email and have 50 messages – you don’t even want to see half of them.”