The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)

Flick fundraises $5 million

- JIM MILLAR

The co-founders of fantasy sports platform FanDuel have raised $5 million for their new company Flick.

Flick, founded in 2018 by Nigel Eccles and Rob Jones, is a live group chat app for sports influencer­s and their fans.

The firm’s headquarte­rs is in New York, but it also has a presence in Edinburgh.

The funding round is led by AlleyCorp with participat­ion from previous investors including Bullpen Capital, Everblue Management, Amity Ventures, Courtside VC and several angels.

Flick says its chat platform allows influencer­s to “authentica­lly engage” with fans during live games and provides them with a forum to foster a “loyal and engaged fan- base with their own branded space”.

App users also get breaking news, live score alerts and get involved in quizzes and post- game analysis.

The app features live games across the US and European leagues.

The platform is used in more than 180 countries, including the Un i t e d States, United Kingdom, Australia and India.

The latest funding round takes the f i r m’s total funding to $9m and is set to fuel a period of sustained growth for the company.

Mr Eccles, the firm’s cofounder and chief executive, said: “With the new round of funding, the company plans to expand its team, integrate with sports betting, and build out the platform across multiple sports and geographie­s.

“In the last two years, sports betting has exploded in the US.

“However, unlike offline b e tt i n g , online sports remains quite a solitary and transactio­nal experience.

“Betting on a sports betting app is about as much fun as paying a bill with your banking app. With our expansion into sports betting we plan to change that.”

Co- founder Mr Jones said the firm has seen a “significan­t uptick” and a 45% month on month growth in its user base.

He said: “Many of our influencer- hosted chat groups, like AF TB and TalkFCB, host over 5,000 sports fans every day.”

Entreprene­ur Ke v i n Ryan, chief executive at AlleyCorp, will join Flick’s board of directors.

He said: “We are excited to join them as they build out the company.”

Flick is built for both iOS and Android users.

 ??  ?? ALL ABOUT CHAT: Flick founders Nigel Eccles and Rob Jones engage their audience.
ALL ABOUT CHAT: Flick founders Nigel Eccles and Rob Jones engage their audience.

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