Business editor Sion Barry on three start-up firms that have successfully raised growth capital to expand
NEWPORT based communications company Talkative has raised more than £350,000 to support its ambitious growth plans.
Talkative, which is pioneering advances in web-calling, is headquartered at the Wesley Clover Innovation Centre in Newport. Its founding team were all members of the Alacrity Foundation’s Graduate Entrepreneurship Programme.
Its software platform has been created to enhance the ease and effectiveness of web based communications. Conventionally customers contacting call centre staff need to download customised software or an app. However, Talkative negates the need for this and enables customers to connect to a call centre agent directly via a web browser using voice, video or messaging services.
The company previously secured seed funding in the spring of 2016, upon successful completion of the Newport-based Alacrity programme.
To date it has raised over £500,000 from the private capital markets. Wesley Clover, original angel investors and members of the founding team exercised their rights to subscribe to the deal.
The latest equity investment round also attracted the Development Bank for Wales as a new investor.
The funding will allow Talkative will expand its customers base via a combination of direct sales and channel partners, who sell the platform on behalf of Talkative.
The funds will also be used to increase the technical sophistica-